Are VOIP better than landlines? What benefits does any business have using VoIP solutions rather than a traditional phone system? These questions should be answered first to choose the appropriate phone system for your organization.
Businesses are familiar with traditional phones or landlines; however, they must start considering better alternatives for business communication to grow.
Source: cdn.gminsights.com
This blog will share some insights on VoIP vs landlines, different phone systems, how they work, and what benefits they bring in.
In this article, we’ll dig into the following topics:
1. VoIP and Landlines – Meaning
2. VoIP vs Landlines: Pros and Cons You Must Know About
3. Landline vs VoIP – The Differences at a Glance
4. Which business phone system is best for your business?
What is VoIP?
Voice Over Internet Protocol, commonly referred to as Hosted Telephony, VoIP phones, and Internet Telephony is slowly turning into a gold standard of the modern business communication needs, and it has already begun to rule. VoIP allows people to make high-quality and more precise calls using the internet. For businesses, it means crystal clear digital communication for upkeep the transforming needs of modern enterprises.
Source: Google
What are Landlines?
Landlines, also known as fixed-line, wireline, and mainline, use optical fiber telephone lines or metal wires for transmission.
VoIP vs Landlines: Pros and Cons You Must Know About
It is always easy to customise the communication system of your business . For this, you need to select the best system for your organization that matches your business needs. IP telephony usually has a leg-up on the traditional telephone systems. Still, we recommend you consider your business requirements first before choosing the best phone system for your business.
So, let’s dig into the breakdown of the prominent advantages and disadvantages of both the traditional phone and VoIP for ending up with the right system for your business.
Advantages of VoIP
1. Cost-Cutting
One of the most prominent advantages of VoIP is the cost-cutting opportunities that it brings in. VoIP significantly reduces business costs to almost half. However, it even depends on your business and your requirements.
2. HD Call Quality
The call quality has certainly upgraded with VoIP and a robust internet connection. So, no more creaky voice calls. Only crystal clear HD calls can be expected when you use this technology.
3. Simplified Accessibility
The unique upside of VoIP is to help businesses make calls from any corner of the world. So, when you answer the calls, VoIP lets you build a stronger connection with them on the other side, and when left unattended, it goes right into the voicemails.
4. Disaster Preparedness
Businesses can needlessly vanish in vain due to natural disasters sometimes. The reason why they don’t survive is that they are not prepared for it. Instead, if they relied on a VoIP system, it would have been easier for them to keep running seamlessly in any situation.
The Cons of Using VoIP
1. Dependency on Robust Internet Connectivity
A robust internet connection is a must-have for businesses to survive on VoIP. If you don’t have that, the call quality will not be up to the mark. The dependency on the bandwidth can restrict you from downloading large files or attend calls seamlessly during the network congestion.
2. Backup Power Needed
Do you experience a power outage at your location? Your VoIP might not work like you are expecting it to. You will constantly need backup power to keep your business communication running.
Advantages of Using Landline
1. Extremely Reliable
Since the technology doesn’t have to depend on the internet connection or electrical power, businesses can easily rely on it for uninterrupted communication.
2. Highly Secure
Traditional phones or landlines don’t transmit data over the internet, but through the copper lines of PSTN, that minimizes the chances of hacking.
3. Better Familiarity
Businesses have been relying on landlines for communication for years. Overall familiarity with landlines can minimize the time for training, adjustment, and management.
4. Apt Solution During Disaster
Landline doesn’t use an internet connection to establish communication. So there are no chances of disaster when you are using landlines for your business.
Source: Statista
Disadvantages of Using Landline
1. Overall Costs are Higher
Adopting and maintaining landlines can be higher with less functionality as compared to VoIP. Hence, not a suitable solution in terms of cost-cutting.
2. Obsolete is on the Way
Landlines are becoming obsolete, and it is only until PSTN is not entirely abandoned that this technology will last.
3. Limited Features
Landline doesn’t offer as many features and functionality required to keep your modern business communication surviving.
