VoIP Buyer's Guide

It's great that there are so many VoIP service provider options available to consumers. But like many things in life that offer an abundance of choices, it is good to be prepared when making your final choice. While there are a multitude of great VoIP services out there, they are not all created equal, each with their own pros and cons like any technology based service.

Our VoIP buyer's guide helps you to look for specific things when comparing VoIP service providers, so that you can pick the one that will best meet your needs. Our VoIP buyer's guide is essentially a checklist of differentiating factors we believe will help you to determine whether a particular VoIP service provider will offer a competitive service or not.

While not all of these factors will apply to your particular situation, most of them are definitely worth considering when choosing a VoIP service provider. While VoIP can be a reliable and cost effective communications solution, performing a thorough review of the service providers you are interested in could very well save you from potential headaches in the future.

Does the VoIP service provider offer a money back or satisfaction guarantee?
This is an important factor to consider when choosing a VoIP service provider. While VoIP can be a very reliable technology, it does require the right environment to work optimally. If your computer, internet connection or other factor does not work well with the service provider you have chosen, it is important that you have a recourse option that will allow you to get your money back. Additionally, not all VoIP providers offer the same level of service. If you have sound quality or reliability problems, you do not want to be stuck with such service. Keep in mind that money back guarantees often only cover the monthly service, and not any call minute expenses you have accumulated.

Does the company offer phone and email based sales and technical support?
It is important that the VoIP service provider offers both phone and email support. Providers offering only email support may not have the resources available to resolve your issue in a reasonable time frame. The more communication channels you can have with your provider in the event of difficulty the better. If they do not offer phone numbers even for sales calls, then you can be assured that their technical support will be even more limited in scope.

Does the VoIP service allow you to keep your existing phone number?
While there are many VoIP services out there that let you keep your existing phone number, there are also numerous providers that do not. Having to change your phone number can be a tedious exercise, so if you are wanting to keep your number, be absolutely sure when signing up that you can retain your phone number in the area that you live. Typically the large VoIP service providers offer existing number retention, while soft phones usually don't.

Does the service offer 911 or E911 emergency dialing service?
If the VoIP service you are looking for is to replace your traditional land line, it is highly recommended to ensure that the VoIP service provider offers 911 emergency dialing services. While many do offer this, some do not and it is important that you confirm this before purchasing. Many large VoIP providers offer E911 service, and most soft phone providers do not.

Is the service compatible with your existing hardware or does it require proprietary hardware?
Check to make sure that the hardware you have is compatible with the provider. If the provider requires proprietary hardware, you must be careful that you are not locked into using devices or phones that you do not like. The more flexibility the better, so that you can choose the type of phones you talk with. There is nothing more annoying than being stuck with a phone that does not offer the performance or features you want, and not being able to change it.

How many years has the service been in business, and how many customers do they have?
While it is true that no VoIP is still a maturing industry that has not been around, it does have established and up-start service providers. Make sure that the company at least been around for a year; has some news or publication coverage; attempt to determine how many customers the provider has; search for positive and negative reviews by both writers and in the user opinion forums. VoIP is still a demanding technology, and you don't want to live through an up-start's learning curve on how to handle it.

Do they offer any promotions or deals upon sign-up?
VoIP service providers are renown for offering incredible deals that are hard to pass up. So make sure you time when you sign-up to a service provider, so that you can take advantage of a promotion or deal. Many offer free months of service, complimentary phone adapters, free blocks of time and more.

Does the service provider offer unlimited calling to your frequent destinations?
Many VoIP service providers offer packages that give you unlimited calling to the USA, Canada and sometimes Puerto Rico and other countries. If you accumulate mammoth monthly phone bills from calling these locations, then an unlimited monthly plan can offer incredible savings. These unlimited plans are usually the service provider's top packages that cost more than the base plans, but also include most if not all of their calling features - further saving you money.

Are there setup and activation fees, and are there ongoing fees?
While it's always easy to see what the monthly service fee will cost, it isn't always as easy to see the less promoted setup fees, one time activation fees and ongoing fees. Check your end user agreement carefully for any indication of fees beyond what is being prominently advertised. While everyone is accustomed to incurring fees in their monthly mobile phone service, it is possible some VoIP service providers also charge fees.

Are the acceptable payment methods convenient for you?
Some VoIP providers work as you would typically expect, with monthly charges to your credit card or bank account, while other require pre-paid calling time to be purchased. Depending on your calling habits, carefully consider which would be more convenient for you. People accustomed to monthly billing that is automatically debited from their credit card will most likely not be impressed with having to manually refill their account with talk time minutes. Conversely, people that enjoy the freedom of pre-paid time would not like to be stuck with making sure sufficient funds are available for monthly withdraws on their credit card or bank account.

What does the appearance of the web site look like?
While being a VoIP service provider is quite involving and complicated, it is becoming more and more easy for mom and pop to open up their own basement VoIP service. While these services may handle a limited number of customers well, they may not scale well to demands and this is definitely something worth avoiding. Make sure the home page of the company is professional, clean in its presentation and has all the indicators of being a corporate home page by reading their About Us page and other pages to determine the scale of the operation.

Good luck on your VoIP service provider hunting, and we hope you find what you're looking for!