The Life and Times of Seattle’s Small Business Systems Consultant. Articles and advice on small business phone systems, phone and internet services, VoIP, and all things technology related.
Selkowitz Technology | Seattle’s small business network and telecom consultant
Highest Rated
-
(4.11 out of 5)Why VoIP Sometimes Doesn’t Work Right
I regularly speak with many small businesses who’ve tried VoIP systems and are having problems, here’s one email I recently received:
“I have tried Fonality (dropped calls), and another voip system and the probem I was dropping too many calls, etc.”
In the past few months we’ve replaced an Accessline Vertical Accelerator VoIP system, Blarg’s VoIP [...]
Understanding Ethernet Over Copper In Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma
Ethernet Over Copper is a new kind of high bandwidth internet connection which will range from 5-30Mb. There will inevitably be many comparisons to cable, DSL, bonded T1s, and fiber.
What separates this connection from DSL and Cable is a matching upload rate (a.k.a. synchronous). Cable and DSL can now offer download speeds of up to [...]
How to cut a phone bill by thousands of dollars
I recently had an opportunity to review the very old phone system and phone bill for a local church. They’re growing and moving into a new space and wanted a new phone system for the new location. What they didn’t expect was a new system would cost them less than keeping the old one!
Their old [...]
What You Need to Know About Leaving VoIP
We’ve recently had a rash of businesses want to leave VoIP carriers like Packet 8 and Vonage due to call quality issues. The first thing to know is the origin of the phone number - if the phone number originated with a traditional carrier then its easy to bring it back, though it often takes [...]
Why Looking at new Phone Service with a new Phone System Makes Sense
One of the universal truths is no one likes talking to the guy trying to sell them phone service. But in many cases when a business is looking at a new phone system, its a good time to talk phone service as well to make an optimal package.
For example one job we did recently the [...]
Finally a VoIP Plan that Makes Sense
VoIP line plans aren’t like traditional lines in the case of business VoIP. Where a traditional phone line is flat rate in a local calling area, VoIP usually has no concept of local calls and lines are either metered (per minute inbound and outbound with no local calling area) or flat rate nationwide. These kinds [...]
When SIP Trunking (VoIP) Makes Sense
VoIP is all the rage and hype in the telecommunications business, but VoIP can mean many things and its fitness for a specific purpose varies greatly. When it comes to replacing traditional phone (PSTN) lines with SIP trunks I always hesitate because its not right for every small business.
SIP trunks often are delivered two different [...]
Does Comcast Business Cable Slow With Time?
I’ve been seeing more of Comcast’s business cable service and noticed an interesting trend. When first installed the services often register speed tests upwards of 15Mbps - and impressive speed and well above the service level. What’s interesting is if you retest the same line a few months later, I’ve finding they’re “only” doing ~6Mbps [...]
Is Flat Rate Long Distance Right For My Business?
Many of the business telecom carriers are rolling out flat long distance service packages to counter the VoIP services. While these can sometimes be of benefit, its worth a bit of math to be sure.
For example Verizon was offering my client 5 lines, features, and flat LD for $350/mo plus fees and taxes. With Integra [...]