Just as one shoe size cannot fit all, there is no one cell phone plan that is right for every small business. But there are many high quality plans that are worth considering as they strive to meet the needs of different types of businesses. To choose the best mobile phone plan for your business, you first need to determine what type of plan is best for your business.
Business owners typically buy and pay for employee cell phones or plans or both when workers spend at least some of their time offsite. With employees, you might want to keep track of hours and data. In this case, to streamline operations and collaboration, a specialized mobile phone plan might be optimal. Today, more and more US companies are accepting work-from-home schedules that avoid meetings and travel, but note that quarantines and shelter-in-place orders won't last forever, so this is a good idea to take into account all of your business activities. Account.
How to choose a plan
There are many factors to consider when choosing a cell phone plan for your small business. Here are some major issues you will want to consider.
Corporate design: Is your proposed plan designed for business and suitable for business customers? If you are a solopreneur or a very small business with only a handful of employees, you may be able to get by with a personal friends and family type plan, as opposed to a bona fide business plan. But once you have more than two employees, start thinking bigger about developments like multiple lines, unlimited options for calling, texting and data, data-only plans for businesses that don't have need to talk or text, and discounts for more lines or devices.
Network coverage: Consider sound quality, data speeds, coverage, and overall reliability. Make sure the plan you choose has good coverage in the area where your employees are or are traveling. If your employees are traveling abroad, choose from packages that offer good rates for target countries. Also, don't forget about airline coverage and in-flight SMS services.
Security: Some mobile phone business plans offer virtual private networks, encryption, and other features to protect your business data. This could be very useful, as it saves you from having to search, choose, and pay for additional services.
Equipment: If you need to provide phones for your employees, consider what types of phones are offered with the plans you are considering or whether employees prefer to use their own smartphones.
Hotspot: Some business environments just don't have usable Wi-Fi, but you can use a cell phone signal to connect a device wirelessly to the internet with a mobile hotspot. For connections to multiple devices, look for a dedicated hotspot with a fast, stable and secure connection, along with other services like call forwarding, voicemail, call waiting, analysis and queuing of calls.
The data: Business plans should be generous with data, but the best is unlimited, unless you really don't need data to do business.
Customer service: Count on problems that arise, and when they do, you or your employees will want someone you trust to call you before customers get worried.
Price: Price is always a factor, and sometimes the cheapest plans only offer the service and features you're looking for. But for something as important as your business communications, don't buy on price alone.
Just in case you're also looking for the best overall mobile cellular deals, take a look at our survey of the best mobile phone plans of 2020 and our report on the best prepaid mobile phone plans. In the meantime, below are some of the business-focused plans available today.
Basics of the Big Four
AT&T
AT&T offers several variations of its mobility pricing plans - Mobile Share Plus, Mobile Select Priority Pooled, and Business Unlimited Elite, as well as several in between - to suit your budget for $ 50, $ 55, and $ 85 per line per month. Designed for small to medium-sized businesses, the Elite plan offers unlimited data, conversations, and SMS for up to 10 devices. The Pooled plan gives employees a data allowance in addition to the data grouped into a single account. The Plus plan lets you share data on up to 10 or up to 25 business devices. All plans offer unlimited domestic calling and texting and unlimited calling from the United States to Mexico and Canada, as well as unlimited texting from the United States to over 120 countries, as well as high definition video streaming. The Elite and Pooled plans also include 5G. Data speeds can slow down with congestion beyond certain data points.
Verizon
Verizon markets the Business Plan, Business Unlimited, the New Verizon Plan, and the Flexible Business Plan specifically for small businesses. The plan for businesses starts at $ 175 per month for up to 25 lines, with data plans ranging from 25 GB to 200 GB for various prices and capping at $ 1,000 per month. All plans include data transfer, security mode, calls to and from Mexico and Canada, use of your device in Mexico and Canada, and data boost at a cost of $ 15 per 1 Go. With all business plans, you can turn your device into an Internet hotspot and send unlimited messages to over 200 countries around the world. Additional smartphones cost $ 15 per month.
