Regular phone lines are rapidly being replaced by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems. In the small and medium business setup, VoIP phones are being used a third of the time instead of more expensive, traditional telephone systems. Companies with fewer than 50 employees are enjoying the benefits as much as large, multinational corporations.
More and more U.S. states are also supporting the shift towards VoIP and other technologies being used for telecommunications use in the future, virtually ending the era of the copper landlines. The system will continue to be used in the next few years, but very minimally, and via its fiber optic upgrade.
Residential VoIP is also developing
With over 84% of American homes connected to the internet, it makes sense to switch to VoIP. Instead of the old landlines, residents are looking for better VoIP phone services for home use. Rather than simply looking at the cost of monthly subscriptions, homeowners are looking at features that will work best for the family’s needs.
Below are the features you can expect to enjoy:
1. Voicemail
Traditional landline and mobile phone services offer voicemail-related services. Users can call the system to retrieve their voicemail, or an email notification is sent to them with a link to the WAV file. Some services send the WAV file as an attachment. Still, others have a voicemail-to-text service where a text transcription is attached to the email.
2. Call Forwarding
Another convenient feature is call forwarding, where a call is automatically routed to another designated phone, cell phone, or voicemail if the other one is busy or otherwise inaccessible. There are several options:
- Always Forward, where the call is always sent to another phone.
- Call Forward Busy, where the call is sent to a second phone if the destination is busy.
- Call Forward No Answer, which forwards the call if it is not answered within a specified number of rings. This is also called a Hunt Group.
- Call Forward Selective, which is a programmed response based on the number of the caller, or a specified time frame.
3. Hunt Group
A variation of the call forwarding, this feature forwards the call to another phone if it is unanswered after a specified number of rings. If still unanswered, it gets forwarded to another phone, and so on, until it is answered. This is also called a Sequential Ring or Find Me, Follow Me.
4. Simultaneous Ring
Also called Multi-Ring, this sets other numbers to ring at the same time. It could be the home phone, a cell phone, and an office phone.
5. Caller ID
This identifies the caller. It can be inbound, where the caller’s number or name shows on the call, or outbound where the user’s name or number is listed.
6. Anonymous Call Rejection
This does not allow a call if the phone number does not have Caller ID.
7. Black List
This is a list of numbers that are automatically rejected or automatically sent to voicemail. It’s also called the Block List, referring to the blocked numbers.
8. Do Not Disturb
This feature automatically forwards all calls to voicemail. The phone won’t ring. These features are just some of the services offered as part of the VoIP phone system. Some of these are optional or come with a monthly fee.
