VoIP phone service
RingCentral provides reliable, high-quality VoIP phone service anywhere you have internet access.
What is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol or Voice over IP. Also called IP telephony, it’s the underlying technology that lets you make phone calls using an internet connection instead of a landline.
VoIP turns audio signals into data packets so they can travel via the internet, rather than over the public switched telephone network (PSTN). There are a raft of benefits to VoIP services—which we’ll cover later—and systems based on VoIP technology are becoming increasingly popular with businesses as a result.
What is a VoIP phone system?
A VoIP phone system is a business communications solution based upon VoIP technology. At its core, a VoIP system lets businesses make and take all their outbound and incoming calls online, rather than via landlines.
VoIP phone systems, though, are increasingly a lot more than that. Take RingCentral RingEX, for example. It could be described as a VoIP phone system. However, more accurately, it’s a secure, reliable unified communications platform that eliminates the need for on-premises private branch exchange (PBX) hardware and offers far more than phone service.
With mobile apps, online meetings, and business SMS, it’s hosted business communications at its best. You can manage all of your business communications with your computer or mobile device from any location—there’s no additional hardware necessary, just an internet connection.
Best of all, RingCentral provides simplified billing, free onboarding services, and 24/7 customer support as part of your VoIP service plan.
Before we get any deeper into the benefits of these solutions, though, let’s take a look at how VoIP systems work.
How does VoIP work?
VoIP technology lets you make calls over the internet. When you make a call, the audio data is encapsulated or compressed into small data packets. These packets travel through different networks until they reach their destination (the IP phone or computer of the person being called), where the packets are “unpacked” back into audio form. This goes back and forth in real time.
One great thing about VoIP is that there’s no one way to make a call. Legacy phone systems only let you communicate from phone to phone. On the other hand, VoIP lets you call from:
- Computer to computer - Just sign up for a Voice IP service, install it on your computer, and create and customize your account. That’s all you need to make a computer-to-computer call, which is free (as long as the person you’re calling is also using the same application).
- Computer to phone - Have your VoIP provider enable out-of-network calls (not always free, but still cheaper than services from traditional phone companies). Connect to a landline phone using a computer running a VoIP-enabled program. And that’s it! Businesses that regularly make calls to areas without a strong internet connection would benefit most from a computer-to-phone option.
- Mobile apps - This option is great for remote workers. Simply download a mobile version of a VoIP phone service and install it on your device. You’ll then get a softphone for making calls from your business numbers.
- Landline phones connected to an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) - Plug your desk phone cable into the ATA. Start making VoIP calls by picking up the handset and dialing.
- VoIP to PSTN (and vice-versa) - When you make a call through IP to a landline, the digital audio goes through the same process as a VoIP-to-VoIP call. The difference is that the unencapsulated audio data passes through what’s called a VoIP gateway, which in turn converts digital audio to analog.
VoIP services make all of the above possible with the help of several protocols or rules which help in routing data:
As the name suggests, RTP is concerned with the transport of a call’s audio (or the multimedia in the case of a video call). It transfers the data packets from one end point to another, where codecs take care of the compression and decompression.
TCP and UDP are other transport protocols involved with the smooth-running of IP phone services. The former is relied upon for accuracy, thanks to its good integrity and error-checking capabilities. The latter focuses on speed, can send data packets without negotiation, and is a kind of “set-and-forget” protocol.
So far, so technical. You know how VoIP telephone services work in a nutshell, but why does that matter to you? We’re going to get into the overall benefits of VoIP services soon, but let’s start with a brief discussion of how they can help improve customer experience (CX) straight off the bat.
Customer service tends to have a lot of moving parts. Busy businesses might handle hundreds of queries a day, but each customer expects to be treated as if they are the only one. Organizations typically turn to CRM solutions to help.
CRMs act as a central repository of customer information and data for businesses to lean upon and use to deliver the best possible CX. A VoIP phone system—being software-based—can integrate seamlessly with your chosen CRM.
Thus, your agents have all that vital data on hand while they’re on calls or handling interactions on other channels. That’s a recipe for better first contact resolution (FCR) rates, higher customer satisfaction, and greater brand loyalty, too.
Why Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the way to go for businesses
Businesses that streamline their workflows and optimize their operations are the ones that usually have a better chance at success. With massive, real-world benefits like the ones listed below, it’s easy to see that VoIP technology improves not only business communications but also business productivity.
If your business has multiple locations, you need just as many hardware units and phone lines to ensure a certain level of service mobility. That is, if you stick with traditional phone systems—it’s not a problem with VoIP, which allows you to make outbound calls and receive incoming calls from any device.
As long as there is an internet connection, your sales manager can contact field staff for an urgent task and your customer service rep working from home can easily address a complaint to avoid the customer’s ire. If you have to transfer a call to a colleague who’s working remotely, you don’t need to ask customers to call a different number.
