The Cost – Cheaper Business Calls

It’s been nearly 3 decades since the telecoms wars began in the UK, sparked by market privatization and a little-known Mercury Telecommunications taking on the newly-formed BT Goliath.

Things have moved on since then and BT still stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of size but with so much going on, it’s worth looking around before signing up for the easy option.

Back in the 1980s poor old Mercury didn’t really stand a chance. To use Mercury’s cheaper phone call service you needed special equipment and a lot of patience – the kit wasn’t that reliable and the phone calls took ages to connect. Mercury “Smartboxes” caused more problems than solutions and many telecoms vendors cashed in by selling them on long leases, quickly gaining a poor reputation still residual in the market today.

During the 1990s digital technology combined with better equipment to make call savings easier and reliable, carriers and resellers sprung up by the dozen as Oftel allowed the telecoms market to blossom, and old wounds from years gone by were beginning to heal. Once more businesses were taking the plunge with alternative providers for phone calls; they were saving money, and it was working too.

Come the new millennium and UK businesses could get cheaper phone calls, buy and rent phone lines and get just about any telecoms product or service from one place without having to put up with a multitude of phone bills. Also, the need for additional equipment disappeared as all the technology happened in the telephone exchanges. Hundreds of telecoms companies sprung up, locking horns with existing suppliers who were adding these new services to their equipment-based businesses.

Now you can pretty much get whatever you want, from wherever you want it, easily and cheaply. But what do you actually want? And there lies the problem. The UK business phone calls market is so diverse and so technologically advanced, most decision makers find it too confusing and time-consuming to look into. Too many telecoms sales people take advantage of this, spouting loads of gobbledygook before swooping on their bedazzled victims with the hard close.

With so many business call providers crammed into a super-competitive market, “creative” marketing is on the rise, often with empty promises and nasty contracts that leave a sour taste in the mouth.

Remember the 1980s? Many of us still do.

Here’s a few simple tips to ensure genuine call savings and avoid becoming fodder for the telecoms vultures:

The contract must have a defined duration and a clear notice period. Many businesses are now getting caught out thinking that their contract is at an end, only to find out they have to give a further 12 months’ notice.

Watch out for minimum call charges. Vendors promising super-low call rates compensate by charging you a fee to connect the call, and/or a minimum call charge regardless of duration.

Make sure you get a 3-digit billing service. A call rate of 1p per minute is great, however a 30 second call will still cost you 1p (£0.01) with a 2-digit phone bill. The actual cost for this should be £0.005 – which you would get with 3-digit billing.

Bearing in mind the above, make sure you have per second billing, thankfully most call providers do this but check anyway.

Insist on Tier-1 carriers only. Tier-1 calls go via reliable high-quality, well-supported networks. Many smaller “bucket shop” vendors use cheaper networks which squeeze calls down congested routes, making calls sound like you’re talking in a bucket.

Although not essential, it’s useful if your vendor also supplies other services such as phone systems and mobiles. “One-stop-shop” telecoms companies tend to be larger and less vulnerable in what is at present a difficult market to survive in. For example if you’re thinking of spending out on a new phone system, try out a prospective supplier by having a short-term phone call contract with them.