What is the best VoIP Phone System?
Before we jump into our favourite VoIP systems on the market right now, let’s look at what a VoIP system is.
What is a VoIP System?
VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is the advanced voice capability most VoIP providers offer.
VoIP offers a highly efficient and cost-effective method of bringing high-quality Voice communications to small businesses.
VoIP complements your existing phone lines by allowing you to utilise VoIP calling features regardless of what type of telephone system you may have.
The VoIP function built into today’s IP phones allows users to make secure Local and Long Distance calls at up to 100% savings!
VoIP technology gives individual home offices the ability to connect with other individuals locally and worldwide for free or low-cost calls using standard telephones and computers.
What are VoIP Systems used for?
IP phones, also known as VoIP phones, come in several varieties, depending on an organisation’s particular needs.
Among a broad spectrum of VoIP office phones, there are corded and cordless varieties for businesses to choose from, depending on whether extra mobility will be helpful.
VoIP phones are specifically designed for conference calls and have speakerphone functionality; some offer video, and others work best for call services.
How do VoIP Systems work?
A VoIP system works by taking your analogue voice signals, converting them into digital signals, then sending them as data over your broadband line.
What could your VoIP system look like?
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- With a phone and a VoIP adapter – Using a special adapter, you can make VoIP calls from a regular old landline phone. These adapters plug into either a phone socket in the wall or into your router.
- With a computer, dozens of programs let you make voice calls to anyone who also has it installed, including Skype, Google Talk, and Apple FaceTime. Some, such as Skype, can be used to call a regular landline or a mobile number. Calling someone who has the app is free, but calling an actual phone number will usually cost a little.
- With a smartphone – You can use your smartphone to make voice calls using certain apps. See below for more on how this works.
What technology does VoIP use?
Although VoIP services play an essential role in the quality of a company’s phone networks, the hardware underpinning a business phone system determines the functionality that will be available.
The technology underpinning VoIP or IP phones, with audio data packets delivered via online connections rather than traditional PSTN and ISDN networks, means that VoIP services are usually cheaper and more scalable than conventional Private Branch Exchange (PBX) phone networks and offer advanced telephony features.
What equipment do I need?
The exact equipment you need depends on which method of VoIP you’re using.
The first thing you’ll need is a broadband connection – a fibre optic one, so it’s more reliable, and an unlimited one means you can talk as much as you want to.
You’ll get the absolute best VoIP experience possible with a full FTTP or an ethernet connection, which are available with some business broadband providers.
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- For VoIP with an adapter, you’ll need a VoIP adapter (of course) and a compatible phone. If it plugs into a router, you’ll need a compatible router too.
- For VoIP with a computer, you’ll need a laptop or desktop computer with an internet connection, the right software, and either a headset or speakers and a microphone. Headsets are better for clarity and sound quality, but you can get by just fine without.
- For VoIP with a smartphone, you’ll need a smartphone connected to Wi-Fi and with your chosen app installed.
Some VoIP providers may do things differently and might require specific equipment.
Contact your provider for more info on this – and don’t worry, they’ll provide you with everything you need to get started and guide you through the setup when you sign up.
Can VoIP run on Modern Smartphones?
Some of the best IP phones run on modern smartphone operating systems such as Android and Apple iOS to give them these advanced features – from video conferencing to multi-user calls and contact and schedule management.
These can also work with audio conferencing services to get the most out of your communications.
What does VoIP look like on Smartphones?
There are apps that you can use to call other people who have the same app.
There’s Skype, FaceTime, Viber, Line, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and dozens more. Like Skype and Viber, some will even let you call a regular landline or mobile number – though bear in mind this will usually cost money!
Other features include being able to call someone on any device (smartphone, tablet, laptop, and so on), free video calling, and sometimes even group calling – because who wouldn’t want a conference call with their Facebook friends?
The other kind of VoIP apps are ones from landline providers.
These are pretty clever, as they let you make calls that use the calling minutes included in your home phone plan.
So if you have inclusive weekend calls or super cheap international calling, you can reap those benefits from your smartphone, too – even when you’re not at home.
Generally, you’ll need to be connected to Wi-Fi for it to work.
Phone calls over mobile broadband, also known as VoLTE, are a different beast entirely – and if you don’t have an unlimited data plan, they’ll eat into your allowance.
What are the best VoIP companies on the market?
Some of the major brands in the VoIP space include TelcoSwitch, Cisco, Poly, Grandstream, Mitel, and several others.
These companies have cornered a sizeable section of the IP phone market by offering much-needed features like speed dial keys, graphical displays, Bluetooth compatibility, and much more.
These features have appealed to both business and home users, with VoIP phones being embraced in both corporate and personal settings, with both B2C and home IP phones becoming increasingly popular of late.
With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing and organisations desperate to maintain business continuity, VoIP and IP phones have gained a new lease of life.
Although often used interchangeably, IP and VoIP phone systems are subtly different, with the latter using the public Internet to carry voice traffic.
Regardless of the intricacies of the particular procedure you chose, both VoIP and IP phones offer many benefits over traditional phone lines.
We have listed our favourite VoIP phone system below:
Our favourite VoIP phone system is TelcoSwitch.
Our trusted partner Telcoswitch is a fast-growing Telecommunications company that helps us deliver optimised business communications via an end-to-end, open standards-based hosted telephony platform.
We provide businesses with state-of-the-art hardware, with our partnerships with Yealink and other leading manufacturers and CallSwitch, TelcoSwitchs flexible and powerful software platform, designed from the ground up by telco industry veterans.
What do TelcoSwitch VoIP Systems offer businesses?
TelcoSwitch VoIP systems provide specialised features for organisations of all types and sizes, including Contact Centre features, Sales Campaigning via smart integrations with your CRM platform.
And of course, we provide support for today’s Compliance requirements like Call Recording and PCI, straightforward setup via our self-service provisioning portal, and full Partner white labelling and training from the TelcoSwitch Academy.
TelcoSwitch VoIP systems take Unified Communications to the next level by providing award-winning user experience across software, hardware and best-in-class support for our clients.
We can back all this up with dedicated private network infrastructure to enable excellent quality and resilience, expert engineering staff and a client support structure that proudly delivers our demanding SLAs.
Like What You See? Get a free VoIP quote tailored to your business needs.
Our expert team and certified partner, TelcoSwitch, can help you create the best VoIP phone system for your business.
Our initial quote service is 100% FREE with NO obligation to buy.
Here’s how it works:
- Schedule a call with a member of our expert team. Tell us about your business requirements.
- We will create a custom telecoms plan that caters to allof your requirements with the best possible features and prices.
- We will then plan installation dates for our expert engineers to come and set up all your phone systems and show you first-hand how they operate to have your brand new VoIP system up and running as fast as possible