VoIP for very small businesses
June 5, 2007
Voice over IP has been a challenge for the smallest of businesses, whether based in a home or in a small office. Integration with existing phone lines is a necessity, and let’s overlook for the moment the difficulties of faxing over a VoIP line.
One company with very small businesses on its heart is TalkSwitch, who just announced a new hybrid PBX phone system that starts at US$695. The upgradable TalkSwitch240vs is equipped for 2 ordinary lines (you know, connected by copper to the local phone company’s central office), 4 local extensions that can be set up as either analog or IP lines, and 10 remote extensions that can be located anywhere in the world. The TalkSwitch 24-CA is even cheaper, at US$595, but still includes voicemail, auto attendants, music on hold, and ring groups.
Besides high-profile services such as Vonage and Skype, other vendors in the SOHO (Small Office Home Office) space include Packet8, which began as a strictly residential company, equipment vendor Vodavi, hosted VoIP provider Speakeasy, integrated provider allworx, and open source SIP Pingtel. And Microsoft’s Office Communicator promises to shake up the SOHO VoIP world even further.
- Michael M
Entry Filed under: allworx, packet8, pingtel, skype, small business products, speakeasy, talkswitch, vodavi, voip, vonage. .
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