Business Phone Service in Lakeland, MI

Picking the Best Business Phone Service in Lakeland, MI

VoIP business phone services have become popular, and there are several companies competing for business, which helps to keep prices low. When looking for a provider to use, it's useful to think about what your business needs. There are several important questions that need to be answered. Business owners need to think about whether or not they'll be expanding and how much service they can afford with their current budget.

The next step consists of comparing the different business VoIP providers in the Lakeland, MI area. The price, features and reliability of these providers should be compared, and the company's overall reputation is also worth considering. A reliable phone service is critical for the success of any business, which is why it's best to select a provider that has a great track record.

What is Traditional Business Phone Service in Lakeland, MI?

Traditional phone service companies transmit their signals through a PSTN. The PSTN uses circuit-switched telephony. It is based on copper wires carrying analog voice data. Telephone services that are facilitated by PSTN are often known as Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) because it has been operational for more than 100 years. It was the first mode of a network to be used by telephone service providers. The PSTN also comprises of satellites, mobile networks, and cables.

The PSTN infrastructure is very large. Therefore, it is expensive to use PSTN telephone service than VoIP in Lakeland, MI. Moreover, the PSTN network is old and often requires maintenance. The major setback of PSTN telephone services is that they have difficulties when sending data over long distances because they are analog.

When making long distance calls over the PSTN, the data has to stop at different destinations during its transmission. The data flow through the equipment owned by various companies as the call is in progress. Therefore, it makes the call cost per minute higher and expensive. The traditional phone service companies use a lot of infrastructures to carry, switch, and route the calls that are now digital. However, the connection between the local central office and the customer is still analog.

Analog Phone Systems and PBX in Lakeland, MI

Most Lakeland, MI businesses choose to use a private branch exchange, also known as a PBX system. A PBX system allows the system to route calls to the correct line and enables the use of other calling features such as voicemail, call forwarding, multiple extensions and others. Businesses can locate the PBX system at their office or a remote location.

An analog PBX system requires multiple pieces of hardware that need to be purchased, installed and configured, so you need to keep these expenses in mind if you are considering using one. For example, the hardware alone can cost over $1,000 to purchase. That price does not include installation and configuration which will require the expertise of a professional technician.

If you are interested in an analog PBX system for your Lakeland, MI business, you should be aware that expansion can be challenging and expensive. Most PBX systems only support a limited number of lines, so if your business eventually requires more capacity than you originally designed the system for, you may be forced to purchase more expensive hardware.

All electronic equipment eventually fails and will need replacement. Since an analog PBX system requires more electronic equipment than VoIP systems, the potential exists for higher costs due to the replacement of electronic hardware. There is also the risk of your equipment becoming obsolete as providers modernize their telephone systems. Phone companies will place less emphasis on analog technology as they phase out analog and refocus on more affordable and efficient VoIP technology.