Owning a business in Lakeside, CA means having to install a telephone service provider at one point or another. Calls from customers and vendors are still the number one way that the public will get in touch with you. The most reliable type of phone service is important to have for your business. You'll want to choose a company that offers dependable service for an affordable price. Customer service is also something you should factor into your consideration. So before you make the decision of what phone company to choose from, evaluate the various providers and everything they have to offer. You'll have the choice of either a VoIP phone service or the more traditional analog telephone service. You should understand exactly what the differences are between the two before you make your choice by comparing and taking into account the different rates and features. Decide which features and price range will work well for your business.
| 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 |
_2.png&contenttype=png "Verizon logo") | Get 99.99% network reliability with Fios.
* Per month. Plus taxes, fees and equipment charges. | $69.00* | Details  11 Reviews |
The newest innovation in phone service is Voice Over Internet Protocol, commonly referred to as VoIP. VoIP provides Lakeside, CA area business customers with a quality alternative to old-fashioned analog phone lines. Since being introduced a little more than a decade ago, VoIP has become more mainstream, with more business owners choosing to adopt this style of phone service in favor of traditional PSTN service. VoIP is also the preferred business phone system choice for new companies, especially smaller businesses. Even though phone calls are transported over the Internet, users report that call quality with a VoIP service sounds the same as when using a traditional phone line. Maintaining a reliable call quality for VoIP, however, is dependent upon having a quality business Internet connection. The Wirefly Internet Speed Test can prove useful to check if your current Internet connection will supports VoIP telephone service.
How the phone calls are carried is the main difference between PSTN and VoIP service. PSTN service carries calls over an analog signal. VoIP calls are digitized and transmitted through your Internet connection. VoIP service is a lot more economical for most businesses who send data, with the cost of making and receiving calls considerably less than using a traditional phone network. This is important if your business makes and receives a large volume of long distance as well as international calls. Determine whether or not the provider you are considering offers a flat rate package allowing for an unlimited amount of calls to certain destinations rather than charging for calls by the minute.
You can order a Lakeside, CA business VoIP service with virtually any calling feature that benefits your business. These include multiple extensions, voicemail with remote access, caller ID, ring groups, fax to email, call forwarding and voicemail to email.
Most business VoIP providers serving the Lakeside, CA business community offer a variety of plans combining features that suit the needs of businesses depending upon their size. You may be a small start-up venture needing just half a dozen lines, or the national headquarters for a large corporation with thousands of extensions. In either case, or anywhere in-between, there is a VoIP service to meet your needs and your budget.
You'll find that there are many service providers who will try and get you to hire their business in Lakeside, CA. Use the competition you will find to your advantage while you compare and contrast their different plans and rates. Don't settle for the first company that comes your way, and don't let any sales people push you into choosing their plan before you understand what you are getting into.
You'll always want to make a list of the services you absolutely have to have for your company. You may need call forwarding because you close certain days and hours and need to get your calls right away. You could need multiple lines for your larger company or just one for your small store.
Then, look up different offers from business VoIP providers. Check out what type of features they provide and how much they are. You should also double-check their reputation before choosing a company. If they have poor customer service, this isn't a good sign. Remember, your customers need to get ahold of you, so a working phone line is an essential part of owning a business. If a company has too many complaints against them, you may consider passing them by, no matter how cheap they are.
As stated before, PSTN has been around for years and is what many people think of when they wish to choose a company. PSTN, or public switched telephone network, was the first kind of phone service ever available. It is used all over the United States and runs over cables, telephone lines and satellites, as well as mobile networks. You may think this type of service would be less expensive since it has been around longer, but this isn't the case.
Since the infrastructure that PSTN runs on is older, it requires ongoing care and maintenance to keep it running. This causes the service charge to use it to cost more for business owners. Plus, the service is analog, making it more difficult to send data further distances. When you make a long distance telephone call in Lakeside, CA over PSTN, the data goes through numerous locations and stops along the way. Since the data goes through many different companies, the charge is more. The analog connection is the last step between the local office and the customer, known as the “last mile'. This is part of the reason the price is higher.
Most Lakeside, CA businesses use a PBX, or private branch exchange, to route the calls that go through their office. A PBX system allows different calling features to function correctly, such as multiple extensions, call forwarding, voicemail and more. It is an important part of the phone system.
A traditional PSTN phone system can utilize the PBX either from the user's premises or from a remote location. But an analog PBX has a big drawback, and that is the expense. When you set up a complete business phone system that includes a PBX, you will need various types of hardware that you will be required to purchase to get started. This expense falls on the business owner and the initial investment can be anywhere from $1,000 and up. Other factors, such as installation and configuration, are also not included in the initial price. Any maintenance that must be done on the PBX will also be the business owner's responsibility. Hiring a professional to come out to look at any problems can cost at least $100 an hour, if not more.
A traditional PBX may also breakdown or parts of it can become obsolete, again a problem that can be very costly to fix. Many of these systems do not support more than a few lines at a time, so upgrading to more if your business grows will add on the expense of having to purchase additional hardware. You'll get stuck paying for costly repairs for years to come if you choose this type of phone system for your business.