So, you’ve opened up a new location and need more phones for your employees. But how many will you actually use over the next year? You better estimate carefully so you don’t spend precious money on phone lines that’ll end up untouched.
Unless you opt for a VoIP phone service. In that case, scaling up and down your lines, users, and features is quick and easy. Often, it just takes a few clicks in an online portal.
There is definitely more to VoIP than just making or receiving calls. Apart from the basic features you get from traditional systems, modern VoIP systems can incorporate a host of other helpful communications tools. They include things like instant messaging, teleconferencing and video conferencing, virtual faxing, call recording, and more.
And yes, we did say virtual faxing. It allows you to send and receive faxes without purchasing an actual machine and, by extension, paper and toner. All fax messages, as well as voicemails, can be forwarded to and stored in a single location.
Gather your employees anytime using the video conferencing feature if you have to discuss important issues. You may also use real-time team messaging if you have to simultaneously work on a task and get things done fast. All these work, no matter where your employees are and whatever device they are using.
The above mentioned features are just some of the things that make VoIP such an efficiency booster for businesses of any type and size. Having access to advanced productivity tools allows workflows to be streamlined and empowers employees to multitask as the need arises.
Let’s say one of your sales agents is on a call within a queue. While waiting, he or she can also browse through other communications on their VoIP platform.
Perhaps, they’ll check out voicemail transcriptions sent to their email inbox via a voicemail-to-email feature or maybe archive or forward fax with the click of a mouse. You’ll be surprised to see the numerous features and a brand-new world of possibilities with a sophisticated VoIP phone service.
Integrating traditional phone systems with other tools your business uses is no easy task. In fact, it is incredibly difficult—as any company that’s experienced it could attest.
One of the many things that make the adoption of VoIP technology appealing is the fact that it is capable of integrating with many business systems you and your employees are already familiar with.
This is possible because VoIP systems are software-based and harness the power of the internet. For instance, an integration with Outlook® allows you to send and receive a fax or make outbound calls through that program.
Integrating business analytics is also relatively simple with VoIP. With actionable insights at your disposal, your business will be able to monitor and improve processes to further enhance your overall efficiency, connectivity, and productivity.
Traditional phone systems, which use cables and other hardware, can be compromised by fire, earthquake, and other unforeseen events.
When disaster strikes or power goes out, your employees will have a hard time communicating with each other and customers won't be able to reach them. If you fail to recover quickly, you'll suffer a huge loss in terms of production and customer confidence and deal with regulatory fines.
Healthcare facilities, for example, need to abide by the provisions included in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Otherwise, they could lose a huge amount of money on sanctions and penalties.
This is not a problem with a hosted VoIP phone system, which sits at a protected data center. It is monitored around the clock. So if something happens in your place of business, incoming calls will be forwarded to another location.
VoIP’s advanced call-forwarding functionality gives you the capacity to choose where and how your voice calls are forwarded so you don’t have to lose productivity in case of a disaster or a power outage.
Even if it’s impossible to answer your office desk phone, you still have a secondary phone service, like your laptop or smartphone, you can use to communicate with collaborators and customers.
Of course, VoIP does rely on good quality broadband internet—via Wi-FI, Ethernet, or otherwise. If you lose your internet connection at a particular location, you will lose access to your phone system. However, VoIP services are, by nature, mobile. So, you can simply move somewhere with internet and carry on as before.
Further advantages of VoIP services
The above is just a taste of the benefits of a VoIP phone service. With the right provider, you can also:
Get secure VoIP service with optimum reliability
VoIP service from trusted providers is encrypted with secure voice between endpoints on the network—including desk phones, desktop apps, and mobile apps.
Why does this matter for your business? A secure VoIP service provider ensures that your business communications are protected from service interruption threats such as natural disasters, power outages, and malicious attacks.
Without a secure, reliable VoIP network, downtime can have dire consequences for your bottom line. For example, with a traditional PBX, a simple power outage could result in lost customers or prospects who are attempting to call your business, which ultimately results in loss of profits.
The right VoIP provider offers businesses carrier-grade reliability and security, with Tier 1 network centers and 24/7 monitoring to ensure your VoIP service isn’t disrupted. Be on the lookout for an uptime guarantee of at least 99.99% as a benchmark.
Geographically dispersed data centers, too, provide redundant layers of security—at the perimeter, at the service delivery layer, and with SSL-encoded web applications.
To ensure the best possible call quality on all of your phone calls, the best providers offer customers the tools to check your internet connection speed as well as instructions on how to configure your router properly.
Keep in mind that several key factors can impact the quality of service (QoS)—including high-speed routers that prioritize voice traffic over lower-priority traffic, such as large downloads. To see if your current bandwidth can support VoIP, test it for free here.
