close
The price comparison tools on this website require you to disable Adblock for full functionality. Please consider disabling your ad blocker on our website in order to best take advantage of our tools.
Menu Menu

Business Phone Service in Forest Lake, MN

Linking up with a high-quality Forest Lake, MN business phone provider can work wonders for your company. With the phone still the main way that people contact companies, using the ideal telephone provider is indeed crucial, and your goal is to find one that is legitimate, reasonably priced, and capable of providing you with the functionalities your business operates on. So before rushing out to pick a phone provider, it's a good idea to scope out the different kinds out there. Classic analog and VoIP are the two basic kinds of phone providers, and it's of the utmost importance that you fully grasp what differentiates the two prior to making a selection. Use the information below to examine Forest Lake, MN telephone companies for businesses.

Business VoIP Providers 
Provider Plan Details Monthly Rate*
Ringcentral logo
RATED #1 BY INDUSTRY EXPERTS
  • Includes 100+ Premium Features
  • Unlimited Calling, Faxing, SMS, Conferencing
  • Trusted by over 350,000 Businesses

$19.99
Details
4/5

142 Reviews

VOIP logo
Business phone service - no internet required
  • Not internet-based - more reliable than VoIP
  • Landline & cell plans, unlimited calls/texts
  • 1:1 account setup tailored to your business

* 8.3% discount if paid for the year upfront

$17.41*
Details
5/5

7 Reviews

Telidesk logo
Engineering for the Small Business
  • Unlimited Calling 24/7 Customer Service
  • Quick QR Code Onboarding
  • SMS, Ring Groups, Call Reports

* per user per month

$9.95*
Details
5/5

1 Reviews

Phone Service for Business
Alliance Phone Service
  • Simple Control Panel
  • Easy 25-minute setup
  • Daily call reports

* 12% discount for subscribing and paying for a year upfront

$19.97*
Details
5/5

13 Reviews

Talkroute logo
The phone system built to do business anywhere
  • Video Meetings & Text Messaging
  • Call Forwarding & Routing
  • Desktop, Mobile, & Web Apps

* $5 per additional user

$19.00*
Details
5/5

1 Reviews

Verizon logo
Get 99.99% network reliability with Fios.
  • Business Digital Voice
  • 1-year price guarantee
  • Unlimited data

* Per month. Plus taxes, fees and equipment charges.

$69.00*
Details
1/5

11 Reviews

Best VoIP Providers in Forest Lake, MN

How Does Business VoIP Service Work in Forest Lake, MN?

VoIP is commonly used in favor of an analog phone service, and it stands for voice over Internet protocol. The technology for VoIP has been around for many years, but recently, it has become much more popular. After switching to VoIP, many business owners are ditching their traditional PSTN service. VoIP is a popular choice among small startups because it's affordable and satisfies the needs of most smaller businesses. The call quality available from VoIP is almost identical to analog phone service, but in most cases, it's much less expensive. When a call is made with a VoIP service, the call is sent through the Internet, and on the other end of the transmission, the call is reassembled from its digitized form, and the person on the other end can clearly understand the voice. However, before considering a VoIP business phone service, it's very important to have a high-speed Internet connection. MyRatePlan takes the guesswork out of checking the speed of an Internet connection, and it offers one of the best tools available for Internet speed testing.

Although VoIP and analog phone services deliver similar call quality, they function differently. The major difference between these two services is how the calls are transmitted. When a call is made with a PSTN service, it's transmitted through analog telephone lines. VoIP is different because it digitizes calls and passes them through the Internet. Most businesses in Forest Lake, MN can save money by using a VoIP service because it's much cheaper to send and receive calls. A VoIP service also charges less money for international and long-distance calls, which can be quite expensive when made with an analog phone service. Some of the best VoIP services charge a flat rate for their services, which creates another opportunity to save money.

By getting business VoIP service in Forest Lake, MN, business owners can get access to many useful features. Several of the top features offered by VoIP services are call forwarding, fax to email, caller ID and multiple extensions.

Most of the VoIP business phone providers in Forest Lake, MN offer great features for businesses, and the size of the business doesn't matter. Some of the smallest companies start out with VoIP and don't need more than five lines, and many larger companies require hundreds of extensions and use VoIP.

Compare VoIP Providers in Forest Lake, MN

How to Choose The Best Business VoIP Service Provider in Forest Lake, MN

Shopping for VoIP service in Forest Lake, MN may seem daunting with so many service providers competing for your business; however, this can be advantageous to you if you follow a few basic guidelines when searching for a plan. Establish what you require for your telephone system such as the number of lines you need and what features you want before even looking at providers. Set your budget and also consider how your business may grow in the coming years.

Once you have established what you need, begin your research on Forest Lake, MN business VoIP providers. Read real user reviews and make sure that the company has a positive history with other customers in your area. Since your telephone service is vital to the success of your business, make sure that the provider you choose has been proven to be reliable.

Many providers will offer attractive pricing for new customers. You should examine these promotions but remember that some plans may begin with an introductory price that will increase after a few months. Never settle on a phone provider based on price alone. Research the company's reputation before initiating service or entering a contract. With the amount of information available to you on phone providers, there is no reason to jeopardize the image of your business with a poor quality phone system.

Find and compare business phone service providers in Forest Lake, MN

What About Traditional Business Phone Service in Forest Lake, MN?

Although VoIP has become very popular in Forest Lake, MN, many businesses still use a traditional PSTN phone service. When this type of service is used, calls are transferred through a public switched telephone network, and the PSTN is accessible nationwide. The network for a traditional phone service is comprised of telephone lines, mobile networks, satellites and cables. The PSTN was actually the first phone network created, and it has been in use for almost 100 years.

The cost of making calls with a PSTN service is more expensive than VoIP because the infrastructure for the network requires expensive maintenance. Since the PSTN is analog, it's not very good at sending data over long distances.

Any time a call is made with a PSTN service, the data must stop at several points along the network, and the data must flow through equipment that is owned by several different companies, which can make calls made with the service significantly more expensive. Although many parts of the system have been converted to digital components, the last part of the PSTN network is analog.

Traditional PBX

Forest Lake, MN Business Analog System with a PBX

For the most part, businesses in Forest Lake, MN use a private branch exchange to route calls received within the office. More commonly known as a PBX, this type of system allows the business phone service to function as it should with a variety of calling features such as conference calls, voicemail, call forwarding and multiple extensions.

Having a complete business phone service with a PBX requires buying various hardware that can cost over $1,000. This amount does not include the installation, configuration and ongoing maintenance that is necessary to ensure your phone service works for customer phone calls.

This is a pricey option especially when it is time to upgrade or expand the service in Forest Lake, MN. If you do not have an in-house technical staff, you will have to pay a professional for maintenance and to make any changes.

The last thing you should want is stifling business growth because you cannot afford to upgrade a traditional phone system to accommodate that growth. However, needing more hardware is inevitable when the time comes to add more extensions to your existing phone service.

With this in mind, take full advantage of the services of MyRatePlan to make useful comparisons of updating your business phone service. Taking the time to research service providers in Forest Lake, MN can help you avoid paying costly repairs for a PBX system that may very well become obsolete.