Sprint
Sprint is revamping its offerings for small businesses following its merger with T-Mobile. Today, its plans for small business and cell phones and data feature a simple interactive menu that leads to its familiar offerings of Unlimited Basic and Unlimited Premium for $ 200 and $ 300 per month respectively for five lines and Unlimited Plus for. 11 or more lines starting at $ 300 per month. The base cost per line is $ 20 per month for smartphones only, while the Premium rate is $ 30 per month covering smartphones only. Basic offers DVD-quality video streaming and a 500MB mobile hotspot. Premium is compatible with 5G phones and includes HD streaming, 100GB LTE mobile hotspot, unlimited data, calls and texts, secure Wi-Fi, global roaming to over 200 destinations, unlimited use in Mexico and Canada, and more. The Unlimited Plus plan is targeted at a minimum of 11 lines for $ 24.55 per month with a 50 GB hotspot.
T Mobile
Simple choice for businesses by T Mobile costs $ 50 per line per month up to $ 110 per month for up to five lines. You can add $ 10 per line per month for 6 to 12 lines and up to 2 GB of 4G LTE data. You can call and text from any Wi-Fi connection, as your unused LTE data (up to 20 GB) advances for 12 months. The plan includes unlimited calling and texting to and from Mexico and Canada, as well as up to 5 GB of data at 4G LTE speeds. If you're looking for a more streamlined option, T-Mobile Essentials only costs $ 30 per month per line for four lines. It offers unlimited 3G mobile hotspot data, unlimited calling, texting and 2G data in Mexico and Canada, as well as unlimited texting and flat rate calls at 20 cents per minute to more than 210 countries. An additional 10 GB of high-speed 4G LTE mobile hotspot data will cost you $ 10 per month. For a more robust plan, the Magenta for Business plan is available for two, four, eight, and 12 lines for $ 60, $ 40, and $ 30 per month and per line, respectively. It offers 5G service, 3 GB of 4G LTE hotspot data, unlimited 3G data, SMS and in-flight data, unlimited data and SMS in over 210 countries, as well as calls, SMS and unlimited data in Canada and Mexico. The included Digits program eliminates the need for separate work and home phones, allowing you to access up to five numbers on one device and use one number on multiple devices.
RingCentral
RingCentral is a desktop-centric VoIP system that offers unlimited calling and conferencing, toll-free numbers, and customizable caller ID. You can also get additional features like texting, online meetings, and faxing. With RingCentral, incoming calls go through the same call routing system as your desk phones. This means you can call, text, and fax from your work number on any mobile device. It scales from two users to 1000 and offers four tiers: Essentials, Standard, Premium, and Ultimate for $ 20, $ 25, $ 35, and $ 50 each with a free trial.
Wireless cricket
Wireless cricket is a premium prepaid wireless service that costs between $ 30 and $ 60 per month. You can customize your plan to a great extent, starting with a basic baseline of a conversation plan and dataless text. From there, you can add data (2GB, 5GB or unlimited), unlimited calls and texts, picture messages, a mobile hotspot and SD quality video streaming. If you need international coverage, you can add access to Canada and Mexico, unlimited text to 37 countries, HD voice, and Wi-Fi calling from a compatible phone from the list of options. . The 20GB and 40GB data-only plans are available for $ 35 and $ 50 per month, respectively, with the use of Mexico and Canada in the combination.
Republic Wireless
Republic Wireless is a great option if your business uses Wi-Fi, so you don't need a real phone network, which makes it work more like a virtual network. The provider relies on the T-Mobile and Sprint networks when Wi-Fi is not available. The Basic plan is incredibly affordable, starting at $ 15 per month or $ 150 per year for unlimited calling and texting. At this level, Republic Wireless charges $ 5 per gigabyte of data, up to 15GB. But don't worry about being taken to the cleaners if you accidentally use too much data - Republic turns data off before you can exceed your allowance. You don't have to worry about overage fees because the data is automatically cut off when you reach your limit. With Republic Wireless data plans, you can also turn your smartphone into a hotspot. A practical benefit is that you can use Republic's Extend Home service to link your cell phone to your home phone. This means that you can use your home phone if you don't have your cell phone handy, even while accessing your cell phone contacts from your home phone.
Editor's recommendations
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-small-business-cell-phone-plans/