Empower your workforce with mobile-ready VoIP services
Mobility is another key advantage of communications solutions based on VoIP technology. VoIP phone services are perpetually mobile-ready and are ideal for bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives.
With mobile apps for Android and iOS mobile devices, employees are empowered to work the way they want on their favorite device—all while maintaining a unified business identity.
For IT administrators and small-business owners alike, a centralized dashboard makes management easy and efficient. The entire VoIP phone system, including all extensions and company locations, can be managed from anywhere, on any device.
Whether your workforce is distributed across business locations, working remotely, or even using a home phone, keep them connected as if they never left the office.
The full-featured RingCentral mobile app, for example, boosts productivity and provides employees with voice, fax, text, conferencing, and online meetings—anywhere there’s an internet connection.
Enjoy simple pricing that eliminates hidden charges and aids cost-saving
With a VoIP telephone service, you can expect all-inclusive pricing and one consolidated bill —eliminating complex management and billing associated with multiple vendors.
There are, in fact, a range of direct and indirect cost-savings you could enjoy by switching to a VoIP phone service provider. Direct cost savings can come from:
Lower hardware expenses
Every company knows how expensive it is to set up a traditional phone system. You’ll need to pay for, among other things, the dedicated copper wiring (which carries the voice communications) and the on-premises PBX system (which connects the landline phones in your office to one another). With VoIP, you could do away with all that hardware.
Lower operational expenses
When a call is routed through a public-switched telephone network (aka, a traditional phone network that uses copper wires), a dedicated circuit is opened between the caller and the recipient, and it should remain open until the call ends.
Otherwise, you'll hear delays on the call—this is probably something you’ve experienced on long-distance and international calls, because it’s harder to keep the circuits open when voice signals take longer to reach their recipient. (This is also why phone companies charge for calls like this on a per-minute basis.)
Because VoIP relies on the internet, you won’t get this issue. You aren’t charged by the minute either, which saves you even more money, especially if you make lots of long-distance and international calls. (VoIP providers charge on a subscription basis, with plans that cater to specific needs.)
Lower recurring expenses
Ongoing expenses like repair and maintenance fees can easily overwhelm your budget. But not if you get a hosted VoIP service, which typically rolls these costs into reasonably priced monthly subscription plans that fit your needs. You can sometimes even get additional features like call waiting and an auto attendant at no extra cost.
Now, let’s look at indirect cost savings:
A remote work setup
With advanced functionality like conference calling and video conferencing, voice over IP makes it easier and more efficient to work remotely, which cuts down the costs of your office and utility bills.
Repurposed human resources
Some advanced VoIP features can even cover repetitive tasks for you so that you can focus on more valuable work.
For instance, you might be thinking of hiring someone to handle phone calls (which translates to money spent on additional salary and benefits) or maybe giving the work to an existing employee, (which would probably require you to give them a raise). With the auto attendant feature, you won’t need a receptionist at all. That’s a load of savings every month.
Traditional on-premises PBX systems also may have hidden costs that are difficult to estimate upfront. Besides the obvious price tags on traditional phone system’s PBX hardware, software licensing, and new telephones, these can include:
- Telephone service maintenance contracts
- PBX replacement and upgrading parts
- Cost of connecting multiple locations
- Telecom charges for local, long-distance, international calling,* or toll-free calls
- Added costs for standalone services, such as online faxing, adding telephone numbers, or audio conferencing
Learn more about calculating the real cost of a business phone system and how cloud VoIP services compare with other types of telephony.
Access comprehensive, responsive customer support
If you choose the right VoIP provider, you’ll be fully supported by a team of product and customer success experts who deeply understand how to service VoIP, and can help keep your entire business phone system running smoothly. In addition to this customer support, providers like RingCentral ensure customer success with free, comprehensive onboarding.
The onboarding process provides new customers with network readiness information, phone number transfer instructions, guided implementation, and training sessions. You will have a dedicated account manager to deliver product expertise and recommendations so your RingCentral VoIP phone system evolves with your company’s needs and the latest innovative solutions businesses require to stay at the forefront of communications.
High voice quality
VoIP calls are super high-quality. Many VoIP providers offer HD calling and video. That means incredibly clear sound for conferencing, making you feel like you’re all in the same room. All you need is a high-speed fiber-optic internet connection for super crisp audio.
Accessibility
Most VoIP phone services include features that cost additional premium charges if you want them added to your traditional landline service. This includes features like call forwarding, call screening, and caller ID, not to mention that modern business VoIP systems are also inclusive of higher-level call management features like cloud PBX and answering rules.
