Your local network
Most quality problems that reach support are inside the building: a congested Wi-Fi network, an old switch or a router without voice prioritization. These are checked during setup.
VoIP explained for buyers
Business calls over the internet, without the guesswork.
VoIP is how nearly every business phone call is carried today. This page explains what that means for your connection, your call quality, your 9-1-1 service and the number you have had for years.
- Runs on the internet connection you already have
- Same number, ported from your current carrier
- 9-1-1 address confirmed at setup
Example
Site A
Site B
Mobile
Your PBX or apps
3CTel SIP trunks
Call quality: HD
Carrier network
A VoIP phone system carries business calls over your internet connection instead of a dedicated phone line. Each desk phone or app converts speech into data packets, sends them to 3CTel's service, and 3CTel connects the call to the public phone network. A single call uses a fraction of a typical business connection. Your existing Canadian number can be ported, and 9-1-1 works from a registered service address confirmed at setup.
How a VoIP call actually travels
When you pick up a VoIP desk phone or tap a contact in the app, the device converts your voice into small data packets and sends them over your internet connection to 3CTel. There, the call is handed to the public telephone network, so the person you are calling picks up an ordinary phone and hears an ordinary call. Inbound calls take the same path in reverse.
Because the call is data until it reaches 3CTel, the phone system itself lives with 3CTel rather than in your office. Your main menu, extensions, groups and hours are applied there, which is why a remote worker on the mobile app and a receptionist on a desk phone can be on the same system.
The signalling that sets up and tears down the call uses SIP, the standard that VoIP phones and services share. You do not need to know SIP to use the system, but it is why desk phones from different manufacturers can all register to the same service.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
Phone calls carried over an internet connection instead of a dedicated phone line.
Learn more: VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)
The signalling standard that starts, changes and ends VoIP calls.
Learn more: SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)Business VoIP
SIP calling that replaces landlines — or feeds the PBX you already own.
Learn more: Business VoIPWhat your internet connection needs
- Bandwidth: a single voice call uses a fraction of a typical business connection. Even a busy office with many simultaneous calls is usually well within what its existing service provides. The specialist confirms this against your connection and your expected call volume.
- Stability over speed: voice is sensitive to packets arriving late or out of order, not to raw speed. A steady connection with modest bandwidth outperforms a fast connection that stalls.
- Prioritization: most business routers can prioritize voice traffic over downloads and video, so a large file transfer does not degrade a call. 3CTel walks through the settings with whoever manages your network.
- Wired where possible: desk phones on Ethernet are more consistent than on Wi-Fi. The mobile app is designed for Wi-Fi and cellular data and is the right choice for people who move.
- A backup path: if the office connection fails, calls can be sent to the mobile app on cellular data or to another number. This is a routing rule, agreed during planning, not extra hardware.
Call quality, and what affects it
The device
A desk phone on a wired connection, or a desktop app with a proper headset, gives the most consistent result. Laptop microphones and speakers are the weakest link in most calls.
The path to 3CTel
Between your router and 3CTel the call crosses your internet provider's network. This is where a stable business connection matters more than a fast residential one.
Visibility when something is off
Call quality problems are usually specific to one user, one site or one time of day. Call logs and analytics help narrow that down instead of guessing.
9-1-1 on a VoIP line
A traditional landline is tied to an address. A VoIP phone can be plugged in anywhere, which is why Canadian VoIP providers must provide 9-1-1 service and must warn customers about its limitations. The practical difference is that emergency responders rely on the service address registered for your line, not on where the device physically is.
3CTel confirms a registered service address for each line with you at setup, and it should be updated when a desk phone moves or when a remote worker changes location. The mobile app is different again: it runs on a cell phone, and calling 9-1-1 from the phone's own dialler uses the cellular network.
Ask the specialist to explain 9-1-1 handling for your specific mix of desk phones, desktop apps and mobile apps. The details are also on our 9-1-1 page.
VoIP questions from Canadian businesses
Will the person I call know I am using VoIP?
No. The call reaches them as a normal phone call showing your business number as the caller ID. Quality on a well-configured VoIP system is the same as, or better than, a landline, because the audio is carried digitally until the last leg. Callers only notice VoIP when the local network on your side is congested, which is why it is checked during setup.
Can we run VoIP on a residential-grade internet connection?
Often, yes, particularly for a very small team. The concern is consistency rather than speed. A residential connection with occasional stalls will produce occasional broken audio, and it usually comes without a service commitment when it fails. A business-grade connection, or at least a router that prioritizes voice, is the better foundation for a team that depends on the phone.
What happens to VoIP calls during a power outage?
Desk phones need power, either from a power adapter or from a switch that supplies power over Ethernet. If the building loses power, they stop, as does the router. The system itself is unaffected, so calls to your number can be sent to the mobile app on cellular data or to another number. That fallback is configured with you in advance rather than during the outage.
Moving your number to VoIP
Confirm the number can be ported
Nearly all Canadian local and toll-free numbers can move. The specialist checks the number and the account details the current carrier will need.
Build the system on a temporary number
Your menu, groups, hours and devices are configured and tested while your current line keeps working. Nothing changes for callers yet.
Submit the port
3CTel files the request with your current carrier. Do not cancel your existing service; cancelling before the port completes can cause the number to be lost.
Switch on the agreed date
The number moves to 3CTel and calls start arriving on the new system. Your old service can then be closed.
Number porting
How a port works, what you need to provide, what causes delays, and what 3CTel does at each step.
Learn more: Number portingNumber porting
Moving an existing phone number from one provider to another without changing it.
Learn more: Number portingBusiness Phone Numbers
Local, toll-free and campaign numbers that all land in one system.
Learn more: Business Phone NumbersRelated pages.
Business VoIP
SIP calling that replaces landlines — or feeds the PBX you already own.
Learn more: Business VoIPBusiness phone system
Numbers, routing, apps and desk phones, designed around how your calls actually arrive.
Learn more: Business phone systemHosted PBX
The PBX as a service: endpoints, extensions, dial plans, failover and admin.
Learn more: Hosted PBXOnline Fax
Fax by email and web — without keeping a dedicated phone line alive.
Learn more: Online Fax9-1-1 on VoIP
Why the registered address matters, how it is confirmed at setup, and how to keep it current.
Learn more: 9-1-1 on VoIPVoIP vs landline
What changes when business calls move to the internet, and when they should not.
Learn more: VoIP vs landlineFrequently asked questions.
Not necessarily. Many existing IP desk phones can be registered to 3CTel, and the desktop and mobile apps need no hardware at all. Older analogue phones and fax machines can connect through an adapter. The specialist reviews what you have.
Fax over VoIP is possible through an adapter but is less reliable than voice. Most businesses move to online fax, which sends and receives faxes from email or the web with no machine at all.
Calls between your devices and 3CTel can be encrypted, and access to the admin portal is controlled by user accounts. Ask the specialist about the settings that apply to your setup, and see our privacy page for how call data is handled.
That depends on your plan and your connection. Bandwidth is rarely the limit for a typical office; the number of simultaneous calls is agreed during planning based on your team size and call volume.
The apps work wherever there is internet. Calls show your Canadian business number. Note that 9-1-1 from the app abroad does not reach Canadian emergency services, and that the phone's own dialler should be used for local emergencies.
Find out whether your connection is ready.
Tell us how many people take calls and where. A specialist checks the basics, recommends a setup and quotes it before anything is activated.