Many people are fed up with traditional, incumbent providers. You know their names – namely Bell, and to a lesser extent Rogers. Thankfully there is a lot of competition when it comes to providing business services. Any small business looking to save money on its communication needs has to do itself a favour and research alternative providers available in its area. For instance…
Phone Lines
- Allstream – Allstream has actually been at it for quite awhile in Canada. It started out at AT&T Canada in the 90s, and was scooped up by Manitoba Telecom in 2004. It has a very large fibre optic network in Canada, and can provide business phone services just about anywhere in the country either through local land lines, PRIs, or SIP trunking.
- Orpheum – You knew I had to include Orpheum. 🙂 Orpheum only offers SIP trunking as an alternative to local land lines, but SIP trunking is highly cost effective and Orpheum’s been getting great feedback about the quality of the service.
- Primus – Your mileage may vary when it comes to customer service/technical support, but Primus’ services are available at a good price. Like Allstream, they can offer SIP trunks, PRIs and local land lines for voice connectivity.
Internet
- Allstream – Again, Allstream is a solid provider here. They can offer DSL for small businesses, and then upgrade you to a T1 or provide an E10 line when necessary. Larger businesses can look to Allstream for MPLS VPN, switched Ethernet, and other IP connectivity services if needed.
- Start – Start Communications is a local company based in London. They offer DSL, cable, and also connectivity through their own network that spans across downtown London and then some. If you’re tired of dealing with larger companies, or work/live in London’s downtown core, Start is a highly viable choice.
- Telus – Telus is similar to Allstream in that it offers services to businesses nationwide, but not consumers. However, if you’re tired of the duopoloy that is Bell and Rogers, give Telus a call and I’m sure they’ll be happy to engage in competition.
- TekSavvy – TekSavvy is a large ISP (250 employees) based out of Chatham, ON. I don’t use them personally, but I have many friends who do and they all rave about TekSavvy’s service! It can offer DSL (including dry loop), T1, E10, and E100 to your business with “Unlimited” usage caps.
Fax
- MyFax – The premise is simple here. Fax still lives on whether we like it or not. Instead of buying a fax machine, use a service like MyFax ($10/month) to send and receive faxes. Local numbers in most Canadian area codes are available, including 519/226.
- eFax – eFax is a similar service except that it costs $12.49 a month. There are pros and cons to both services, so compare the features available from myFax and eFax before settling on one. If you’re using a hosted PBX from a company like Orpheum or Primus, chances are fax is available as part of the service as well, eliminating another monthly bill.
I hope this post was helpful to you! It’s certainly not an exhaustive list of providers, but it should put you on the right track to cutting your small business’ costs.