Businesses considering Virtual IP trunking can benefit further by choosing a solution that is broadband carrier agnostic. In doing so, they can leverage these benefits at multiple locations where various broadband carrier options exist. The solution should also be agnostic as to the equipment being enabled.

While VoIP has become prevalent among large business in the US, penetration among small businesses only reached around 25% at the end of 2007. As small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) have begun to explore VoIP solutions for the first time, they quickly become aware that multiple options exist. For many businesses, a single VOIP solution is not always feasible. Hosted and equipment-based alternatives are often used, based on varying needs among businesses with multiple locations.

Broadband IP Telephony (BBIPT), which involves a VoIP service that rides on top of a cable or DSL connection, is the most popular VoIP solution in this space. However, while most small and medium-sized businesses start with BBIT services designed for the single line, residential market, this solution is rarely the sole voice solution owing to its lack of business-grade characteristics and scalability. Over time, many of these businesses migrate to hosted IP solutions that emulate PBX functionality without the need for equipment investments, such as Packet8’s Virtual Office Hosted PBX service.