4. Limited to One Location
The usability of landlines is limited to one location. You can’t enjoy mobility when using landlines for your business communications. This feature of the landline can impact your business and client’s sustainability.
5. Difficult to Scale
Landlines require new hardware installation and phone lines, which is a time-consuming process for any business, who needs instant setup or moving to a new location.
Landline vs. VoIP – The Differences at a Glance
Right off the bat, we have an easily digestible easy-to-read comparison of VoIP and landline. Carefully got through this breakdown of how landlines and VoIP work so that you can make the proper selection for your business.
Functionality | VoIP | Landline |
Internet Availability Required | Yes | No |
Initial Setup Cost | Low, as there is no need for dedicated desk phones or hardware | |
Scalability | Quite easy! Businesses need to upgrade to another plan or add more users (when required) | Difficult! It requires additional phone lines and hardware, which makes it potentially expensive |
Reliability | Businesses can rely on VoIP with a backup of a robust internet connection. It is easy to find a reliable internet connection that is robust and can deliver expected results without any disruptions | The reliability is high as businesses don’t have to wait for the internet connection to make calls. Landlines are an excellent option for emergencies and disaster cases |
Security | The security of VoIP depends on the security of your organization as well as the service provider | The PSTN is highly secure since it does not include any transmission of data online, making it susceptible to attacks |
International Calling | It is highly cost-efficient in VoIP as the calling has to be done using the web | Landlines are expensive, and it charges per minute with specific calling rates for different countries |
Voicemail | Easily accessible and included in VoIP, even for remote workers. Businesses can even get voicemail-to-email functionality for quicker communication | Landlines also offer the feature of voicemail; however, it doesn’t come free. It will charge you a specific cost to use that feature |
Multimedia | It is a unified communication and includes video conferencing, phone conferencing, team messaging, meetings, message and file sharing, screen sharing, and other rich features to make your business communication smoother | Phone conferencing feature available |
Domestic Calling | VoIP lets you make unlimited domestic calls (which is standard) | It is included in this case as well. However, there might be some charge/minute on calls outside of the local area |
Option to Customize | The most robust feature of VoIP is how easily it allows businesses to customize it as per their needs. Users can easily specify business hours, calling options, and many other customizations as per their choice | Landlines are limited in this functionality. You will have to pay extra for the add-on features like call recording |
Quality of Audio Calls | Since a good internet connection plays a vital role in delivering high-quality calls, VoIP will only serve you with HD audio calls if you have a robust business internet connection . However, modern internet solutions are efficient in providing apt speed to keep your VoIP system running efficiently. | The audio calls are stable, but it doesn’t rely on the internet connection. So, the dependency on the internet is nil in the case of landlines |
Dependency on Electricity | High! VoIP system will need a backup power system in case of power outages | Landlines are free from dependency on power/electricity |
Call Waiting | Yes | Yes |
Caller ID | Yes | Yes |
Setup Difficulty | Low | High |
Technology | IP technology | Analog Voice Signals |
Auto Attendant | Included | Requires PBX |
Call Routing | Included | Charges Applied |
Integrations (text messages, CRMs) | Available | Not Available |
Suitable for Remote Work | Yes | Call forwarding available |
Call Encryption | Yes | No |
User-to-user Call | Yes | PBX needed |
VoIP or Landlines – Which Makes a Better Option for Your Business?
Businesses have counted telephony as a prime means of communication for years. They rely on phone systems to connect with customers, employees, and clients.
Landline phones have served businesses for a very long time. However, with time, modernization, and current business needs, it becomes tough for landlines to deliver what’s needed for them to survive (and be more effective, precisely).
VoIP, on the other hand, has become a primary choice of communication for most businesses now. It is even said to be the future of voice communication. The reason is the extraordinary advantages that come along with this technology. VoIP is responsible for scalable and secure ways to communicate and survive today’s business needs. You even get to enjoy additional benefits like voicemail, virtual meetings, call recording, and Voice bots for Handling Client Queries. Moreover, the cost as compared to landlines is almost half. Hence, VoIP definitely makes a great business phone system choice.