We recently switched to a different office in our building, and neglected to check one small thing beforehand: cell phone reception. While we got a terrific signal on the 2nd floor, it\u2019s strikingly bad on the first floor! Generally, if we get a call and we want to actually have a conversation, we have to stand in the corner of the room or walk the halls. This is unfortunate, because there\u2019s no gadget I love like my iPhone. It\u2019s sad that it just won\u2019t cut it down there.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019ve had to start looking around for another provider, which can be relied upon a bit more than the cell phone signal. We started our search with Qwest<\/b>, since they supply our data connection, but their website is confusing and their support isn\u2019t great, and while their Internet service is reliable, it\u2019s not fast enough and they have no plans to improve their speed in our building.<\/p>\n
We next looked at Comcast<\/b>. They can offer data rates far, far higher than Qwest, and they offer much more straightforward telephone services. Unfortunately, they charge you a $250 penalty if you want to start your service with a less than three-year commitment, which we\u2019re just not wanting to make. So for the service that we want, running about $140 a month, we\u2019d have to cough up nearly $400 just to get set up! We\u2019ll come back to this in a bit.<\/p>\n
Next stop: Vonage<\/b>. This is an interesting service. It connects to your Internet service, but it lets you use regular telephones and kind of pretends to be a traditional phone service. Their rates are roughly half of what Comcast and Qwest ask, and from what I hear the call quality is pretty good. The problem I have with them is a strange one, however: their stock price. While trading at about $12 years ago, they\u2019re now at about 35 cents, and they\u2019re apparently being threatened with delisting by the stock exchange. Not a good sign when you are looking to set up a permanent number for your business. Not very reassuring. So we keep looking.<\/p>\n
Finally, we take a look at Skype<\/b>. This is by far the most \u201cexciting\u201d service out there, and I\u2019m just in love with the philosophy. I like the idea of just getting calls on your computer, and being able to place calls from your computer, since we\u2019re planning on upgrading our Internet speed anyway. It\u2019s such a cool idea! Why have a separate phone, why not just be able to use your computer and a wireless headset? The problem is a predictable one: call quality. It\u2019s not good. At its best, I find it\u2019s about par with a cell phone, but at its worst it\u2019s unusable. I\u2019ve placed a couple of calls and experienced all the problems I\u2019ve heard about elsewhere – strange echo sounds, stuttering voice, gaps of silence and so on. For a service that we want to rely on as our primary business phone number, it\u2019s not looking good.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s a shame. Because setting up Skype to supply our business phone needs would only cost seven bucks a month. That means having flexible calling options, voice mail, a custom phone number, and more. If you want to just use a telephone, you can actually buy a Skype phone for $99 that uses your wireless signal. You can even put a badge on your website or in your email that indicates if your phone is taking calls.<\/p>\n
But again, if the call quality isn\u2019t there, none of this matters<\/b>. We are forced to choose between paying maybe $7 a month for Skype, but suffering through partly-coherent conversations, or paying about $45 a month and having trouble-free service. Or more specifically: is it worth $38 a month to have coherent, productive calls with our clients?<\/p>\n
The answer there is sure to be a yes. We\u2019ll be paying another $400 this year, plus buying an old-fashioned telephone, to make sure this happens. Because you don\u2019t want to replace one problem with another. You want to fix it. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re probably going to do.<\/p>\n
But\u2026 Comcast! Ugh<\/b>. I just got off the phone with them again, and after a half hour of back and forth, I\u2019m starting to realize that there\u2019s no way on Earth to strike a deal with these people. The price is just such a sticking point for me. Does anyone have suggestions or thoughts?!?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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