Mobility
Again, unlike traditional phones that are tied to specific telephone units, VoIP can be accessed anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. This provides users, especially businesses, mobility that does not cost as much as cell phone minutes.
When you can call from any IP network, it means that you can take your business with you wherever you are. Today’s businesses need mobility, and that’s exactly what you get with VoIP.
With RingCentral, you’ll be able to access your VoIP phone services and management tools from anywhere, even with your mobile phone. Simply access and manage your RingCentral channels through your online dashboard. It’s that simple.
The best part is that users are able to use their official business phone number wherever they are. This opens a lot of opportunities for remote and flexible work options for businesses.
Scalability
Last but not least, VoIP can be scaled with ease. It’s so simple to add new users and increase provisions as and when your business requires them. This ability to scale up and down according to demand makes VoIP the ideal choice for any kind of business, from small business startups to fully blown enterprise-scale organizations.
Getting a new phone line through traditional telecoms is not as easy, even if you already have an existing line with them. New phone lines in this setup need new cabling and new hardware. In addition to this, you cannot do the installation yourself because it requires specialized manpower.
That is not the case with VoIP. Ordering new phone numbers and activating them only require a few taps on your mobile phone or a few clicks on your computer. VoIP phone numbers are not tethered to a single device, so they can be accessed from anywhere. There’s no need for the installation of new cables because VoIP uses IP networks as transmission lines.
Challenges with VoIP services
While the benefits of VoIP phone services are clear and varied, there are also some challenges to be aware of:
VoIP needs the internet to work
The main limitation of VoIP is that it is entirely dependent on your broadband connection. No internet means no VoIP.
That’s not all. Poor internet connection can also affect the quality of voice calls. Some companies have invested in internet service to be used solely for VoIP so that it does not have to compete with other internet transmissions within the organization and ensures enough bandwidth for voice calls.
If for some reason you cannot get a dedicated internet provider for VoIP, another solution is to use specialized QoS (quality of service) routers. These routers can be set up so that they prioritize VoIP transmissions over other IP transmissions, ensuring the best quality of calls using your existing internet connection, and avoiding issues like jitter or latency.
VoIP is not always secure
Data traveling through the internet can be intercepted by third parties, and that includes VoIP transmissions. This means your voice calls can be in danger of being hacked or breached and can fall into the wrong hands.
That is why the most reputable VoIP providers employ, at the very least, high-level encryption to protect voice calls during end-to-end of transmission. Choose the right service provider and you mitigate this challenge of VoIP systems.
Emergency support
Because of the natural mobility of a VoIP phone service, it can be a challenge for emergency services responders to pinpoint a location from a phone call. Something they can do with traditional phone numbers.
This can be overcome, however, by functionality built into your VoIP phone service. RingCentral, for example, lets you add an emergency 911 (E911) address to your account.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of VoIP services compared to traditional telephony?
So, those are the main benefits and challenges associated with VoIP phone services for business. If that’s been a lot to take in, here’s a quick summary in comparison to traditional telephone services:
Traditional phone services
- Pay thousands of dollars for on-site traditional phone system hardware
- No free calls—long distance and international calls are costly and paid per minute
- Business features come with extra cost
- Requires additional physical cable lines for traditional landline expansion
- Can remain active during outages
VoIP phone services
- No expensive hardware required, so you save money upfront
- Free VoIP calls-long distance calls, if not entirely free, only require nominal fees
- Comes with standard business phone features like call monitoring, call forwarding, voicemail, and others
- Add-on extensions require a few clicks or taps on admin control panel
- Needs the internet to deliver service
How much does VoIP cost?
The popularity of VoIP across all kinds of businesses has driven many VoIP service providers offering this technology to lower their costs in order to attract more clients. As such, it’s easy to fall for a VoIP provider that offers the cheapest solutions.
You as the consumer shouldn’t be looking at the initial price alone but at the total cost of ownership, which is the sum of acquiring, deploying, and operating a VoIP phone system over its entire life cycle. Be sure to look at the upfront, deployment, operational, and upgrade costs.
- Upfront costs: Comprehensive, high-quality systems naturally come with higher upfront costs, but they are more reliable and easier to maintain—and still offer 30% cost savings over legacy phone solutions. Outside of the VoIP service pricing package, you should also take into account the cost of headsets, webcams, and a strong network connection to ensure call quality.
- Deployment costs: Get a service provider to design, implement, and configure your cloud-based VoIP system. Then you’ll need to hire experts to teach your employees how to use the system properly and effectively. A more experienced, knowledgeable provider can have all these covered for you.
- Operational costs:Think of the monthly recurring phone service costs, which may be dependent on the plan you choose. For instance, there are companies that offer long-distance calls per minute and there are others that provide unlimited calls for a fixed monthly fee. If you are managing your VoIP phone system on your own, you also have to consider the power, cooling, and maintenance costs on a monthly basis.
