VoIP specialist Ooma has introduced a new solution called Ooma Connect which will provide small and mid-sized businesses with fixed wireless internet and business phone service.
Millions of business locations in the US are unable to get high-speed internet access and instead are forced to rely on DSL, cable or satellite connections that can be slow, unreliable and expensive. To make matters worse, an even larger number of businesses don't have internet backup which leaves them vulnerable to significant financial loss during internet outages.
Ooma Connect is the company's answer to these problems as it delivers internet connectivity and Ooma Office phone service for as little as $50 a month. The solution requires an Ooma Connect Base Station and Ooma LTE 460 Adapter to provide wireless internet through a nationwide LTE-Advanced network.
- Internet access hangs by a thread for hundreds of millions
- These are the best VoIP systems of 2020
- Here's our roundup of the best business phone services
One company already using Ooma Connect reported that the solution allowed it to lower its monthly bill for internet and phone service from $600 a month to less than $200 a month. Manager at Wireman Fence, Sergio Gonzalez explained how Ooma's new solution is helping the company stay connected while also being more productive, saying:
“We’re getting work done more quickly now that we don’t have to wait for web pages and emails to download. Our team is also more connected to our customers because we’re getting voice messages forwarded to our email and through the Ooma Office mobile app, which lets us take business calls on our cell phones when we’re out of the building.”
Ooma Connect
In addition to helping businesses improve their internet speeds, Ooma Connect can also eliminate the wait time for service from a local bandwidth provider when setting up a new business location. A franchise outlet or even a pop-up store can quickly get phone service and internet access through the company's new solution.
Ooma Connect can also be combined with a business' existing broadband connection to provide wireless backup for phone and internet service during outages. According to the U.S. SMB Internet Outage Report from Independence Research, small businesses in the US will suffer more than $40bn in lost productivity due to internet outages in this year alone.
Ooma is also introducing a new patent-pending feature with Ooma Connect called Continuous Voice. Essentially this feature allows for calls in progress to continue through the LTE-Advanced network when wired broadband access goes down.
Ooma Connect is even ready for 5G as the Ooma Connect Base Station is designed to support future 5G wireless adapters while the Ooma LTE 460 Adapter includes a powerful 2x8 MIMO antenna that should allow increased data speeds when cellular networks are upgraded to 5G.
Vice president of corporate development at Ooma, Chris Burgy provided further insight on the company's new solution in a press release, saying:
“We aim to democratize access to advanced services through the Ooma Connect. Small and medium-sized businesses can’t afford the cost or tolerate the complexity of today’s disjointed solutions for business continuity and cloud-based phone service. Ooma is empowering all businesses with the same cutting-edge technology as large enterprises while also giving millions of businesses a long sought-after alternative to costly DSL and satellite internet access.”
- Also check out our complete list of the best video conferencing software
