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Indy Business: New Year, New Phones?

We fully admit that this might be a boring resolution for the new year, especially when compared to things like reshaping your body, working toward your dream, or cutting out a particularly bad habit. But then again, us phone service types are usually more reliable than we are exciting, so don’t expect too much!

From our point of view, after you have recovered from all the holiday parties or family gatherings, we think it is the perfect time to look into some new phone service Indianapolis. And here’s why:

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SAVE MONEY

With the kinds of discounts we can provide for businesses with multiple phone lines, it’s definitely worth looking into our business phone service prices to see if you can save. For people with enough phone lines, we can get the cost per line under $14! I doubt you’ll find a better price in Indy, but please let us know if you do. We’d love some healthy competition.

And of course that price includes all features and adapters, plus we don’t do long-term contracts or introductory pricing. Your rates will not go up. Guaranteed.

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THE PERFECT OFFICE PHONES

You probably won’t have to upgrade your phones when you switch; but if you do, rest assured that you can choose from a wide range of fully-featured office phones. Typically, we upgrade people to a Grandstream GXP2130, but you can choose just about any SIP office phone to go with our service. The Grandstream line of phones has all the modern features you expect; they’re constructed from quality materials; and they’re still under $80. But again, please choose whichever phone fits you best!

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Whatever resolution you’ve chosen for the year, we wish you all the best in achieving it. And if you happen to be a practical business-type person like we are, we hope you’ll contact us this year to see if we can save you money while upgrading your service.

Happy New Year, Indy!

Indy Business: Should I Bundle?

People often ask us whether they should bundle their phone service, internet, and/or TV service, so we thought we’d write a little bit about how to decide if it will be best in the long run. Sometimes, bundling can save you money and give you better options, but it can also be a little bit like putting all your eggs in one basket.

Here are some things to consider when you are deciding whether to combine your services with one company.

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LONG-TERM COSTS

The long-term costs of bundling are better than they used to be. It’s pretty rare to be locked into a two-year contract with only one year of savings nowadays, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you will save money over the life of your service.

For example: if someone is paying $60 for internet service and $70 for a couple business phone lines with the same company, we can often save them money every month. Unbundling phone and internet service might make the internet costs go up, but the savings that a dedicated VoIP phone service provider can offer usually makes up for that and then some.

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RELIABILITY

Of course, the most reliable, die-hard phone service is still an analog landline; but that is also the most expensive. For this post, we want to focus on phone service that comes bundled from an internet service provider. We have noticed that ISP’s typically behave as if their internet service (and therefore their phone service) will never be knocked offline, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Internet service is not guaranteed, and VoIP providers like us have learned to plan around those failures.

When we take on a new customer, we often walk them through phone service options they have never considered, including what to do when their internet service inevitable goes offline. When that happens, we want the phones to keep ringing, even if that means we have to start dialing cell phones or fax lines. Your internet service provider isn’t going to think about this, because they don’t like to admit their service isn’t 100% reliable!

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STILL UNSURE?

If this post hasn’t completely answered your questions, feel free to contact us anytime. We consult with business and residential customers regularly, and we’re always happy to help!

Indy Business: Best Internet in Indy

Indy Business: Best Business Internet in Indianapolis

One of the questions we get asked most is: “Who is the best internet service provider in Indianapolis?” Or sometimes business owners ask us: “Which internet service should I be using?” The answer to these questions depends on the business size, its location, and the complexity of their technology; but we can start out with an easy general statement.

Local is better.

If you happen to be in a section of Indianapolis where there is a local fiber internet provider, we recommend going with them. Anything you do to avoid the big cable and phone companies is good for you, good for competition, and ultimately good for Indy.

A great example of a local fiber internet company is Metronet. Great service, good prices, and they’re local. Win, win, win.

My choices are Big Company A or Big Company B.

For the rest of us, business internet service is going to come from a cable or phone company. When those are the only choices, we almost always recommend going with cable internet. The customer service isn’t any better than the phone companies in our experience, but you usually get more internet service for the same price.

