Here is my quick & dirty opinion on Packet8’s VOIP business level phone service. I used Vonage for a while and got rid of it because it is really only a one line home solution, with no real business functionality. By that I mean you cant have 3-5 lines coming in and be able to transfer a call between extensions for example. With Packet8 you can do advanced things like have someone answer your phone for you and patch it out on another extension to your cell phone.

I did a bunch of research before I settled on Packet8 and I am happy with the decision. It’s about $50 a month per line or extension, but that includes unlimited long distance to the US and dirt cheap prices to other countries. With Packet8 they sell you business level phones when you get started, and then they sell you monthly service. You can port your number to them, so you don’t have to lose the number you currently have. That new usb phone line solution is comparable to Vonaga, but the usb phone does not have number porting yet which is a big let down.

Setup is pretty easy. When you get your phones you also get little VOIP boxes that look like cable modems or network hubs. You plug an ethernet cable from your network into the VOIP box, and then that box has a phone wire that connects to the phone extension. Each extension needs a phone, and the VOIP box connected to the Internet. The phones are nice, the picture above is mine. They have all the features you would expect on a business level phone system that costs thousands of dollars including digital voice mail.

Quality of the calls is excellent and Packet8’s support is also pretty professional. In this era where we come to expect the foreign call center support, Packet8’s staff stands out as doing a great job. They have a deep understanding of their product, and offer to walk people through their first use of the system over the phone. I didn’t need this level of hand holding because the phone system and website are so turn-key. I did however need to setup some custom settings to the phones, and the ring order of calls that got me talking with their support team. They did a good job, and they knew their product well.

I am happy with Packet8, I still will likely expand my phone system beyond the two extensions I have now. Once my business grows I plan on adding another line. The cool part about Packet8 and small business is that the VOIP phone system lets each extension sit anywhere in the world, but yet all phones all act like they are in the same office, and all work on the local US number you set it up with.