VoIP for business FAQs

What is VoIP, how does it work?

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology that helps in the delivery of communication over the internet. This works by coding the voice signal from an ordinary phone into a digital signal, which is transmitted over the Internet and converted back into voice signal. Software under this technology allows the users to communicate anywhere in the world and gain access to features with that aren’t available with traditional phone systems. Using Internet telephony, you can call anyone, including the users of traditional landline or mobile phones.

What is the difference between hosted and on-premise VoIP?

Organisations using a cloud-hosted VoIP system do not need to install and maintain any special on-site hardware, only a broadband connection is required. Cloud easily allows adding new phone extensions whenever it is required through the online management portal. You can quickly add users, delete users, enable additional features––all without additional support or staff. It is simple and intuitive; users can manage their own features right from their computers. However, sometimes organisations opt for an on – premise system for compliance purposes.

What are the benefits of switching to VoIP for SMEs and start-ups?

VoIP has multiple benefits over the traditional phones, all for significantly lower costs making it the go-to option for small businesses.
-Cost efficiency, one network to manage for both voice and data instead of two; no physical space needed – a cloud phone system does not require any equipment; 
-Employees have more ways to stay connected (whenever they are) and customers to reach them which greatly enables remote working;
-Calls can be made and received from almost any device (desktop, tablet and mobile);
-Control of your system, easy make moves, changes and update with new features;
-VoIP enables scaling alongside with the growth of your business.
-Advanced and latest phone features. For example, landline to mobile forwarding & mobile to landline forwarding gives you the opportunity to use UK local numbers for advertising without being tied to a physical location, perfect for sole traders and small businesses.

What are Virtual Numbers and why my business may need one?

A Virtual Number uses VoIP technology, allowing calls from any location to be directed to your Desk Phone or Mobile. A Virtual Number can be chosen from a variety of numbers.

Virtual phone numbers will help your business to establish a presence in areas where it is not physically located (any UK town or city). For example, it enables you to have a telephone number with a London area code whilst your office is in Sheffield!
Benefits of having a number with a local area code:
– More business from customers who would like to deal with a local company over a national company;
– Better professional appearance by utilising a Virtual Number on your website, business cards and social media pages instead of using a mobile number.
Businesses operating throughout the UK may opt for customer friendly virtual phone numbers starting from 0333/0330, calls to which are often included in landline & mobile minutes. Calls to an 0800 are free to the caller, the number owner will pay for the inbound calls.

Virtual phone numbers will give you an advanced control over service at no cost. You can log into a dedicated web portal and manage your calls in real-time 24/7, change settings, see who has called or redirect calls to a chosen device. This is including time-based routing set up to route calls to specific numbers during work hours with an option of a pre-recorded message playing outside of these hours. Voicemail-to-Email is also configurable so that any Voicemails that are left are immediately forwarded to your via e-mail.
Benefits of the online call management:
– Enabled geographic flexibility and remote working;
– Enabled call forwarding to any landline or mobile phone without revealing your personal number.

Are you able to keep your VoIP phone numbers when relocating or moving offices?

You can move location with your VoIP phone system, the technology is based on software and all you need is an Internet connection. While with traditional phone line the installer needs to reconnect your business, which may take several days. 

Can I port the company existing numbers or we will have to change them when switching to VoIP?

If we have a porting agreement in place with your current provider, we will be able to move over your business phone numbers. Our team will complete the necessary porting documentation and manage the switch through to completion.

Why VoIP is cheaper compared to traditional phone service?

With businesses going global, landline systems have become expensive for placing long-distance calls. The simplest explanation why is because of how the technology works. VoIP reduces infrastructure costs by eliminating the need for separate networks as operating a single voice and data network. Users can bypass the charges common in traditional systems and call at little to no financial cost on local, national, international and mobile numbers. A modern VoIP system also provides the functionality of free internal calls. If you are already paying for an Internet connection suitable for your business, this is a very cost-effective route to go with phone service.

Does VoIP have a potential for more strategic and customised uses of voice communications?

In a VoIP world, a phone system is not static, it’s a support system in continuous development, where adding new calling features, or voice applications does not involve major equipment changes. Every time a new employee arrives at a company, or another employee moves to a new office, hooking up that person’s phone service is simply a matter of changing setting. It makes it possible to add lines or launch service anywhere in the world, a company with an established VoIP infrastructure can just point and click to outfit a new office and shut it down just as easily. The option of scalability is a big plus point for VoIP.

