When you install a Four Lakes telephony solution, you open up the possibility of routing some or all of your calls via the internet, both outgoing and incoming. Each customer's needs are specific to them, and the best solution is only recommended by Four Lakes following a consultant's initial site audit. However, it is true to say that the majority of small businesses will benefit from routing some of their calls via the internet. The proportion will depend on a number of factors, including the amount and type of calls made, and the typical destinations of outgoing calls.Usually, it is sensible to scale back on the number of analogue or digital phones lines entering the building to save on line rental costs, but to retain some to act as a backup should there be any issues with internet access.

A Four Lakes VoIP account offers some extra features and facilities to your telephony setup that should be carefully considered in conjunction with your Four Lakes consultant. These include:

• Making some or all outbound calls via the internet (depending on destination, time of day, number of calls already in progress, etc)
• Porting of existing inbound numbers to your VoIP account so that some or all inbound calls are via the interent
  
• Purchasing new telephone numbers to use as you wish, including non-geographic numbers (0800, 0845, etc.) and numbers outside your physical location (e.g. a London company can have a Liverpool number) to give a local 'presence'.

In utilising a VoIP account you will almost certainly save your company money, particularly if you make calls outside the UK. If you have a deal with a telephony provider then you will almost certainly be able to utilise that through the Concordiax PBX when it suits you (e.g. you may get a cheap rate for off-peak local calls) and route calls via the internet when that is cheaper. The choice is yours !

Four Lakes' detailed VoIP call charges can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.  The prices are correct as of Nov '07, but exchange rate fluctuations may mean that actual charges differ slightly.