Any recommendations for VoIP - working from home and the office

So, one thing that has come out of quarantine is to get me to consider VoIP again. I have ruled it out in the past because of the voice quality but there's not getting away from the flexibility it offers.

We are currently working from home with DDI numbers forwarding to our mobiles. If someone calls on the main number we take a message and then email the staff member concerned and ask them to ring back.

We will all be back in the office in the coming weeks and I now want to look at an alternative to the iSDN 30 that we have currently.

Some people may work from the office with occasional time at home. I am often out on the road so want calls on my mobile. And from next year I will spend a good part of the year working from a holiday home.

I saw an ad for https://www.hihi.co.uk and it got me thinking. (I don't like the fact they're not open with their pricing though) but I liked the idea i could have a "linked" phone in my office and my overseas home. Able to transfer and receive calls from the office.

Can anyone share their experiences and what they have implemented please?

 

Vice quality should be as good as a standard phone line - even BT are going down that way rather than having individual lines

 

You'll get 100 different replies, most either trying to sell you a service or getting affiliate payments from recommending one. https://www.ttnc.co.uk/ offers fair priced plans, no high monthly payments, lots of optional bolt ons if you are so inclined plus their site has a really simple UI. No complaints from me when I started with them about 4 years ago when I needed a new business phone.

You'll be able to use a laptop, mobile phone or VoIP phone to access their service. Completely open and easy to understand pricing too..

 

Another vote for ttnc, used them for years, for desk phone and mobile. Work well, good quality, no issues or downtime so far.

 

We use Voipfone.

All their prices are visible on their website. No issues here, and currently helping our neighnour switch from BT's cloud service to them.

 

We use Vonage
I have two phones in the office but the app on my phone .
Recently the office is has been unattended through the crisis as I have been covering jobs on the road
I love the fact that I can divert the landline calls to my mobile but also phone out from my mobile on the office number as I don't give out my mobile

 

Not without QoS

 

Thanks, are they special phones to plug into your router or does it just use your PC/Device?

 

thanks for the replies. Just to clarify, I want a physical system phone on my desk in the office and at my overeas home. I am happy to use my mobile as a soft phone when I'm travelling. But i want the simple operation of a system phone to transfer calls, see which of my colleagues is free, normal system features..

thanks again

 

1 viop box goes into the router and connects wirelessly to the office phones
This may have improved a bit now as my system still straddles a few upgrades that I did not involve myself in
The Vonage system will do all you want it to do and you can make all the changes from the App

 

If you get a business line from BT today it will be a VOIP phone unless you really insist otherwise. Even then, I believe, that won't be option in the next year or so.

 

Yes this is pretty standard stuff, A basic business desk voip phone like a yealink or cisco is about £70 for the unit.

Personally I have been using Voipfone for many years and what I can say is their help is very good and their costs competitive.

 

We use voipfone. The one thing I love about voipfone is that they have an app called GeoDivert. It recognises if you’re away from your physical office and automatically diverts calls to your mobile. They are really well priced too. We have three phone numbers, 3 extensions and call barring. We pay £15.60 a month

 

I actually finished writing an article on how to choose a new phone system! It has 7 steps and is an approx 15 minutes read. Would you like me to share it with you?

Might help you ask the right questions when speaking to potential vendors ☺️

Also, what country is your overseas office based in?

 

Completely up to you, I mainly use a VoIP deskphone similar to this which has been thoroughly brilliant. Rather than plugging into a phone line it just plugs into your router.

I also connected using a softphone using a free opensource app on my phone for when I am away. Barely more complex than setting up an email address and password.

Then finally if you just want a really simple experience (like scan a QR code and off you go) then they have a simple app you can install on iOS or Android which is explained here.

 

If you're looking for a VoIP phone system, choosing one that's not specifically tied into a device can have its benefits. For example colleagues working in a warehouse may prefer the ease of cordless DECT style phones, whereas the reception team may require a 12 line desk phone.

We don't tend to lock customers into specific devices, so the flexibility is there to choose the right VoIP phones to match your needs, and use smartphones/laptops if preferred too. A VoIP phone can be pre-configured as well, so you just need to plug it into your router and go.

If you're concerned about call quality and features on offer, I would recommend possibly taking out a free trial initially, just so you can compare and contrast call quality prior to purchasing any extra hardware.

 

The company I work for has had the same old, tired phone system for the last 10 years.

We upgraded to HiHi last summer. It does exactly what it says on the tin really. Pick up phone, dial number, talk. We can upload our address book to the system see we can see who is calling in if they are apart of the address book already. If it's a new number/business then it's quick and easy to get that name and number uploaded and saved etc.
We upgraded mainly in order to get some phone and mobile data in order to help analyse sales teams and see who is talking to us from other organisations the most. They do tie you straight in with a 7 year contract, I think, there is a break clause in there somewhere too.

 

This sounds like a throwback to 80's photocopier sales people... I would be very suspicious of any company, aside from mortgage providers, who try and sign me up to 7 years...

 

We made the switch quite recently and went with Bonline.

Few teething issues at first (we bought our own kit, which they then had to reconfigure for their servers) but the level of support is great. They're based in South Africa but their support team were in touch around the clock over the phone, which was helpful.

N.B. This is my first post but I'm not affiliated with them in anyway. Dipped in and out of here a few times and not been able to reply to much as the threads often seem to be closed by the time I see them.

 

You might want to double check this with 4com. We've had a few clients come over from them, because if you read the fine print in your contract you'll find that you would be paying 4-5 times as much, after your first 2 years (with no break clause). Have a look on trustpilot at 4com's reviews, and you'll see a load of angry customers, some who have even started court proceedings with them.