Question 1

What does business VoIP actually cost?

Accepted Answer

Straight numbers, because this industry hides them: hosted business phone service runs $20 to $35 per user per month from most reputable providers. 815 Voice is $24 per user per month, flat, with menus, voicemail transcription, texting, and mobile apps included. Where budgets get wrecked is everything around the sticker price. National providers commonly add: per-feature charges (auto attendant, r

Question 2

Can I keep my phone number if I switch providers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Federal law (FCC porting rules) requires your current carrier to release your number to a new provider. They cannot refuse the port, even if you're mid-contract, even if you owe them money. Losing your number is never a reason to stay with a provider you've outgrown. How it works: your new provider files the port with your old carrier using an account number and a PIN or recent bill copy. The

Question 3

Is a landline or VoIP better for a small business?

Accepted Answer

VoIP wins for almost every small business now, but not for the reasons the ads say. Honest breakdown: Where VoIP wins: price (roughly half the cost per line), features that copper physically can't do (ring your cell and desk together, voicemail arriving as email text, texting from your business number, menus without hardware), and flexibility, adding a line is a config change, not a truck roll. An

Question 4

AI receptionist vs. a human answering service, which is better?

Accepted Answer

We sell the AI, so read this knowing that, but the comparison is honest. Cost: Human answering services bill per minute or per call; typical small-business bills run $200-600/month for after-hours coverage alone. The 815 Voice AI receptionist starts at $99/month for unlimited answering, 24/7. This isn't close. Speed and hold time: Answering services put your callers in a queue with everyone else's

Question 5

How much do missed calls actually cost a small business?

Accepted Answer

Industry studies put small-business missed-call rates around 25-40% of inbound calls, and the behavior after the miss is the expensive part: roughly 80% of callers who hit voicemail don't leave a message, and most call a competitor within the hour. For a local service business, the caller found you on Google next to four alternatives, the phone IS the funnel. Run your own numbers instead of trusti

Question 6

Is the copper phone network really shutting down in Illinois?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it's real, gradual, and already priced into your bill. The FCC loosened carriers' obligation to maintain the legacy copper network, and major carriers have been filing to retire copper service area by area, including across Illinois. The playbook: stop investing in the copper plant, raise analog line prices sharply (many Illinois businesses have watched a POTS line go from $30-40 to $70-100+