Times are hard for British Business, banks are folding on a monthly basis and consumers are tightening purse strings, yet BT the UK telecoms giant seems to be making hay with large year on year increase in connection fees, setup costs & line rentals.
Line rentals for BT PSTN, ISDN2 & ISDN30 services vary from 12GBP to 15GBP on typical 12 month agreements, up on same time last year. UK VOIP service privider Gradwell offers a good alternative to companies who are ready for SIP or IAX services with monthly line rental of GBP1.50 per trunk and unlimited outbound channels.
The connection fee has not escaped the recent BT price hikes with some connection charges up 25% to 299GBP(ISDN2) on last year. BT's strategy is to offer free or reduced connection fees for customers willing to enter into long term agreements. Many UK VOIP providers currently offer free connection to win business.
BT has raised it's call setup fee from 6 to 7p which means that unless you have opted for a BT call plan or switched your billing to LCR, you will be paying 7p per connection before you start your call - this is quite poor considering large number of calls go to voicemail. UK VOIP providers lead the pack again with minimum call charges of 1.5p - 2p.
UK landline to mobile minute rates to (07) numbers vary from 8p with LCR on long term contracts and high call spend to BT's 19p standard rate. Minute rates to national (01) (02) numbers vary from 0.8p on long term LCR contracts to BT's 4p standard rate. UK ITSPs typically charge 9p - 11p to mobiles & 1.25p -1.5p to landlines without any long contract obligations or spend commitments. Many Voip Providers are now offering all inclusive UK & international calls packages from 15 to 25 pcm.
BT 'Oneplan' offer 1 hour capped calls to mobiles/landlines at 20p/5p respectively. This offer is good if your business makes longer than average length calls, however you will be tied into a 2 year deal & will need 2 additional BT services to quality. According to Telecost the average call lengh is less than 2 minutes and therefore most calls would cost less on per minute deals.
Companies with phone systems that support GSM gateways may achieve mobile minute rates of as little as 1.47p & free office to staff mobile calls. This by far is the most efficient way of running corporate telecoms but requires prior agreement from the mobile network & a small setup fee.
To migrate your telecoms to VOIP you will need the following:
- phone system that supports SIP or IAX
- Low contended ADSL or SDSL service
- adequate bandwidth to carry the max number of simultaneous calls.
- IP telephones
- Good advice & careful provisioning - 15224
Line rentals for BT PSTN, ISDN2 & ISDN30 services vary from 12GBP to 15GBP on typical 12 month agreements, up on same time last year. UK VOIP service privider Gradwell offers a good alternative to companies who are ready for SIP or IAX services with monthly line rental of GBP1.50 per trunk and unlimited outbound channels.
The connection fee has not escaped the recent BT price hikes with some connection charges up 25% to 299GBP(ISDN2) on last year. BT's strategy is to offer free or reduced connection fees for customers willing to enter into long term agreements. Many UK VOIP providers currently offer free connection to win business.
BT has raised it's call setup fee from 6 to 7p which means that unless you have opted for a BT call plan or switched your billing to LCR, you will be paying 7p per connection before you start your call - this is quite poor considering large number of calls go to voicemail. UK VOIP providers lead the pack again with minimum call charges of 1.5p - 2p.
UK landline to mobile minute rates to (07) numbers vary from 8p with LCR on long term contracts and high call spend to BT's 19p standard rate. Minute rates to national (01) (02) numbers vary from 0.8p on long term LCR contracts to BT's 4p standard rate. UK ITSPs typically charge 9p - 11p to mobiles & 1.25p -1.5p to landlines without any long contract obligations or spend commitments. Many Voip Providers are now offering all inclusive UK & international calls packages from 15 to 25 pcm.
BT 'Oneplan' offer 1 hour capped calls to mobiles/landlines at 20p/5p respectively. This offer is good if your business makes longer than average length calls, however you will be tied into a 2 year deal & will need 2 additional BT services to quality. According to Telecost the average call lengh is less than 2 minutes and therefore most calls would cost less on per minute deals.
Companies with phone systems that support GSM gateways may achieve mobile minute rates of as little as 1.47p & free office to staff mobile calls. This by far is the most efficient way of running corporate telecoms but requires prior agreement from the mobile network & a small setup fee.
To migrate your telecoms to VOIP you will need the following:
- phone system that supports SIP or IAX
- Low contended ADSL or SDSL service
- adequate bandwidth to carry the max number of simultaneous calls.
- IP telephones
- Good advice & careful provisioning - 15224
About the Author:
The author has been a VOIP phone systems consultant since 2003. Check out the latest UK Call Rates & comparisons.