- Upgrade costs: Be sure to set aside some budget for when you need to make any upgrades. Then again, if you chose a hosted VoIP provider, you don’t have to worry about anything.
Does VoIP require a service provider?
Any business can technically implement their own VoIP phone solution with the right combination of IT infrastructure to support VoIP technology and the skills and knowledge to make it happen. Unfortunately, the amount of capital investment needed to do that is staggering.
Cloud communication service providers like RingCentral are able to offer businesses VoIP services with advanced features like cloud PBX, automated-attendant, answering rules, call forwarding, hold music, caller ID, call blocking, and more with flexible plans and pricing by hosting the services on their own secure, multi-tiered, and redundant cloud IT infrastructure and leveraging the internet for delivery of service.
Defining “VoIP provider”
A VoIP provider is a business entity that offers VoIP services directly to consumers or businesses. These services are usually offered in the SaaS model, wherein the software is provided as a service (hosted by the vendor) rather than as a product (downloaded by the user).
There are many VoIP phone system providers out there, so it’s essential to choose wisely.
What are the different kinds of VoIP providers?
There are different types of VoIP providers in the marketplace. They generally fall under these three categories:
VoIP-only providers
There are VoIP service providers who focus solely on directly providing telephony functions for businesses and consumers. This may include some basic features, like voicemail, call forwarding, and caller ID, but usually no call management features are included. If you are only looking for phone calling functionality and not much else, then these providers may already be on your radar.
VoIP with cloud phone system providers
There are providers who leverage the cloud by combining VoIP with cloud PBX technology. These cloud-based phone systems have VoIP as the foundation of their telephony component combined with the advanced routing capabilities of a hosted PBX.
Aside from the ability to make and receive calls over the internet, a VoIP provider in this category offers businesses call management features like auto attendant, answering rules, and virtual extensions for departments and individuals.
VoIP as part of unified communications solution providers
This type of VoIP service provider is similar to a VoIP with cloud phone system provider, but they take their offerings to another level. These companies combine different communications tools, like VoIP, cloud PBX, online meetings, and team messaging, into one platform.
This provides businesses a central hub for communications instead of having to use different vendors for different communication tools.
How to choose a VoIP provider
Once you know what type of VoIP solution you may wish to invest in, how do you go about choosing a provider? Following these simple steps is a good way to start:
1. Know your business communications needs and how VoIP can solve them
Start by identifying the business communications needs of your organization.
Some of the questions you may want to ask in regard to those needs are:
- What type of business phone number does the business need? Does it need a toll-free number, local number, international number, or any combination of the three?
- Does your business make a lot of outbound calls?
- Does your business receive a lot of inbound calls? Do you need a call routing solution?
- Do you have multiple locations?
- Do you have a distributed workforce? Do you have remote workers or telecommuting workers?
- Do you use fax and/or business SMS?
- Do you need an audio or video conferencing solution?
- Do your teams collaborate a lot?
- Do you want your business tools to integrate with your communications solution?
These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself as a business owner on the lookout for new phone solutions. Once you have identified your operational needs, you can start to look for VoIP providers that can meet your requirements.
Here is a checklist of some of the most common business communications needs:
- HD-quality VoIP phone service
- IP desk phone and conference phone support
- Online fax service
- Online meetings software (video conferencing and teleconferencing)
- Business SMS/MMS
- Screen sharing
- Business phone numbers—toll-free, local, international
- Team messaging
- Call management system/hosted PBX
- Task management
- Auto attendant with advanced call routing
- File sharing
- Call queuing
- Analytics and reporting
- Virtual extensions
- Automatic call recording
- Call forwarding
- Call monitoring
- Call screening
- Messages/music-on-hold
- Voicemail
- Integrations with popular productivity apps
- Telepresence
- Softphone for laptops and desktops
- Open APIs (voice, SMS, messaging, data, etc.) for integration with in-house apps
- Gallery of current integrations with popular business apps (i.e. CRM integration with Salesforce, productivity app integration with Office 365 or Google Workspace).
Can your potential business VoIP providers address them? You can use this list as a starting point. Just cross out items that don’t apply to you and add what’s not mentioned.
Once you have a detailed list, you can move to the next step.
2. Check different VoIP providers for business (and what their plans include)
There are a number of VoIP providers that might be able to meet your business communications needs—you just need to narrow it down to one. Check all the call plans and packages offered by each of the reputable providers you were able to gather.
Most of these plans have tiers, so make a side-by-side comparison of the prices and included features for each plan by tier. This way, you can see the differences between the basic, mid-range, and premium VoIP plans and prices for each provider.
3. Determine the VoIP provider’s reliability and security
Even if a VoIP provider meets all your business communications needs, your scrutiny should not end there. You also have to determine how they keep their service reliable and secure.
