The right phone service provider can help make your Bowling Green, MO business a great success. Most businesses, both small and large, have an online presence, but the telephone is still the first way that customers get in touch with a company they would like to do business with. Because of this, the right phone service is essential for anyone who owns or operates a business, so you will want to make sure you find a phone service provider that gives you the service that you need. The company you choose should be both affordable and reliable and able to provide you with different features. Before you make your final decision as to who you want to use, evaluate the service types available in your area. You'll find that analog service and VoIP service are the two types that are the main ones near you. Each one has different features and qualities, so it is important to compare the two before you decide which one is right for your business and for your budget.
| 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 |
Voice over Internet Protocol is a newer phone service type that gives users an alternative to putting in a traditional analog phone line. VoIP has been around for about ten years now but has just recently become more mainstream. Many businesses are finding that letting go of their traditional service and choosing VoIP is really helping their business communication needs. Using VoIP service gives you quality calls just like the traditional phone lines of old, but the calls are transferred through the Internet. Therefore, you must be sure that you have a strong Internet connection before choosing this type of phone service. If you are not sure if your current connection will support VoIP, use the Wirefly Internet Speed Test to check.
The biggest difference found between PSTN and VoIP is the way that calls are carried. With PSTN service, all calls are carried through an analog signal. VoIP uses the Internet and digitizes the calls you make and receive. A perk of this service is that sending your calls through the Internet is much less expensive than the traditional way, so making and receiving calls costs a whole lot less. This is a great choice for any business that deals with a lot of international calls because the rates are much lower. You'll also find packages that allow you to make unlimited calls to certain areas for one low price, eliminating the need to worry about per minute rates.
VoIP service in Bowling Green, MO will come with any type of calling feature that you could need for your business. These will include caller ID, multiple extensions, ring groups and call forwarding. You'll also have remote access to your voicemail, voicemail to email and fax to email service.
VoIP providers in the Bowling Green, MO area provide plans that are meant for small and large businesses alike. You may be a small company that needs just five lines or a large corporation who will require hundreds of extensions for your employees. Either way, there will be a VoIP service that can meet your business needs.
In Bowling Green, MO, VoIP has recently become very popular, as more and more business owners are realizing the benefits to this type of service after comparing it to traditional analog services. This means there are many providers that sell VoIP packages and who will compete for your business. This may seem confusing at first, but it is actually something you can use to your advantage, as you won't have to settle for just one company.
To begin, decide what features you absolutely have to have for your business. This may depend on how much you can spend for your phone service; if you think you will be expanding in the near future you will want to have the right add-ons. You'll definitely want to include call waiting and caller ID on your list, as these are basic features most companies need to use.
Look up the different offers from various VoIP phone service providers in Bowling Green, MO. See what features they offer, how much they cost, and how well their company is doing. Consider their reputation before you make a decision. Having a working phone system in place is extremely important for your company, so you will always want a provider that has a good reputation and provides excellent customer service.
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 Bowling Green, MO 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.
A PBX is a private branch exchange which will route calls within an office and is what most Bowling Green, MO businesses use. When you have a business phone service, the PBX is what allows the caller to use different features, such as voicemail, call waiting, multiple extensions, conference calls and more.
The PBX to a traditional phone system may be found either at a remote location or at the caller's actual premises. But it doesn't matter where it is at, as using an analog PBX can be very expensive. The set-up alone can be very expensive, as a PBX requires different varieties of hardware that are the customer's responsibility to pay. Many times, the initial investment runs around $1,000 to start. This won't include installation of the hardware, or follow-up maintenance. While some companies have information technology employees who can maintain this equipment, many do not. The charge for fixing and maintain your PBX system can run anywhere from $100 an hour and up.
It's also important to remember that if you use a PBX in your Bowling Green, MO business, you will be responsible for the cost of upgrading the system and/or expanding it if need be. This can cost a lot of money to do. Plus, a lot of PBX systems only support a few lines, so the price for having to accommodate your growing business with more lines will be your responsibility.
Additionally, a PBX may experience breakdowns in the future, as do many electronic hardware products. This could cost you a good bit in repair and hardware replacement costs if something happens to your PBX. If the system becomes obsolete in a few years, you will be responsible for that, as well.
