Using a hosted private branch exchange (PBX) provider for your business voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service can save you money on your phone bills without sacrificing quality. VoIP for business can enable advanced technical capabilities, remote and collaboration tools, and advanced mobility.
But if you’re not careful, it can be easy to get ripped off by
hosted PBX business phone service providers.
Here are some of the top ways businesses report that they are getting less-than-expected levels of service.
Bandwidth and Latency
When it comes to a business internet service, bandwidth and latency are critical factors to consider. Bandwidth represents the amount of data you can push through your internet connection in a fixed period. With VoIP and a hosted PBX, latency describes the length of time it takes for a voice packet to get transmitted, and for the person on the other end to receive it.
If your
VoIP service provider does not allocate enough bandwidth to your service or has high latency, your calls can be choppy or be subject to lag times. That will not make a good impression on customers.
Budget VoIP service providers will offer “a better deal” but fail to deliver the high bandwidth and low latency that businesses need.
Shared Bandwidth
Some VoIP service providers will save money by providing shared bandwidth instead of dedicated bandwidth. Instead of installing a dedicated fiber line and routing your calls and data through fiber networks, these providers will connect businesses to shared lines with other businesses and even residential homes.
This shared situation means that your business operations can be negatively impacted by high traffic demand from others sharing the line. Such sharing is a common practice among cable companies that offer internet access, residential internet providers and even some national companies.
VoIP for business is only as good as the infrastructure on which the provider has built its network. Make sure that your business secures a dedicated connection so that your calls are clear and reliable.
Unreliable Service
Pay careful attention to the service level agreement (SLA) that hosted PBX providers offer. The agreement should include a guaranteed uptime. If the SLA does not provide a minimum of 99.999% uptime, your business is not getting the level of service it deserves. While no internet service provider can guarantee 100% uptime, top-quality providers can get very close. 99.999% means downtime of less than 6 minutes a year.
While business internet has become much more reliable, not every VoIP service provider is the same. Businesses that suffer from frequently dropped calls, voice quality issues or frequent outages should question the quality of their service. Some VoIP service providers use less reliable wholesale carriers to carry their traffic.
Poor Service Response
If businesses are using a traditional phone service, a residential internet provider or cable company internet, service can be challenging. There will likely be fees involved in any changes or service problems. Problems could take days or even weeks to resolve. National VoIP service providers usually have service hubs in remote locations, which makes it even more difficult to get service quickly when there is an issue.
If you search for complaints about national VoIP providers, it is not uncommon to see complaints about offshore support teams with poor communication skills, a general inability to resolve issues and extremely slow response times.
Hidden Fees and Charges
Look out for bait-and-switch tactics from some VoIP service providers. After signing a contract, many businesses discover dozens of hidden charges, such as activation fees, service fees or equipment fees that weren’t itemized upfront.
Take Control of Communication Needs
Take control of your communication needs to make sure that your VoIP service provider delivers the level of service your business demands.
LOGIX is Different and Significantly Better
Don’t get ripped off with less than excellent business phone service.
Your business needs high bandwidth, low latency, guaranteed uptime and easy customer service. LOGIX offers lightning-fast bandwidth with symmetrical speeds delivered through a fully dedicated fiber network. LOGIX’s fiber network is
carrier Ethernet-certified by the Metro Ethernet Forum.
LOGIX offers several high-speed fiber options for businesses, with flexibility and scalability as business needs evolve. LOGIX SLAs guarantee 99.999% uptime in writing.
With LOGIX, there are no hidden fees or charges. You will get a quote detailing every charge upfront. As a local Texas company, LOGIX has dedicated quality assurance teams monitoring network traffic 24/7 year-round and Texas-based support teams in case of any problems.
LOGIX offers a built-for-business fiber network that delivers the most reliable experience available, including trusted VoIP business phone solutions.
Request a quote from the hosted PBX and VoIP experts at LOGIX today and experience the quality difference.