How to choose a Business VoIP Provider?

What is the best way to find a VoIP provider that you can afford? is the question always in our mind, when selecting VoIP provider.

I know as well as anyone this can be a very daunting task. There are a number of VoIP providers to choose from, so the task of deciding should be based on which VoIP Provider offers the most real value for your money.

5 things to consider when choosing your VoIP provider

First: Make accurate price comparisons

As with anything, you should consider price. Monthly VoIP fees for a single user can vary from $24.95 to $59.95 depending on the VoIP provider you are considering and the VoIP Features included. The lower the monthly fee, the less likely you are to get extra features and support from the VoIP Service Provider.

For instance, some of the less expensive VoIP plans may not allow you to place calls outside of their network or your minutes may be capped at a certain amount every month. If you exceed your monthly cap, your calls are metered and you will be billed on a per minute basis for calls that exceed your monthly cap . This is certainly something you want to keep in mind as you consider your options.

Is China Really Going to Crack Down on VoIP?

Last month, the Chinese Ministry of Industry issued a notice calling they will begin cracking down and ban "illegal VoIP" phone services in China. The announcement, which many believe is designed to protect the interests of State-owned telecom carriers, has, as you can imagine, caused concerns that VoIP companies such as Skype will be forced out of China.

During a recent telecom industry conference, Wen Ku, director of the Industry Ministry's Technology department said "the ministry is not against Internet-based telephone services, but only those operating illegally in the country".

He went on to state "VoIP phone service is a world trend in the telecom industry, and China is not against VoIP technology,".

An Interesting Look at Technology in 5-Years

Both Sides of the Net Neutrality Debate

CSPAN Video Explaining Net Neutrality

Moving a Hosted VoIP PBX is Not Really Moving

Moving your phone system is easier than you think.

Moving your business is a hassle.  Forget about moving stuff like furniture, cubicles and filing cabinets, you can always hire a moving company for that.  Moving your technology is the tricky part, and moving your phone system can be expensive and will most likely lead to a period where your company does not have phone service at all.

If you are like most businesses, you will probably want to take your existing phone system with you to your new office location.  This means that you will have to break the system down and reassemble it at your new location.  While your system is in transit, your company is without phone service.  You will probably try and do this over the weekend so as to not be without phone service during normal business hours (assuming normal business hours does not include evenings and weekends). 

If you are lucky and things go as planned, you can accomplish this move in a single weekend.  Unfortunately, things don’t always go as planned.  Your company could be without phone service until your old system has been reinstalled in the new location.   

Moving a Hosted PBX Costs Next to Nothing

Moving a Hosted VoIP phone system costs next to nothing. Depending on the size and complexity of your existing PBX phone system, the cost to move your system can easily run into the thousands of dollars.  At a minimum, you are looking at a couple of grand to move even a small system.

GAITHERSBURG, MD -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 11/08/10 --

BroadSoft, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSFT), the leading global provider of Internet protocol-based, or IP-based, communications services to the telecommunications industry, today announced financial results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010.

Financial Highlights For the Third Quarter of 2010

• Total revenue increased to $22.3 million; 22% growth relative to Q3 2009 and 13% growth from Q2 2010.
• License revenue increased to $12.9 million; 27% growth relative to Q3 2009 and 22% growth from Q2 2010.
• Non-GAAP diluted EPS increased to $0.08 per common share; GAAP diluted EPS increased to $0.05 per common share results for the three months ended September 30, 2010

Total revenue rose to a record $22.3 million in the third quarter of 2010, an increase of 22% compared to $18.2 million in the third quarter of 2009 and an increase of 13% compared to $19.8 million in the second quarter of 2010.

Net income for the third quarter of 2010 was $1.2 million, or $0.05 per diluted common share, compared to a net loss of $0.3 million, or $(0.06) per basic and diluted share in the third quarter of 2009. GAAP results for the third quarter of 2010 included $0.8 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense and $0.2 million of amortization expense related to acquired intangible assets.

On a non-GAAP basis, net income in the third quarter of 2010 was $2.2 million or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $0.6 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009. Non-GAAP net income for these periods excludes the impact of non-cash stock-based compensation expense and amortization expense related to acquired intangible assets.

New Net Neutrality Rules Will have a Negative Impact

The Federal Communications Commission is poised to impose new rules on the Internet using an outdated regulatory regime originally designed for the monopoly telephone system of the 1930s.

We can’t let this happen.  Call, e-mail or write your Senator and Congressman and tell them you are against the proposed regulations.

Essentially this new regulation allows government regulators and bureaucrats to direct how traffic over the internet flows and is priced, rather than allowing the market to determine what consumers want.

Karen Kerrigan, President of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council  wrote an excellent commentary piece in today’s Washington Post.  Here is a link to the article.

To learn more about AVAD Technologies Hosted VoIP system please call (800) 733-4136, or visit us on the web at AVAD Technologies

What Motivates Businesses to Move to VoIP?

Most businesses move to Voice over IP (VoIP) on the belief that VoIP technology will save money over their current phone system. In many instances, this is simply not true. 

Traditional phone companies have responded to the VoIP challenge by lowering their rates.  With this being the case, what is it that explains why so many companies are moving to VoIP?

If the benefit of moving to a VoIP phone system is limited to just the cost savings, we would not expect to see so many companies adopting VoIP technology.

What is the Real Benefit of VoIP for Businesses

The real benefit companies gain from adopting VoIP technology comes from the increase in productivity, improvement in customer satisfaction and flexibility.