According to most analysts, any business buying a new telephone system within the next few years will make a move to IP telephony, the very latest in telephony technology, lured by the features, flexibility and cost. Business telecoms provider, Reality Telecom plc, concerned by the growing number of ‘rogue traders’ in the market has issued a set of guidelines to businesses considering the move.

“Whilst applications like Skype are great for consumer calls, and even the odd business call where you’re prepared to trade cost for quality, for most business calls quality is an absolute must,” said Simon Slater Thomas, CEO, Reality Telecom. “To make any IP telephony system work well, there’s a vital ‘Holy Trinity’: the quality of the broadband, the handset/phone, and the network. If any one of these elements is poor, it will reflect in the resultant quality. Businesses don’t need to spend a fortune to get it right – in a good hosted solution the supplier will have done the legwork for them. Callers are used to great quality telecoms. A good system keeps it that way but makes life easier.”

“However, this is an unregulated market, and anyone, from my next door neighbour to multi-national, can legally provide services, which just didn’t happen in the old order of things. Businesses need to re-educate themselves about the questions to ask of new suppliers. If they don’t, quality loss may be the very least of their worries.”

Advice to businesses includes:

1. Ensure that the supplier is experienced and reputable
Organisations should check that the supplier is reputable, established and conforms to OFCOM licensing conditions. It is possible for anyone to set up an IP telephony company without conforming. An OFCOM license provides a basic check that suppliers are legitimate and understand their activity. It is also important to check with the supplier that albeit is possible to make emergency (999) calls. Many suppliers are unable to do this.

2. Ensure the supplier offers ‘network redundancy’
Network redundancy is sometimes called ‘failover’, and refers to what happens to the call if something happens to part of the network – can it be rerouted? Will calling still be possible?

3. Check that the pricing is clear and transparent
Make sure the supplier offers a tariff sheet. Hosted solutions are often rich in features – companies should pick the features they want and ensure they know what they will pay for them. Ensure that the terms and conditions are clear and reasonable.

4. Track record
With inexperienced operators able to set up in the market, make sure that the supplier has a history of delivering to businesses of your size. Speak with existing customers and check that the supplier has been around and supplying quality solutions for a while.

5. Help desk
Ask for the helpdesk number – and call it to see what level of service is offered.

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Notes to Editors

Photography of Simon Slater Thomas is available to download:
http://www.zedpr.co.uk/reality-telecom/images-and-photography/photography-simon-slater-thomas/
(or contact Claire Thompson, details below)

About Reality Telecom
Hampshire based Reality Telecom (www.realitytelecom.co.uk) is licensed by OFCOM to operate telecommunications services throughout the EU. It was founded in August 2001 to provide small and medium sized businesses with flexible, advanced telecoms services at an affordable cost.

The company’s flagship product, Call Navigator™, has evolved over a number of years, and the latest service, Call Navigator IP™, is a fully managed telecoms service that offers simple to use, sophisticated call handling features. (www.callnavigatorip.co.uk)