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Organizing Small Office Communications With One Service Provider

by Sylvia Miller

A phone, a computer, and the internet—these three pieces of the communications puzzle can do a lot for a business, but it's often hard to figure out if an offered service is worth the hype. It's best to know the right questions to ask and symptoms to watch out for when choosing a service provider. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you look for your office's communication methods to make sure that you're getting incoming business with clarity.

Phone Features And Possible Failures

In the age of the smartphone, the traditional landline has taken on a different role. It's still vital, especially due to some inherent protections given by old technology, but it isn't an everyday necessity unless you configure the perks properly.

Before getting into the perks, understand why the landline phone is vital. During storms or other adverse weather conditions, smartphones may lose connectivity. This isn't often an issue in big cities, and cellular signals are far more robust than the days of slight cloud cover ruining calls, but it's the biggest emergencies that count, and hurricanes can still take out cellular communications.

Telephone lines can operate when power fails in some cases. If your area has underground telephone infrastructure, you'll be able to use your phone until power is lost at the phone company's local substation that distributed telephone signals.

Keep in mind that landline phones are different from Internet Protocol (IP) phones. These are provided by internet connectivity, and although internet cables can be protected underground, the power to your modem makes it a useless feature. Speak to a telephone services professional if you need a disaster-ready (not disaster-proof, as no services are 100% impenetrable) communications.

What Does Your Internet Plan Do For You?

Along with telephones, a good internet connection is important in modern commerce. Unfortunately, the meaning of "good" is as complex as it is suggestive.

One of the more popular terms thrown around for internet quality is speed. You want your websites to load quicker, your videos to stream with no noticeable delays, and your file downloads to finish as soon as possible.

Speed is important, but a more important factor is consistency. Unless your business requires downloading multiple gigabytes in a single file on a daily basis, the hunt for the fastest internet isn't your concern. Many places in the United States have average internet speeds around 50mbps (megabits per second)  that are far more than good enough for website loading and are instead fighting to be the best at high-definition video streaming and game downloading for services such as Steam.

If your business only uses the internet to visit websites, view videos, and make internet-based phone calls, the national average is more than enough--and is soon becoming the basic speed. Every network situation is different, but the previously-cited 50mbps can handle all of those tasks without delay.

If there is delay, it means that the network is inconsistent, which is often caused by a faulty modem, bad wiring, an issue on your computer, or something under the Internet Service Provider (ISP)'s responsibility.

To understand your current telephone and internet situation, contact a telephone services professional at a company like Dalton Utilities, and discuss your business communication needs.

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