Small Business Phone Systems

Small business phone systems are a rather curious feature of the business world. While small business drives the U.S. economy and continues to grow, with approximately 90% of the economy comprised of small businesses, the world is shrinking. Global outreach enabled by the Internet, worldwide shipping vendors, and business travel incentives have helped shape the economy. Despite all this growth, the most curious aspect of business phone systems is the lack of them.

Originally AT&T was the sole monopoly on telephone company (telco) phone services in the U.S., or a lack of them according to the testimony of many customers. This monopoly continued until the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust 1982 lawsuit broke up the company into smaller, regional companies known as “Baby Bells” allowed to openly compete against one another. Among these was Southwestern Bell, which changed its name to SBC Communications, Inc. Eventually SBC merged with the remnants of AT&T in 2005, leaving Bell South the last surviving baby bell. Mergers and acquisitions in the industry created several major players: Sprint Nextel Corporation, Qwest and Verizon.

High-speed access is rapidly replacing the outdated wiring that originally connected the country, but the small business phone system is still prone to transmission and service delays due to the millions of connecting paths each phone call must take. Computerized technology and the increasing use of fiber optics have helped with speed gains, and the entire phone system remains fairly reliable. Customer service complaints are still loudly heard. But since most of phone company services still concentrate on the consumer communications market especially in the wireless arena, business has remain somewhat ignored, unless they were huge corporations in need of customized systems and service applications.

VoIP Phone Service has changed the way telcos now market and has also changed the aggressive counter measures traditional telcos are using to stem an eroding service base. U.S. small business owners are increasing turning to alternative phone service systems that avoid what some say are creative, expensive and ofttimes inexplicable billings. Telcos now want to assess emerging VoIP provides witjh additional charges for use of the Internet ISPs they claim they own or indirectly control. VoIP providers counter that telcos already charge their existing customers for these services. What the fallout will be remains to be seen, but with savings of long distance and other bundled package services nearing the 50% mark, it’s doubtful that VoIP providers like Vonage Phone Service will soon go away.

In fact, telcos are now shifting their marketing, providing VoIP-like services to small business, and merging with other companies to gain control of broadband. But it may indeed be too late to hold back the flow, comparable to a boy sticking a finger into a failing dike.

Sprint, BellSouth, Qwest and Verizon offers services to businesses based on the number of employees or the number of locations. But these parameters still miss the mark for most small business owners who are not large firms nor have multiple locations.

With the developing technology of the Internet shrinking the world and the emerging of new Asian economic power centers like the China Economy providing an almost limitless business opportunity, it’s a sure thing that owners will demand, and get, the small business phone system technology and services they need to do business worldwide as well as nationally. Traditional telcos’ vision of “customer service” will also need to change from the “you’re just one account” to a realization that the one account voice can be heard worldwide through blogs and online Web sites. Before the breakup of Ma Bell way back when, most customers lived in isolated vacuums, fuming over the lack of service. Now there is decreasing space where telcos can hide their foibles and downright goofs. As any business owner knows, one happy customer may tell four or five others and make recommendations for future sales, while an unhappy customer will tell sixteen others not to shop. With the Internet, the implication of word-of-mouth negative publicity becomes a powerful weapon that business owners can use to their advantage.

• Memo Layout
• 10 Best Home Based Businesses
• Business Thank You Notes
• The Myths Of Entrepreneurship
• Unethical Business Practices

• Sample Resume Objective
• Memo Examples
• Resume Objective Examples
• Resume Objective Statements
• Sample of Letter of Request

• Prepaid Cell Phone Plans
• Cordless Phone
• Small Business Tax Deductions
• Business DSL
• Prepaid Cellular Phone