VoIP Phone

More and more businesses are turning to VoIP phone systems offer better quality of calls, a more transparent experience, and are a more cost-effective solution than other, more traditional phone systems. A VoIP phone is available as a standalone option or in a hybrid telephone system, compatible with PBX or even some key telephone systems.

With today’s technology development and cheap Internet accessibility, traditional phone networks are rapidly being replaced by the newest innovation - VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). This is a new type of business telephone system, where calls are placed over the Internet connection, rather than phone lines.  

People used to perceive a VoIP phone as an expensive solution, suitable only for large organisations with a bigger financial capacity. However, there are solutions for VoIP phone systems for small businesses in the UK - particularly a hosted VoIP is a worthy investment even for small businesses. If you currently have a PBX system in place but wish to upgrade to an Internet phone (a VoIP phone), you can do this through SIP trunking too.

If you would like to get professional advice and reviews about VoIP phones, please fill in our contact form. You will receive up to four free, non-binding quotes tailored to your company needs.

VoIP telephone systems are the most advanced and functional solutions for office telephone systems that the market has to offer. The basic difference from other types of systems is that it uses the Internet Protocol to deliver voice and media communications, instead of using phone lines, connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). VoIP allows an unlimited capacity of users and is fully scalable for growing businesses.

A simple explanation of how it works is that when an employee places a call, it is transmitted to a broadband Internet connection until it reaches the recipient when it is translated into a conventional format in order to connect to the phone line. VoIP can work regardless if the receiver of the call is using a key system, PBX or VoIP services.

VoIP systems are able to provide high-quality audio and video calls, depending on the strength of the Internet connection, router, and VoIP service. The system is offered in two versions, including conventional VoIP and hosted VoIP. The main benefit of the latter is that the company can avoid the costly installation of infrastructure and maintenance since the service provider stores the main system and the payment is by subscription.

While there may be some variations from providers, these are the main components of the VoIP infrastructure:

As VoIP phone systems are the most advanced and functional, it is natural that they have a number of features that are fully customisable to a company’s communication needs. Below are many of the available features of the Internet phone system, divided into traditional features (that most phone systems have) and advanced ones.

Basic features of VoIP phone system:

Below you can find advanced VoIP phone system features.

Naturally, there is no fixed price for a VoIP phone system, since it is fully customisable and offers add-ons which raises the price. VoIP providers make offers to business owners for systems that are specially tailored to their company’s needs. However, the price depends on the type of VoIP system- hosted or in-house. You should also note that you can also opt for a mobile VoIP solution.

Usually, a hosted system is the more cost-efficient choice since it avoids all the initial installation and equipment cost, which puts the price in the range of £2000-15,000. With the hosted VoIP, the payment is per end user and can be £12-30 monthly. The advantage is that maintenance is taken care of by the service provider.

Since VoIP runs entirely through the Internet, some additional costs may apply for ensuring that the company’s Internet connection will be able to handle the traffic from the VoIP.

If you choose to opt for a VoIP phone system for your business telephone needs, you will reap many benefits, from cost-saving to increased flexibility. We have listed a number of key advantages of using a VoIP handset in your office below.

Even though the investment for a VoIP system is higher than a traditional one, it pays back in the long term, since broadband telephony eliminates the call cost nationwide and internationally.

A major advantage of the VoIP is that the service can be accessed from any location as long as there is Internet connection present. This is also convenient for customers since they are able to reach an employee even if they are out of the office.

VoIP systems are customizable and can be configured specifically for your business. This way, the business owner pays only for the features he needs and doesn’t end up with a complex system, half of which is useless for his company.

VoIP systems are the innovation top regarding functionalities, which are not only providing convenience but are also interesting and give the customer a better communication experience.

VoIP services give the opportunity for not only voice and audio exchange but also transfer multimedia.

VoIP systems can connect with analogue devices like fax machines, as well as software applications like email or even text messages for increased convenience of the user.

Before investing in office telephone systems, it is important to consider what the current situation in the company is. Depending on the size of the company, the infrastructure already in place, and the level of technological sophistication, implementing business phone systems can either cost next to nothing, or have a significant impact on the company’s budget. This is due to the fact, these systems require a broadband connection. This means that the more simultaneous users are connected, the more bandwidth is needed to support it.

Another important issue to consider is whether the Internet network used in the company can handle the load. In this case, providers suggest using a router with the ability to configure the quality of service settings and maximizing quality. We can maximise the quality by assigning VoIP traffic high priority.

Finally, it is important to make sure that the phones you have are able to communicate over VoIP. This is an important step whether you are thinking about buying the apparatus and even more important when implementing the service to your current set-up. It is important to note, that the compatibility with phones and the ability to communicate over VoIP is also an issue with cloud-based hosted business service.

Below, you will find a table comparing business VoIP phones to traditional office phone service:

In order to operate, the VoIP system needs a compatible device, i.e., the VoIP handset, which is specially designed for this type of system. The VoIP phone is different from other phone sets since it translates the placed call into a digital format, which can be sent over the Internet and translate a traditional phone format for incoming calls.

The advantage of this type of phone is that it shares a network with a computer, doesn’t require any additional units and uses only Internet connection. In order to work, the VoIP uses control protocols such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The conventional VoIP phone set includes:

Some models of phones enable the exchange of not only voice data but also multimedia. VoIP phones don’t have to be a big investment, it is also possible for companies to ‘transform’ a traditional phone set into a VoIP one by using an analogue telephone adapter.  There are many VoIP providers on the market and the average price of a single phone set is around £60.

While there numerous providers in the country, Market Inspector has found Nextiva, RingCentral, and Vonage to be the highest rated VoIP service providers in the United Kingdom. Nextiva is one of the most widely used provider, RingCentral prides themselves in their annual downtime of only 5 minutes, while Vonage boasts the most features.

If you are interested in investing in a VoIP Phone for your business, then simply fill in the contact form above and we will help in choosing the best service by providing you with up to four quotes of trusted suppliers in the UK! This service is completely free and non-binding.