Many companies are now considering moving their business phone systems to VolP. But VoIP Business Phones systems are completely different from the traditional phone services you use. Consider this:
When you buy traditional telephone service from a "telephone company", they run a bunch of copper wires from your central office for your convenience. If you need to make more than one phone call at a time, you will need several copper pairs. The telephone company provides a telephone number for this line, which is one of the limited numbers available to this head office. (In other words, if your phone is headquartered in Elk City and you want an Oakville phone number, it's a big problem and it will cost a lot.)
Once you have connected the line (s) to your office, you are very lonely. You can either connect the lines to a specific phone, or turn them into something very expensive, a PBX box that will handle things like message storage, routing, and more. If you want special features like caller ID or Centrex switching, pay for it.
In contrast, the VOIP system is completely different. You can specify a preferred phone number, which can be located in any U.S. city. Instead of running the copper wire across the destination with this number, the call to this number is routed to the VOIP switch. At your convenience, the phones are connected to your internet connection, and from there you call the VOIP key directly. Because the VOIP company key is online (with a fixed IP address), your phones can be anywhere you have an Internet connection, and not just in one facility.
Because your Internet connection is a high-bandwidth connection, you can connect more than one call without additional cables. You can make hundreds of calls at the same time using an internet connection. (For those who are technically interested, each phone call consumes approximately 100,000 of your bandwidth.)
When a call is made to your number, the VoIP Business Phones is programmed to respond to a pre-recorded message (which may or may not include caller-directed routing options), followed by special accessories or add-on groups Call On (the actual phone is more convenient for you). The VOIP key can be set to forward calls to your home phone, cell phone, or anywhere else.
As soon as one of your office phones answers the call, this phone can introduce an unlimited number of transmissions that send signals directly to the VoIP key. For example, they can transfer phone calls to another extension, hold one or more additional conferences, make external calls, transfer calls to voicemail, and more. And when the caller is paused, the VOIP key can play music or a promotional message of your choice.
VoIP keys usually also provide email notifications for incoming voice messages, so you can be aware of messages even when you're not in the office.
For outgoing calls, request an office extension for any number in the United States or Canada in the regular format, preceded by multiple area codes. This information is sent to the VoIP Business Phones, which makes the call using one of its connection systems. When the call is connected, the VOIP adapter connects to the call. All calls are billed at the same rate in the city and across the country. In other words, there are no local or long distance charges. Corporate VOIP service plans typically provide a fixed line of call minutes or an unlimited number of local calls. These services may include international calls, usually at an additional cost.