VoIP and business phone systems in London

Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) brings calls, video meetings and messaging together in one system that runs in the cloud. Your team uses one app instead of several, and there’s no phone system to keep in the office. Microsoft Teams with a connected phone system is a common example.

Managed VoIP means a provider sets up and looks after your internet phone system for you. With Network London, that covers setup, changes, updates and fixing problems. Your team uses the phones, and when something isn’t right, they call us.

Yes. VoIP makes and receives calls over the internet, and it can do things a traditional landline can’t, such as calling from a mobile app or forwarding calls when you’re away from your desk. We move your existing numbers across and plan the switch with you to keep disruption to a minimum.

VoIP has a few drawbacks worth knowing about. Each one can be planned for:

• It depends on your internet connection: if the connection is down or unstable, calls can drop or sound poor. The right connection, with a backup connection to fall back on, takes care of most of this.
• Power cuts: VoIP needs power for the internet connection and the phones. A battery backup keeps phones running, and the mobile apps work over the mobile network.
• Call quality: on a busy or weak connection, calls can lag or break up. A dedicated voice line, or a leased line with capacity set aside for phone traffic, keeps calls clear.
• Security: like anything connected to the internet, a phone system needs protecting. We look after this as part of our cyber security service.

We plan for these with you when your system is set up.

Some are. Calls between VoIP systems, often on the same provider, are usually free. Calls to landlines and mobiles are normally charged, though often at lower rates than a traditional phone line, particularly for international calls. We offer plans with inclusive minutes for business users and will talk you through which one fits.

Your phone system is hosted in the cloud, so it keeps running when your office internet goes down. There are a few ways to keep taking calls:

• Mobile data: the mobile apps let people make and take calls over the mobile network.
• A backup internet connection: many businesses have a second connection that takes over if the first fails. We often suggest a dedicated connection for voice, with your main internet as the fallback.
• Call forwarding: calls can be forwarded to another phone, such as a mobile, until the connection is back.

As long as your team has the mobile apps, an internet outage at the office shouldn’t stop calls coming in. We plan for this with you when we set the system up.