VoIP allows employees to connect with customers on any device—including smartphones. It can also help streamline work-from-home arrangements and reduce travel costs. VoIP technology is also more scalable than traditional landline systems. This can be helpful if your business is growing or you’re considering expanding into another location.
Choose a VoIP Service Provider
Finding a good VoIP service provider is the first step on how to get a landline phone. A good business VoIP provider offers affordable monthly subscriptions and advanced features. Look for one that utilizes dedicated fiber and offers symmetrical upload/download speeds to help maintain call quality and stability. Also, find out whether the provider you’re evaluating guarantees uptime in writing. This is important because if your internet goes down, so will your VoIP phone service. Ask the provider about their customer support system and what you can expect. Find out what hours the team is available, how quickly they respond to inquiries, and if they offer convenient ways to contact them, like live chat or text.
Some VoIP providers also have collaboration and third-party integration options. For example, if you use a CRM program, determine which providers allow the system to incorporate your calls smoothly.
Connect Your Phones
With copper wire connections being shut down nationwide, homeowners rely on wifi routers and VoIP phone systems to future-proof their homes. These devices are a great option for businesses that want to cut out the cost of traditional landlines and lower their monthly expenses. VoIP phones look the same as conventional home and office telephones but connect over an internet connection. They’re a great solution for businesses that want to save money on landline bills and enjoy unified communication tools like online fax, call recording, and more.
To get started, plug your analog landline phone into a specialized port on your router. This port is usually labeled ‘Phone 1’ and can be found on the back of your router. After connecting your landline to the router, turn on the modem and the router and wait for the indicator lights to stabilize.
Set Up Your Router
You can make VoIP calls using any devices connected to the internet, including smartphones and computers. However, we recommend choosing phones designed specifically for VoIP systems to get the best call quality possible. These phones plug into a hardwired home ethernet port or use wifi to connect to the internet. Using a router that prioritizes voice traffic over other data is important. Most modern routers have easy-to-configure bandwidth prioritization features. Choose a router with automatic failover capabilities, which shifts your local connection to a backup network when your primary internet service fails or experiences a DoS attack. This ensures your business can keep communicating even in an emergency.
Connect Your Phones to Your Router
Many home Internet providers today offer a 2 in 1 device that serves as a modem and a router. Look for the phone port (usually labeled as ‘Phone 1’) at the back of this device and use an Ethernet cable to plug one end into it, then another into your landline’s ethernet port.
Once all the wires are properly connected to their respective sockets, it’s time to turn on your router. Wait for it to stabilize — you’ll know this is happening when the indicator lights stop blinking. Then, you can test your connection by pinging the router’s IP address. This will show you how fast your Internet connection is. A lower value means your calls will be more clear and lag-free.
Test Your Connection
Traditional landline telephony systems depend on the wiring in your home or office. VoIP, on the other hand, relies solely on your internet connection. This makes it a great way to save money on communication costs, but only if you have a reliable internet service provider and enough capacity to support VoIP. Bandwidth determines upload and download speeds and how fast your data travels. A good rule of thumb is that each VoIP call requires 100 kbps of bandwidth. If your internet is crowded with other traffic, like streaming video, you may need help with the quality of your calls. To test your network, use a ping tool to identify problems like jitter, latency and packet loss. A lower ping means a better-quality call.
