A Thorough Comparison of VoIP Providers

By Charron Conley
Updated: April 12, 2011

Choosing the right VoIP provider is key to having successful communications with customers. The industry is buzzing with VoIP service providers who all seem to have better pricing and features than their competition. Therefore, shopping around to get the best provider can be a challenge. There is almost an unlimited combination of options when it comes to service providers and equipment. No two candidates take exactly the same approach. One strategy that seems to help narrow things down is to first map out the needs of the company and then see who the closest match is.

Here are some particulars about four major provider options:

Voip.com

Voip.com is a great option for PC to PC connection. This is a PC based service or SIP that requires internet connections, speakers and microphones. Voip.com offers very competitive pricing. There are a huge amount of features, the softphone that ships with the service, a second line and voicemail for mobile phones. This is a well-respected provider and works with all company sizes.

BroadVoice

Broadvoice is an option for companies who already own hard phones and equipment. This provider lets users implement existing telephone adapters from previous systems. Broadvoice is its BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) scheme, whereby there is a small set up fee. The benefits of this provider are easy installation low monthly especially with international calling. They also offer a good call forwarding plan if there are many offsite employees. This system best for companies that do mostly long distance calling. Although, local calls can still easily be made. The service works with most SIP-proficient designs.

8x8

8x8, previously branded Packet8, is one of the most established providers in the VoIP industry. They have over 10 years of involvement, and are a publicly held company. They are geared towards small to medium sized companies and are known for their dependability. With this plan companies can have series of services, including a hosted PBX and a mobile VoIP service called Mobile Talk. Aside from the cost savings, hosted IP PBX services are also perfect for contemporary companies where many (or sometimes all) of the employees are based out of home offices or have remote work stations.

Vonage

Vonage is geared toward small and home- based businesses. The price is not at the bottom of the list, but not the highest as well. They are known for customer service. Vonage appeals to customers who would like to maintain their current number for business purposes. They provide an IP receiver instead of an ATA. They offer a considerable amount of add-ons at a very low cost, including call waiting, call hunt, conference calling, visual voice mail, weather alerts and international call block.
 

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