Are you a business owner who is in need of putting in a phone line for your office or building? If you are, you have more options than previous business owners did years ago. While we all love the use of social media to promote our business services, most customers still use the phone to call in orders, ask questions and voice concerns, to name just a few reasons. You will need a reliable, dependable phone service provider when you own or operate a business in Bozeman, MT, so understanding your choices is important before you make your final decision. You can choose between a VoIP or analog phone service when you are looking for a phone company that will work with your company. Understanding the differences and similarities first will help you make an informed and educated decision that will benefit your company for years to come.
| Provider | Plan Details | Monthly Rate* | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | RATED #1 BY INDUSTRY EXPERTS
| $19.99 | Details  142 Reviews |
 | Business phone service - no internet required
* 8.3% discount if paid for the year upfront | $17.41* | Details  7 Reviews |
 | Engineering for the Small Business
* per user per month | $9.95* | Details 1 Reviews |
 | Alliance
* 12% discount for subscribing and paying for a year upfront | $19.97* | Details 13 Reviews |
_2.png&contenttype=png "Talkroute Logo") | The phone system built to do business anywhere
* $5 per additional user | $19.00* | Details 1 Reviews |
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* Per month. Plus taxes, fees and equipment charges. | $69.00* | Details  11 Reviews |
VoIP (short for 'voice over internet protocol') is a relatively new means of communication that presents business owners in Bozeman, MT with an alternate choice to standard landlines. Though VoIP has been around for over 15 years at this point, lately its use has become much more commonplace, and an ever-growing number of corporations are switching over to it and giving the boot to their regular POTS (plain old telephone service). In addition, new businesses - particularly smaller-sized start-up companies - tend to opt for VoIP for their professional communications demands. The quality of calls made over VoIP is no different than that of an old-fashioned telephone line, even for calls that take place over the Internet. It is advisable to verify that you have a solid business network connection for dependable VoIP reception. You might want to try out Wirefly's Internet Connection Speed Test to find out if your present connection speed is compatible with VoIP.
The fundamental distinction between VoIP and POTS comes down to how phone calls are sent and received. With a POTS system, phone calls are transmitted primarily through an analog data frequency. With VoIP, every phone call is electronically encoded and sent over the web instead. Communicating over the Internet is much more cost-effective than doing it over a standard signal, enabling you to take and make calls at cheaper rates. If you place a lot of calls to overseas countries, you'll notice that VoIP carriers bill much less for international calls than regular phone service providers. Numerous companies also offer fixed rate plans that let you make limitless calls to various countries without adding on per-minute fees.
A commercial VoIP plan may include any communications function that you could ever need for your Bozeman, MT enterprise. A stockpile of unique features will be at your disposal, including multiple lines, ring groups, call waiting, caller ID, innumerable voicemail features, and much more.
Most professional VoIP companies in Bozeman, MT have a selection of plans developed to accommodate the demands of organizations of all sizes. It doesn't matter if you're a small, single-line business or a huge firm with hundreds of lines; you can always find a VoIP system that will satisfy you.
Since VoIP has become more mainstream in Bozeman, MT, there are more and more companies popping up all over that offer their services to consumers. Use this to your advantage, as each company will have different features and rates that you can choose from.
You'll want to carefully consider what you want for your business first. Think about the number of extensions you will need, the features that your company will use the most, if you plan on expanding your company any time soon and what your budget for phone service is.
From there, consider the different companies in your area that offer VoIP phone services. Look at the features they offer and make sure they have what you want. Their prices and packages will be different, so make sure you find one that best suits your needs. However, you will want to make sure the company itself is reliable. Paying for cheap VoIP phone service won't be worth it if the company you choose has terrible customer service.
Traditional analog service is known as PSTN, or public switched telephone network. This system is well over a hundred years old and was the first type of phone service available. The PSTN system is used all over the country and consists of satellites, cables and telephone lines. Our current mobile system is also part of the PSTN phone service system.
The PSTN system is actually more expensive to use in Bozeman, MT, because of the large infrastructure that needs to be constantly monitored and taken care of due to the age of the system itself. Since the PSTN uses an analog system, data being sent over a long distance can have trouble getting there.
Long distance calls made over the PSTN phone system requires the data to make a number of stops at various locations along the way through transmission. This data flows through equipment owned by a few different companies, making calls more expensive. Most parts of the infrastructure that calls are carried on have been fully digitalized, but the connection found between the local centre office and the consumer is still analog. This is known as the “last mile' and causes this type of system to cost more for consumers.
Most Bozeman, MT businesses use a private branch exchange, called a PBX, to route the numerous calls they receive. Having a business phone service in place enables the PBX to allow for the use of such important calling features beyond sending and receiving calls, such as multiple extensions, voicemail, call forwarding and conference calls.
Using a traditional PSTN phone system, the PBX either be located on the business's premises, or situated at a remote location. But no matter where the analog PBX is located, its operation can prove very expensive. Setting up a complete business phone system using a PBX requires the purchase of various types of hardware that usually means an investment of at least $1,000. Beyond that initial investment are the costs for installation, configuration and maintenance. A business owner will need to either have an in-house technical staff member handle these chores, or hire an outside professional, translating to costs of $100 an hour or more.
Know that upgrading and expanding a traditional PBX system for your Bozeman, MT business phone service needs may prove expensive as well as challenging. Many PBX systems can only support a limited number of lines. As your business grows, you will have to pay for more hardware, installation and maintenance costs when adding more extensions.
PBX systems, like other types of electronic hardware, are subject to frequent problems and breakdowns that can adversely affect your business communications, usually at the most inopportune times. Be prepared to pay for expensive repair and hardware replacement costs whenever anything goes wrong with your PBX. Any PBX system also becomes obsolete over time and needs to be updated or replaced, adding additional expenses to your business' bottom line.
