There are dozens of carrier providers in the country, but you need to understand how they work, and which one would suit your company best. A carrier provider will give you the telephone services you need to improve your unified communications structure.
A carrier is an owner of a cable or wireless facility, which is used to supply ‘carriage’ services like telephony or internet services to the public. They are also called local exchange carriers or just local telephone companies. These local exchange carriers carry telephone calls and other communication services that use telephone lines.
-
There are two different kinds of carriers—the long distance carrier and the local telephone service provider. Other kinds of carrier do exist, but they are known as business phone service providers.
-
Some carrier providers are more advanced than others. They should offer you dozens of features, like auto-attendants, network monitoring, call park and anonymous call rejection.
-
Some telephone companies may try to upsell their non-Internet based technology, because it makes them more money. You need to understand that it is important your business has digital access, and can work with different media online.
-
Sometimes all you need is a computer, some software, speakers and a headset. Anything else that is recommended to you could be excess. You will need a stable Internet connection, or a business telephone system that works in conjunction with the Internet.
-
You will have a choice of hardware and software, always go with the package that best suits your needs, not the one that the sales person suggests. Review all of your options before choosing the unified communications structure you need.
-
A lot of small independent ‘companies’ have sprung up offering business telephone services. This is because VoIP allows anyone to be an Internet Telephone Service Provider. Never use these small companies, as their servers are unreliable and inefficient.
-
Chat with your provider about porting and moving your phone number if you need to. This is never a quick thing to do, so it will tell you a lot about that provider.
-
You get what you pay for when you choose a telephone provider. If you go with a small company, expect erratic services and the possibility of losing all your business phone numbers. Bigger is better in this niche, and so is reputation.