To ensure reliability, the top VoIP providers also have multiple data centers set up in different locations. The idea is that multiple servers in multiple data centers result in redundancy of service. This means that in the event that a server fails, another server can take over in real time.
The same goes for when a whole data center goes down, another data center can take over the service so that there will be no disruption.
Other security and reliability practices that top VoIP providers employ include:
- Regular audits of data centers
- Support of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Advanced account management and administration
- Robust and secure networks
4. Check the VoIP plans and pricing of the vendor
As you may have noticed, we haven’t mentioned plans and pricing up to now. That is not a coincidence. Like with any commodity in this world, price should not be the first factor you look at when you’re looking for quality.
There may be lower-priced VoIP services, but their reliability and security can be questionable. There is also a reason top providers charge more for their service. The research and development they invest in to put out the best product is part of what you are paying for.
In this step, you should have a clearer picture of which VoIP providers meet most, if not all, of the items on your checklist.
Only after you have streamlined your list should you consider price. Of the providers on your list, which one gives you the best value for your money? From there, it is a matter of choosing which one will best solve your communications needs. That vendor should be your top choice.
5. Look for the leading VoIP provider in business communications
Another factor you should look at is the reputation of the VoIP provider you are evaluating for your organization. While it is difficult to separate valid reviews from spam reviews, it’s still worth investigating the general opinion people have about the company.
One thing you can look at is the number of subscribers. Generally, when a provider has a large number of users, it means they are trusted by their customers and the industry to provide reliable and secure service.
Another thing you can look at is the brands that trust the provider for their communications. Big brands do not just sign up for a service; they do their due diligence and get assurance that they will get a good return on investment.
If you are truly looking for the best provider, however, then you should go with an industry leader. RingCentral is the leading provider of not only VoIP but also unified communications as a service (UCaaS), which addresses multiple communications problems in one platform.
RingCentral also adapts to how your business operates. It has integrations with some of the most popular business apps like Salesforce®, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Office 365™. It also has open APIs that give you the power to add a communications component to your in-house apps.
RingCentral is the industry-leading provider of VoIP services
Made for business
The modern VoIP system not only provides a reliable and unlimited IP telephony solution, but it also includes features like caller ID, video conferencing, SMS, and even faxing to help businesses communicate better.
Easy and simple telephony setup
No complicated traditional phone installations needed. RingCentral can easily be configured based on the communication needs of your organization. Have your virtual phone service up and running in a day or less.
Mobile and flexible VoIP system
The best part about VoIP technology is that it leverages the internet by letting you make phone calls and video calls, host and join conferences, and send and receive fax and SMS from anywhere.
No telephony hardware needed
Unlike on-premise telephone systems that require expensive hardware like phone service servers, handsets, analog phones, and PBX boxes, RingCentral only needs internet-connected devices like computers, laptops, and mobile devices to work. Just log in to your RingCentral account, and you are ready to go.
24/7 customer support
From implementation to technical support, RingCentral stands by your business with our award-winning customer support team 24/7. This is not just for functionality problems and technical digital signal issues—your business can look to us for consultations and best-practice recommendations.
Robust phone service plans
Get the most advanced unified communications solution in the industry for your business. Your single (affordable!) RingCentral plan includes VoIP, cloud PBX, videoconferencing, and more features for your business.
Message. Video. Phone. Together.
What to Expect from RingCentral’s VoIP Solutions
No separate phone bills for different phone service functionalities
RingCentral’s VoIP solution is part of an all-inclusive cloud-based system that includes internet fax, voice, text, videoconferencing, and more. With transparent VoIP plans and pricing, you can expect no surprises on your next bill. No hidden fees or extra premium charges for additional features such as instant messaging or SMS.
VoIP telephone service working with virtual PBX
Get advanced VoIP phone service and routing capabilities through a cloud-based hosted PBX system. This way, all incoming calls are automatically routed to the right person or department, giving your business a more professional image.
Premium inbound call management features
Aside from advanced call routing capabilities, RingCentral also offers different call management features to help you communicate more effectively in real time. Customize how incoming calls are handled during and after business hours, set up a dial-by-name directory, and use a multi-level auto attendant. All this makes it easier for callers to reach your business.
Customizable user experience
End-users are also able to personalize how they receive their calls, which includes customizing call screening to identify callers, forwarding calls to multiple phone numbers simultaneously or chronologically, and setting up notifications for missed calls, SMS, voicemail, and online faxing.
Secure, reliable, and easy-to-manage virtual phone service
A secure VoIP service
RingCentral employs a comprehensive security strategy to protect its virtual phone service and its users. Aside from high-level encryption that protects VoIP phone calls, there are other measures employed including regular data center audits, multi-factor authentication and single-sign-on for account protection, and advanced account management and administration.
