Business VoIP Providers vs. Residential Providers with Business Plans

The primary difference is the way you connect to the provider's network. Residential VoIP providers who offer business plans require that you provide your own Internet connection. This means that you connect to their network over the public Internet, just like their residential plans. They charge a premium because they expect a business to generate more usage than the typical home user. A Business VoIP provider may (although not always) provide a connection to their switches via a private line connection. Although possibly more expensive than a public Internet connection, a private connection allows the provider to control the entire call path - phone calls can be prioritized over data. By controlling the entire call path, you eliminate the possibility of Internet congestion degrading the quality of a call. This gives the business providers the ability to guarantee call quality where residential providers cannot. To determine what type of service is really being offered, it's better to ask a provider if they have Internet based or dedicated connectivity to their switches than if it's "residential" or "business class" service. Hope this helps.