Landline or Internet Phone: Which Is Right for You?

For most small businesses, an internet phone system is the better choice today. It keeps your number, rings desk phones and cell phones alike, comes with a phone menu and voicemail to email, and does not depend on an old copper wire. A traditional landline still makes sense mainly for a few special lines, like some alarm panels, until their vendor offers a replacement.

If you are weighing a landline or internet phone for your office, here is the difference in plain words.

What Is the Difference Between a Landline and an Internet Phone?

A traditional landline runs over a copper wire from the phone company into your building. The number is tied to that wire and that address.

An internet phone, often called VoIP (voice over the internet), carries calls over your internet connection instead. With a cloud phone system, the system runs online, so your number can ring a desk phone, a computer or a cell phone, wherever you are.

How Do They Compare?

Is an Internet Phone as Reliable as a Landline?

Yes, when it is set up well. The phone system itself runs in the cloud, not in your office, so it keeps answering even if your building loses power. What you need is a steady internet connection where you take calls. Our post on whether your internet is good enough for internet phones has simple checks.

What Happens If the Power or Internet Goes Out?

With a landline, a power cut often leaves cordless phones dead and the office unreachable. With an internet phone, you have more options:

• Staff keep answering on the app on their cell phones, over 4G or 5G.
• A backup number you choose, such as the owner's cell, takes calls if the system cannot reach your phones.
• Voicemail arrives in email, so you can listen from anywhere.

Can I Keep My Landline Number?

In most cases, yes. Moving your number to a new provider (often called porting) costs $10 per number, one time, with Telonium. Your landline keeps working until the move is done, so customers never hit a dead line. Check yours on our keep your number page.

Does 911 Work on an Internet Phone?

Yes, with limits. Telonium supports E911: your registered street address and suite or floor are sent to 911 with the call. The address can come from the desk phone, the office network or a location the user sets in the app, so people working from home should set their home address. Unlike a copper landline, 911 needs power, a working internet connection, a registered address and an active account, and it doesn’t work outside the US, so keep a mobile phone handy for emergencies.

What About Calls Showing as Spam?

Telonium signs your outgoing calls as really coming from you, which is called Verified Caller ID (the industry name is STIR/SHAKEN). It helps your calls get answered. Incoming calls that fail the check show "[Unverified]" before the caller's name, so you know to be careful.

Do I Need New Phones?

Not necessarily. The Telonium app works on the computers and cell phones you already have. Desk phones are optional; old landline phones that plug into a wall jack will not work, but internet desk phones arrive set up and ready to plug in.

The bigger copper phone networks are also being retired over the next few years, which we covered in what to do if AT&T is ending your landline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Still Need a Landline for My Business?

Usually not for calls. Keep a landline only for equipment that needs one, like some alarm panels, until the company that services it offers a replacement.

Is an Internet Phone Cheaper Than a Landline?

It often is once you count features. Telonium is $24.95 per user per month with unlimited calling in the lower 48 states and parts of Canada, a phone menu and voicemail to email included, plus taxes and fees. Compare that to your current bill.

Can I Switch Without Missing Calls?

Yes. Keep your old service until your number has moved, and set up the new system while you wait.