Business Phone Service in Burlington, WA

Picking The Best Phone Service for Your Burlington, WA Business

Due to the rising popularity of commercial VoIP, you will find there are a lot of providers eager to nab your business. Even though this could complicate the selection process, it can also be a useful advantage.

To begin, give some thought to your company's communication needs. Try to determine things like which functions you'll need to use during the day, how many extensions you'll need to buy, whether you have plans to develop your organization further in the foreseeable future, and what your phone budget looks like.

Then you'll be prepared to check on the plans available from the myriad of company VoIP providers in Burlington, WA. Take note of the packages they have available, their costs, and also the all-around trustworthiness of the provider. Using a functional phone service is an indispensable component in your business's success, so it's important to choose a provider with a favorable reputation for stability and fine customer support.

Traditional Business Phone Service in Burlington, WA

VoIP isn't the best service for every business, and there are many businesses that will benefit more from a traditional phone service. If you choose a traditional service provider, your calls will be sent through a PSTN, which is short for public switched telephone network. The PSTN is a nationwide network, and it consists of thousands of physical telephone lines, mobile networks, cables and satellites. Most people don't know that the PSTN was the first phone network created, and it can deliver reliable performance for any business.

The major downside of choosing a traditional business phone service is the cost, which tends to be much greater than what you'd pay for VoIP. The cost to use a PSTN service in Burlington, WA can be expensive, and your calls must stop at several different locations along the network. Since PSTN is analog, it doesn't send data very efficiently over long distances.

Calls that are transmitted over the PSTN must make several stops, and the calls must flow through several different providers. The end result of this process is increased costs for business owners. Although much of the infrastructure for the PSTN is digital, the physical connections are still required, and they can be very expensive to use.

Analog Phone Systems and PBX in Burlington, WA

Most Burlington, WA 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 Burlington, WA 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.