Business Phone Service in Portsmouth, VA

How to Choose The Best Business VoIP Service Provider in Portsmouth, VA

Shopping for VoIP service in Portsmouth, VA 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 Portsmouth, VA 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.

What is Traditional Business Phone Service in Portsmouth, VA?

Traditionally, companies use analog phones and communicate via the public switched telephone network. This system transmits voice and fax communications throughout the country. It consists of both underground and aboveground copper wires. Satellites also play an important role by transmitting long-distance calls from one region to another. The service provides high-quality sound and continues to function in most electrical outages.

This system has remained in place for more than 100 years. It was available before any other telephone service in Portsmouth, VA. Businesses generally pay more to communicate via the PSTN, especially if they also need high-speed Internet access. This is primarily true because the system has a lot of infrastructure that needs to be maintained regularly. Phone companies must add this cost to the monthly bill.

While local calls remain quite inexpensive, it can be costly to contact people in other counties, states or nations. Communications may pass through multiple facilities on the way to their destinations. Different telecom networks may own various infrastructure that is involved in this process, and they need to be paid to maintain the equipment. This often results in expensive long-distance calling for Portsmouth, VA businesses. VoIP is recommended over traditional business phone service.

Portsmouth, VA Business Analog System with a PBX

For the most part, businesses in Portsmouth, VA 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 Portsmouth, VA. 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 Portsmouth, VA can help you avoid paying costly repairs for a PBX system that may very well become obsolete.