OfficeNow offers a telephone service for incoming calls thanks to which you are assigned a dedicated number, owned by the Business Center. In Business Centers, any outgoing calls are charged which may not be competitive compared to other telephone operators. What happens if you decide to move your office somewhere else? In this case the telephone number cannot be taken away, but remains the property of the Business Center.
Many Business Centers prohibit their Customers from installing their own telephone lines. OfficeNow allows it. What's the reason? Because OfficeNow's priority is your experience and your satisfaction.
OfficeNow's advice is to use a VoIP operator for telephone calls, taking advantage of the wireless and wired internet line present in each office of the Business Center.
VoIP Operators
Not all VoIP operators are the same: some have really bad audio quality and many conversations fail, other VoIP operators are excellent, but very expensive: the price range is comparable to that of a traditional telephone line.
OfficeNow can recommend some low-cost but high-quality VoIP operators. In fact, the commercial relationship will be between you and the operator, bypassing the Business Center telephone service.
How to activate a VoIP phone number
First of all, it is necessary to register on the website of the chosen VoIP operator: registration is generally free and allows you to obtain test calls to test the service. No incoming telephone number is currently assigned to you.
It is possible to request a dedicated geographical telephone number to receive calls: the VoIP geographical number is a landline telephone number in all respects. It has a prefix (02, 0331, 06, etc...) and a number, which in some cases can have an extra digit.
To obtain a geographic number, operators require your valid identity document. After receiving the document, they will allow you to choose the phone number and activate it. It is possible to choose a prefix from one of the Italian provinces (some operators require that the company actually has an office in that province) and also a foreign one. Activating a geographic number may take a few days and may incur a monthly or annual fee. If you register as a business activity (and not as a private individual), you will be able to request the tax invoice from the operator.
How a VoIP phone number works
To make and receive calls you can use either of the following devices:
- a telephone (which however must be VoIP and accept the SIP standard), connected to the office network;
- a VoIP adapter (SIP standard), with an Ethernet port to connect to the office network and one or more ports for standard telephones + a traditional analog telephone;
- an application for your smartphone (any operating system);
- an application for your PC and headphones with microphone.
The operator, at the time of registration, provided you with the following data:
- host;
- username;
- password.
Simply configure the phone, the smartphone application or the VoIP adapter by entering these data and specifying the type of SIP account: you are already ready to make calls or receive calls on your number.
Although some operators allow it, it is inadvisable to use multiple VoIP tools at the same time. By simultaneously activating the application on the smartphone and the VoIP phone, it may happen that only one of these devices is able to register with the VoIP operator and therefore operate. To transfer the VoIP number from one tool to another, for example from the VoIP landline phone to the application on the smartphone, you will have to remember to turn off the VoIP phone the evening before leaving the office and activate the application on the smartphone. Or, for a more automatic procedure, you will have to contact the VoIP operator and appropriately configure multiple accounts.
VoIP telephony everywhere
It is sufficient to have an internet connection and your smartphone, with an appropriate application, will be able to make and receive phone calls wherever you are in the world and at the same costs. Furthermore, the phone calls made will always appear to come from the same fixed geographical number, even if you are abroad.
Cost of VoIP Telephony
The internet connection is already present in the OfficeNow offices, therefore the VoIP operator will only charge you for outgoing calls. There may possibly be a monthly or annual fee for the dedicated geographic telephone number to receive calls. These costs are generally very low.
OfficeNow Business Center Consulting
OfficeNow can assist you during all phases of VoIP telephone operator registration and device configuration.
By entering OfficeNow Business Center, you will not only have a beautiful office, but a range of optional services, designed for your needs, capable of supporting your company at 360°!