Business Phone Service in Columbia, MO

Selecting The Best Business Phone Service Provider in Columbia, MO

VoIP has become a popular option for businesses of all sizes, and it serves as a complete solution in most situations. With so many VoIP service providers competing for business, customers can take advantage of the great deals that are available.

Before deciding on a specific company, you need to think about your needs and find out how many individual lines you'll need. It's also important to decide if you're going to expand your business in the future because a budget needs to be set.

The next step consists of looking up business VoIP providers in the Columbia, MO area. The reputation of the company that you're considering is very important. A reliable phone system is a crucial part of every business, so you should carefully choose your phone service provider.

What is Traditional Business Phone Service in Columbia, MO?

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 Columbia, MO. 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 Private Branch Exchange Systems in Columbia, MO

Many businesses have PBX systems that handle calls internally. This makes it possible to send calls to different phones depending on the extension. Analog PBX systems also facilitate voice mail, forwarding, conference calls and other sophisticated functions. They are popular among businesses that have multiple staff members with separate offices. A company can put the PBX equipment in its own building or pay a separate facility to host it.

The main downside of PSTN-based PBX systems in Columbia, MO is that they cost considerable amounts of money. Most companies spend $1,000 or more when they buy the equipment. It can also be costly to set up this system and conduct the necessary maintenance. Some firms have employees with the appropriate expertise to perform these tasks. Others need to pay contractors who charge at least $100 per hour.

It often proves costly to upgrade analog PBX hardware. This may become necessary if a company hires more staff members or desires the latest technology. Most systems cap the number of extensions. Consequently, businesses must pay for expensive new equipment when they want to connect additional phones. Upgrades are sometimes complex, so installers need to have extensive technical expertise.

Private branch exchange systems occasionally malfunction or fail as they age. This can result in significant expenses when technicians need to replace or fix the equipment. Technical difficulties may also disrupt communications from time to time. Many of the above-mentioned problems can be avoided when companies opt to use business VoIP services instead of analog PBX systems.