The actual name of the cable company doesn’t matter much either. Cable companies choose not to compete with each other so they can keep charging monopoly prices. Whoever the cable provider is in your area, they’re likely the only one, and they’re likely to stay that way.

Should I bundle?

If you don’t have any other option, then sure, go for the bundle. But you almost always have other options! Even with local fiber companies, bundling may cost you more than going with a company that specializes in business phone service. Go with services where the company has to work to keep your business, not where you’re locked into a bundle.

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We help businesses navigate tech questions every day, and we can help you too!

Indy Business: Cheaper Home Phone?

Indy Business: Why is Home Phone Service Cheaper?

No matter who you buy phone service from, you’ll likely notice that home or residential service costs less than business phone service. Oddly enough, the reasoning for the price difference has probably swung back around with the rise of voice-over IP (VoIP) phone service. In this post, we’ll learn why that is!

It’s all in the minutes.

The biggest reason business phone service costs more than residential is because, on average, a home user is on the phone less. Perhaps before VoIP service came about, it didn’t matter whether a phone line was in use for five minutes or five hours; but even when phone service is sold as unlimited, the provider is paying more every time the customer is on the phone. To make up for the possibility of a business being on the phone constantly, the price has to be high enough to ensure no money is lost.

Also, the increased cost does not only come from connecting the call to the wider phone network. There are unlimited channels for high-usage phone numbers, but VoIP also requires computing power and bandwidth. Both of those increase when calls are in progress.

One line, multiple people.

Now you might be wondering why, for example, a single home phone line and a single business line do not cost the same. One line is one line, right? Couldn’t a home phone be used more than a business phone?

Of course it is possible for a home phone to be used more often than a business phone, but businesses typically have more people relying on that phone line. A business with only one employee still has multiple customers. Those customers will need to call or be called, and that means the phone at the business is probably used more.

The exception.

Not every phone service provider does this; but for large businesses or Indianapolis enterprises, the per-line cost could be cheaper than home phone service. We offer huge discounts as the number of lines increase, which can massively decrease the price of phone service for businesses.

To find out just how affordable we can be, feel free to contact us or give us a call. Thanks, and have a great day!

Indy Business: Do I Need a Fax Line?

Maybe you’re starting a new business in Indy, or upgrading to a dedicated office building. You’re checking out phone service providers and internet providers. Suddenly you wonder if you need a fax line in Indianapolis in 2018. The answer to that question depends on your business and a few other considerations, so let’s dig in.

Do you need a landline?

Unfortunately, sometimes you just need a landline in a business. Perhaps you have a fire alarm or security system that needs a dedicated line. Or maybe your credit card reader is too old to use the internet. If for some reason you are going to need a landline anyway, then having it double as a fax line could save you money in the long run.

Also, you probably won’t ever need two dedicated lines, since most of the time your fax line is sitting unused. Just try not to fax anything if your office catches on fire!

Will you fax from a single location?

You may only need to fax from the office and only need to receive faxes during business hours, but most businesses have moved beyond that. If you think you’ll ever need to fax from another location or another device, or if you’d like to know when a fax arrives and no one is there to see it, then you should consider vFax as an alternative.

vFax is short for virtual faxing, and with it you can send and receive faxes from any location and any device. It is cheaper than a dedicated fax line and can be used by multiple people at once, so there’s no waiting. For most businesses, it’s a far better option.

Still not sure?

No worries. If you can’t decide if you need a dedicated fax line, feel free to contact us to learn more and have your questions answered. We look forward to hearing from you!

icon-calendar Indy Business: New Year, New Phones?

icon-money Indy Business: Should I Bundle?

icon-exchange Indy Business: Best Business Internet in Indianapolis

icon-home Indy Business: Why is Home Phone Service Cheaper?

icon-print Indy Business: Do I Need a Fax Line?

Indy Business: New Year, New Phones?

Indy Business: Should I Bundle?

Indy Business: Best Business Internet in Indianapolis

Indy Business: Why is Home Phone Service Cheaper?

Indy Business: Do I Need a Fax Line?