Business communications and collaborations have been undergoing constant transformation. What are the current VoIP technology trends?

Telecommunications are one of the fastest evolving technologies, the main trends for 2020 are following:
1. Increasing use of the Unified Communications;
2. 5G network to bring higher transfer speeds for high-quality voice/data services increasing mobile broadband capacities and reducing operational cost;
3. Artificial intelligence and smart virtual assistants further transform customer experiences and bring more personalized service to clients;
4. Increasing levels of VoIP security and compliance to keep customers’ confidential information and hosted communications safe;
5. Higher levels of customization.

Why VoIP is the best choice for customer service?

The phone is no longer just a communications channel; it’s a form of customer service. Using virtual receptionist callers reach the right person at the first attempt, customised greetings and announcements can be recorded for the callers on hold (“Your Call Is Very Important to Us”, about products, services or promotions), music may be used for waiting time.

How do you compare VoIP versus landline for remote working?

For organisations using landline and operating high volume of call is likely to result in call quality problems, increased wait time, and a resulting decline in customer satisfaction. Furthermore, with VoIP, new calling features, or voice applications are e and organisations can reinforce branding and enhance customer service.

Why VoIP is the best choice to ensure your employees and customers are efficiently connected?

Today’s enterprises are expected to have a well-connected and responsive team. Office workers to be efficient need a way of receiving calls on a remote device such as a personal or company-owned smartphone or a PC or mobile VoIP client. VoIP phone systems support numerous communication feature for better management of business calls. To take a hypothetical example, a businessperson to better manage his contacts might need calls to be processed based on several criteria for example:
• If I don’t pick up my office phone, route the caller to my voicemail.
• If the caller is my boss, forward the call to my smartphone.
• If the caller is an important customer, forward the call to my assistant.

How can VoIP enhance employee’s productivity?

Using VoIP technology, the tasks are performed faster and more efficiently than with the traditional phone system. Employees can easily work from anywhere, using any device. Hand-free operations enable contemporary use of other devices, instant access to detailed client data, increasing speed and decreasing distraction. This is particularly important for smaller teams to gain maximum performance. The greatest potential of VoIP will come as companies design increasingly intelligent systems to link communications and business processes and improve the productivity.

What kind of VoIP equipment we may need?

This service can be used on several electronic devices. Equipment to make and receive calls includes hard, soft and cordless phones, conference phones and virtual switchboards, headsets and software for your devices. Entry-level desk phones are ideal for a single user looking for basic functionality, mid-range desk phones allow multiple registered users, and executive or high-end level desk phones have extended functionality and large colour screens for superior communications. DECT phones are ideal for anyone who requires a multi-line support with freedom of movement with the range extending up to 50m indoors, up to 300m outdoors. Group Conference phones deliver clear calls with the suppression of background noise and echo cancellation. We offer various VoIP equipment, it can be purchased separately or included as part of a service plan. The equipment brands we collaborate with are Snom, Grandstream, Yealink and Gigaset. We can provide a wide range of headsets compatible with the phone models of your choice.

Can RA Telecom VoIP phone systems support multiple sites?

Provided each of your sites has an internet connection, you will be able to utilise our cloud phone system across your business premises.

Are your VoIP contracts flexible?

All RA Telecom call plans and ongoing support services are on monthly rolling agreements from day one without the need for large, upfront expense. Call plans can be switched easily at any time. Find out more.

Does my company need to have a reliable and fast internet connection to operate VoIP?

With the high-speed broadband available VoIP calls are as smooth and clear like any other. It is fundamental to evaluate your organisation’s size, the pattern of internet usage including various web applications such as Cloud-based software services, storage or backup, access to remote offices or critical services, Web-based point-of-sale systems, browsing/streaming activities, WiFi and email service.

Does RA Telecom offer broadband service?

RA Telecom provides connectivity solutions based on Broadband and Ethernet technologies with a range of options. Our team will be able to advise which connectivity option is suitable for your business. Find out more.

Are the VoIP phone systems going to be a communication choice of the future?

Considering the ISDN switch off planned for 2025 all the businesses will be making the transition to VoIP withing the next 5 years. VoIP is one of the fastest growing technologies, dramatically changing the way companies do business. Constant improvement of the broadband capacity, development of conferencing technology and the pandemic is likely to accelerate the adoption of this technology. Find out more.