How to choose a VoIP provider?

Are you interested in innovative solutions? Do you want to use VoIP technology and do not worry about phone bills? It’s time to think about how to choose a VoIP provider and what to pay attention to when deciding on a particular provider.

VoIP service provider

VoIP technology allows you to communicate with other users (making voice calls, video or data transfer) via the Internet: a web browser or a desktop or mobile application. Internet telephony is based on the IP protocol.
In order to use the benefits of VoIP communication, we must select a specific service provider and set up a customer account with him. Looking through the offers of various service providers who attract us with attractive services, we should carefully review the offer and choose the best one.

How to choose the best operator?

Typically, VoIP operators do not require to sign a contract, all you have to do is go to the supplier’s website and fill out the appropriate online registration form. Thanks to this, we have the ability to efficiently test the services and change the supplier if it does not meet our expectations. Here, it is worth noting that not every VoIP provider offers the possibility to set up and test the account in a few clicks – sometimes it is a quite complex process which consists of verification and configuration of the proper environment.

The first thing that should draw our attention is the cost of calls. Typically, operators use different prices for foreign calls, others for connections to mobile or landline networks. Lower costs of international calls will not satisfy us if we usually call local mobile phone numbers. Also important are the fixed fees that we may incur, e.g. cost per user or public landline number. What is also important is the method of providing an account to the operator, what kind of payment we will have to make, whether it will be convenient for us.

For a comfortable use of VoIP technology, an intuitive web panel offered by a given service distributor also plays a very important role. A simple and intuitive web application that allows you to manage and configure your account and make calls. Quick access to the interface, where we can check our billing, top up the account by transfer or payment by credit card, will be a great benefit for us. In addition, some providers also offer a desktop application (the so-called Softphone) and a mobile application for the convenience of their customers, which allow the use of the VoIP platform without the need of having a physical IP phone.

Before choosing a VoIP provider, it is worth asking if we will be able to run at least two or more numbers and transfer unused funds to the accounts we have available.

VoIP for business

In the case of using VoIP in companies, one should find a service provider that will provide us with a customized internet panel for business connections – this panel usually offers additional functionalities such as: receptionist console or LIVE monitoring of all connections for users, queues or ring groups. You should carefully consider the price offer and estimate the probable costs associated with the application of VoIP in your company.

It is also worth noting ​​the tariff plans that are proposed by the suppliers, what are the cost of international calls, how are the messages encrypted? Sometimes the suppliers are able to offer special discounts for larger customers who for example, make large numbers of calls, need many numbers or users. The guarantee of a good cooperation is, above all, the available support, which will be able to help us in configuration, especially at the beginning. In addition, the reputation of the supplier is also important, it helps to find out how many companies use the services of a given service provider, recommendations of other clients or achievements in the industry.

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