4 key differences between VoIP and landlines

Many companies still rely on landlines to communicate, even though this is certainly not the case on an individual basis. People everywhere have dropped their landlines for a cell phone-only communication mentality, and it’ll only be a matter of time before most businesses follow suit.

However, instead of opting for cell phones only, businesses will land somewhere on the VoIP spectrum. But what exactly are the differences between VoIP and landlines?

Let’s take a quick look at 4 key differences.

How it works

One of the biggest differences between VoIP and landlines would obviously be the way they actually work.

Landlines rely on copper phone lines to carry signals, while VoIP transfers calls digitally over the internet.

What makes it work

If VoIP transfers calls over the internet, this clearly means you need an internet connection. You won’t be able to make or receive calls without that connection.

However, this also means that your internet connection must be reliable to support your VoIP platform. Think about it this way:

You might not have cable at home because you only stream Netflix and Hulu. While you’re technically saving money by not paying for an expensive cable package, you still need to make sure that your internet speeds can handle your streaming needs. This might mean paying a little extra for internet every month.

This same concept holds true for VoIP. This being said, most businesses require a solid internet connection anyway. So it’s most likely something you already have or are planning for in the near future.  

What you pay

We already covered that you might need to pay more for better internet with VoIP. But that’s not the only pricing difference between VoIP and landlines.

And when you actually start to dig into it all, you’ll quickly realize that the cost benefits of VoIP far outweigh that of landlines.

For starters, VoIP requires less maintenance, fewer resources, and less stuff in general (this has a lot to do with all that copper wire). Because of this, your communication costs should decrease dramatically.

On top of this, most VoIP providers can deliver a solution that stays at a consistent, monthly rate. In other words, you don’t have to do a whole lot of guessing. You should know what your monthly fee will be (or at least have a pretty decent estimate).

How it grows

A huge issue with the traditional communication platform is that it’s difficult to change. If you ever want to add or remove lines or switch your platform to another location, then you’ll be in store for a lot of work, that’ll cost a lot of money, and require a lot of time.

Again, this has a lot to do with the wiring and infrastructure that’s involved with landlines. But since this isn’t necessary with VoIP, it becomes much easier for a company to scale its communication platform for changes in the business.

All you typically need is the phone itself, and you’re good to go.

If you’d like to learn more about VoIP, then take a look at The 3 most surprising benefits of VoIP.