Hosted in multiple data centers for superior redundancy and reliability
To ensure consistent high-quality service for all users, RingCentral hosts its cloud-based phone service in multiple data centers with multiple servers in different locations across the US. In the event that one server or data center encounters some issues, then others can step up and take over.
With online dashboard for easy VoIP phone service access and management from anywhere
Access and manage RingCentral through an online dashboard on your computer or mobile phones. From there, you can add and delete business phone numbers and virtual extensions, grant admin and user roles and permissions, and even check call logs to get insights on how your company is using the system. No need to hire specialized manpower to manage your VoIP phone system.
VoIP Phones, Devices, and Equipment
Maximize VoIP services with top-of-the-line IP desk phones
To make the most out of your VoIP telephone services, RingCentral offers high-quality desktop VoIP phones that utilize standard Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and integrate seamlessly with your cloud communications solutions. Choose from different IP phone models from trusted brands like Cisco and Polycom. No complicated setup, just PLUG AND RING®.
Use analog phones to make VoIP calls
If you want to use your existing traditional telephone to make internet calls, you can do that as well. You just need an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA), which digitizes analog voice data into data packets so that it can be transmitted over the Internet.
No IP desk phones? Use your PC or MAC as a softphone
Turn your PC or MAC into your own phone. Download the RingCentral Desktop App to make and receive VoIP calls from your personal computer or laptop. In addition, you can also send a virtual fax or SMS and even start or join an audio or video conference.
Make and receive calls using your iPhone or Android Phone
Don’t be tied to your desk. Enjoy your freedom and take your phone service with you anywhere you go. As usual, you can make long-distance and international calls. You can also access RingCentral through your iPhone or Android mobile phone with a unified mobile app and stay connected to your growing business wherever you are.
RingCentral RingEX™ plans for your small business
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about VoIP services
A typical hosted VoIP phone system generally costs between $20 and $45 per user, per month. Of course, it will depend on the VoIP phone system features, capabilities, and the VoIP provider itself.
You can check the RingCentral plans and pricing section above to see which plan fits your business needs. Whether you are a small business, a mid-sized business, or a big enterprise, you will find that RingCentral can seamlessly fit into how your organization operates.
Plus, more than just a VoIP service that allows for unlimited calling across North America (US and Canada), RingCentral offers an industry-leading unified communications solution that also provides you with a central hub for both communications and collaboration.
If you have employees who work away from the business’ home base, the top VoIP phone service for them would be the one that allows them to feel connected to the company even if they are not physically in the office.
With the RingCentral App, telecommuting employees no longer have to use their home phones for work. Also, it provides your workforce with a central communications hub where team collaboration is encouraged through its various functionalities, such as voice, fax, text messaging, live chat, and online meetings.
There are direct-to-consumer VoIP services that do not require payment. WhatsApp, Viber, and even Facebook Messenger are basic mobile VoIP apps that facilitate calls over the internet.
These apps, however, are low-cost options for personal use and not suited for business communications. If you want to project a professional image, a VoIP phone system is the way to go, especially with its advanced features that are designed to help organizations communicate better with their customer base.
It’s not free, but RingCentral’s flexible and cost-effective VoIP plans and pricing will allow your business to have one bill to cover your communications needs with predictable fees and no surprise costs.
Most contact centers and call centers leverage VoIP technology as their telephony component because of its more affordable price when compared to traditional carriers.
Aside from facilitating calls over the internet, VoIP is also used as the audio component for most video conference calling solutions. While there are other technologies at work for video calls and video conferencing, VoIP is usually the one responsible for allowing participants to actually talk with each other.
VoIP has paved the way for other means of leveraging the internet to send digital files over IP telephony transmissions. Virtual fax is one of those.
While VoIP itself is not used to send fax over the internet, the concepts are pretty similar. The main difference is that the transmission is one way and the payload is a soft or hard copies of documents.
The same goes for other modern systems that use IP transmissions like home security systems. Similar to virtual fax and VoIP, home security cameras use IP transmission to remotely transmit footage to cellphones and other streaming devices. The possibilities are virtually endless.
There is no difference between a VoIP phone system and a VoIP phone service. They’re simply two ways to describe the same thing; a business calling and communications solution built upon VoIP technology.
RingCentral offers a cloud-based unified communications solution that includes enterprise-grade voice, virtual faxing, text messages, online meetings—and over 50 more communications and collaboration features designed to help businesses grow while staying in sync.
You can get started quickly with new local or toll-free numbers, or port your existing phone numbers onto a cloud-based business phone system that works for businesses of all sizes. If you don’t want an expensive or conventional on-premises system, RingCentral RingEX could be the best VoIP phone service for you.
