The release of a new iOS app from Facebook which uses voice calling and messaging has brought the issue of free VoIP services back to the attention of small business owners looking to reduce their telecoms bills. Although Facebook’s offering nothing particularly ground-breaking, (Skype and Google Talk have been doing something similar for many years), it does once again demonstrate the maturity of VoIP as a communications technology.
The drawbacks of “free” services
As useful as Skype and Facebook voice apps may be, they still attract an additional cost when calling landlines or non-service users. Similarly, Skype is primarily aimed at personal use, attracting no kind of service or quality guarantee.
This means that although your calls may be cheaper, outages or poor call quality could end up damaging your business relationships and reputation. You may also find that calling landlines from within your consumer VoIP app cost considerably more than expected or requires significant pre-payment.
A proper alternative
For businesses who would like the advantages of a non-geographic phone system which offers significant cost-savings over traditional landlines, and service quality guarantees, a hosted VoIP system may be the correct solution. Calls tend to be cheaper than through established landline providers, are chargeable in arrears (you only pay for what you use) and are all protected by service level guarantees.
To find out more about hosted VoIP and the benefits not available through free alternatives, give the Broadband Cloud Solutions team a call today on 0141 585 6363.
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