VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. IP is the protocol all traffic on the internet uses, as well as almost all business and home networks, and is a great alternative to fixed line telephone systems in most cases.

Most people now have an Internet connection good enough to support VOIP, which is just as well because the old analogue (PSTN) phone system provided by BT (and it’s wholesalers) is due to be switched off across the country in 2025 – earlier in some places !

The VOIP system is VERY flexible and offers a number of advantages over traditional fixed telephone lines:

• Much lower line rental charges.
• No phone system box to purchase, though for very large systems your own. VOIP control box would be recommended – this is simply a PC rather than an expensive phone system unit.
• You only need to purchase the required number of handsets.
• Many types of telephone hardware can be supplied but broadly they come in two families – standard phones and more advanced models.
• Wired phones connect directly into your existing network infrastructure.
• Cordless phones (which utilise either DECT or WiFi connections) are available too.
• Call charges to all international destinations are substantially lower than fixed line phones, sometimes by as much as 95%. For instance, calls to the USA, Canada, Europe, China, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand will normally be between 0.95p and 2p per minute at all times of the day.
• Call charges to UK Mobiles and landlines are free as part of our line rental packages.
• Desk phones can be picked up and connected to a different internet connection and will still operate. This means you can take your phone to a different office, to home, or even on holiday and it will work fine. Imagine being on holiday in Spain and ringing your friends from your UK landline number – also incoming calls will arrive too and beat roaming charges once and for all!
• Full answerphone facilities provided, and any messages left for you will be emailed to your email account as a sound file – this can be played on your PC or hand-held device.
• Full auto-attendant features available.
• You can transfer your existing numbers into the system, or have new numbers for ANY dialling codes in the country – so virtual offices can be created all from one office.
• Multi-office systems can have calls diverted to different offices during busy periods.
• All calls between handsets are free – including between offices.
• Fax numbers can be imported too – you can then have your incoming faxes turned into email via PDF.
• New numbers and lines can be added to the system as your company grows, with only a small install charge compared to typically £100+ per line for fixed line telephony.