Compared to those hosted on-premises, top-level VoIP phone systems are very secure. They eliminate many threats that legacy systems are more susceptible to, like security breaches, power outages, and even natural disasters.
Solutions like RingCentral house your solution in secure, Tier 1 data centers protected by enterprise-grade security. This means you can rest assured that your data is secured and ensure business continuity in case of emergencies or disruptions.
Thanks to the flexibility of VoIP phone services, almost any device with an internet connection can be a VoIP phone.
You can use an analog telephone adapter to turn a traditional desk phone into one, use a softphone on your mobile device or tablet, and log into your VoIP account on a laptop or PC.
VoIP isn’t just about making calls. VoIP providers offer tons of fantastic additional features like caller ID, call screening, and multi-level IVR, along with basic telephone systems and functionality. The best VoIP providers like RingCentral offer unified communications with VoIP solutions to streamline your business communications into one user-friendly experience.
Here are some more essential VoIP features:
- Auto-attendant or virtual receptionist
- Call recording
- Voicemail (plus, transcription and visual voicemail)
- Call forwarding
- Call routing
- Mobile apps to provide all features on the go.
Yes, if you switch to a reputable and trustworthy VoIP service provider—like RingCentral—you’ll be able to keep existing business phone numbers. The FCC—the telecommunications regulator in the USA—has rules in place to ensure numbers are portable. Just ask your new provider about their number porting procedures, and make sure you do so before telling your existing provider you’re on the move.
One of the most obvious benefits of implementing a VoIP phone system is the cost savings for businesses as compared to landlines. By eliminating on-site PBX appliances, businesses can reduce initial costs (related to landline installation by telephone companies, hardware, etc.) as well as the long-term costs of managing and maintaining an on-premises PBX system.
VoIP services function using cloud technology, which means there are little to no costs associated with hardware, management, and IT support.
With a cloud-hosted VoIP solution like RingCentral RingEX, you can manage your entire system online. If you want to add new extensions, modify features, or contact IT support—you can do it all from the simple RingEX interface.
With RingEX, you’ll pay a single monthly cost that covers unlimited voice calls, video meetings, instant messaging, and a host of call management and collaboration features to streamline your business communications and enhance productivity.
In short, VoIP works with a mobile phone in exactly the same way as on any other internet-connected device. With the right VoIP provider, you’ll be able to access all the features and functionalities of your system, regardless of the device.
Almost any device with internet connection can be used for business communications via VoIP, including desktop computers. Usually, you access your VoIP desktop or web app, sign in, and you’re ready to get started. You’ll obviously need to have a mic available if you’re wanting to make audio or video calls.
Yes, you can use a VoIP phone as a regular phone. There’s no practical difference between a “VoIP phone” and a “regular phone”, in terms of how you use it. The only difference is in the technology behind your calls and the extra functionality that VoIP can provide.
One of the great things about VoIP phone services is that you hardly need any hardware. Your smartphone and your chosen VoIP service app can be entirely sufficient.
However, you can add and use additional hardware if you want. For instance, you could use a headset with your computer, a traditional desk phone with an ATA, or anything else you desire.
The best VoIP provider for your business is the one which offers a solution to meet your communication needs. That means it will include all the features you require, at a price point you can afford, be easy to use, reliable, secure, and have customer support on hand when you need it.
Yes, VoIP is particularly good for small and mid-sized businesses. The main reason for this is that most of the best VoIP companies charge customers on a per-user per-month basis rather than basing it on how many minutes are collectively used by your business every month.
That—and the fact that you don't need to buy expensive equipment and hire dedicated IT staff to manage it—leads to significant cost savings for you.
Plus, it's easier to factor this cost into your budget since the monthly per-user plan has predictable fees—you get everything you need to communicate with your customers and team in one service without surprise charges on your bill.
Virtual phone numbers come as part and parcel of VoIP phone services. Unlike traditional numbers, they’re not tied to a specific geographic location or particular device. Instead, you can use them—to make calls, take calls, and more—from anywhere you can access your VoIP phone service.
The benefits of cloud phone systems—another name for VoIP phone services—include cost- savings, scalability, flexibility, and mobility. These systems are available via an affordable subscription, can accommodate extra users and features with a few clicks, are easily customizable, and work on any device with an internet connection.
Voice over IP is the technology that enables internet calling. In a nutshell, audio signals are compressed into data packets and transported via the internet. The PSTN is the name given to the traditional telephony network, where audio signals are transported via copper wire landlines.
IVR stands for Interactive Voice Response. It’s a key feature of many VoIP phone services, and can help your business or call center to better handle incoming calls. It works by providing callers with menus with which they can interact—either by voice or dial pad—to help route themselves to the best place to resolve their issue.