Bandwidth.com Reviews

Bandwidth.com

65

User Reviews

3.9/5

Average Rating

69%

Recommended

Total:

65

5-Star:

32

4-Star:

13

3-Star:

6

2-Star:

9

1-Star:

5

Bandwidth.com Review by WhichVoIP

In 1999 Bandwidth.com was founded in Salt Lake Utah, relocating to North Carolina two years later. They started as an Internet reseller but over the past 15 years they have expanded by building out their own network of IP-based communications and telecom software based applications. One of their main focuses is providing wholesale telecom services to Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and businesses looking to add any form of communications to their IP portfolio. Most recently they have introduced their Republic Wireless offering that has expanded their business footprint into the cellular market.

The Good

Bandwidth.com is unique in that they not only provide the service, but they also own the network that services run on. Their network service is operated by their subsidiary Inetwork and this provides wholesale voice, 9-1-1 and SMS related services. Their network is built exclusively for IP-based voice with nationwide coverage. Origination, termination and toll free services are offered.

Internet service is provided by their subsidiary Broadband.com which offers Internet access to residential and business customers.

Phonebooth is their hosted VoIP offering for small and medium sized businesses. Follow this link to Phonebooth reviews to read more about this service.

SIP trunking is an extremely cost effective and efficient method of providing your phone needs. The main reason for this is that SIP trunks can be shared between users thus the cost can be shared. Costs vary but Bandwidth.com typically charges $20 to $30 per trunk. Each SIP trunk comes with unlimited inbound calling, unlimited outbound local calling and very competitive long distance and international rates - approximately 2 to 5 cents per minute. They also support toll free, 411, and E911 services.

Their SIP trunking service works with many of the top IP-PBX manufacturers, including Allworx, Altigen, Asterisk, Avaya, Cisco, CudaTel, Digium, Epygi, FreePBX, Genband Nuvia, ResponsePoint, Mitel, Objectworld, Pingtel, Samsung, Shoretel, Sutus, Talkswitch, Taridium, Vertical, Vonexus, Zultys and 3Com.

The unlimited SIP trunking plan includes outbound calling to the 48 contiguos states of the USA and also Canada.

They have a 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC) that monitors their network. You can email them directly with any outages or call them toll free.

Bandwidth.com has taken a fresh approach to mobile communication with their Republic Wireless product. This is a smartphone product that uses Wi-Fi in place of cellular as the primary medium for your voice call. However, they have agreements with the major cellular carriers meaning you have coverage wherever you go. With a seamless handover from Wi-Fi to cellular you truly are mobile with coverage virtually anywhere. Add to this the fact there is no contract, it becomes a very attractive option. You can also change your plan up to twice per month as your needs change. A 30 day money back guarantee is offered and there are no roaming charges.

The Bad

Bandwidth.com has a very aesthetically pleasing website but has limited information in terms of pricing and explanation of what services they have and how they can be integrated. Granted, some of these services can be difficult to explain exactly what is required and with a myriad of services this can make it problematic to show.

The wireless option currently has limited 4G coverage, particularly on the west side of the USA. The 3G coverage is decent though. Sprint is the carrier used currently for 3G and 4G coverage.

The unlimited SIP trunking plans do not include Hawaii and Alaska. Calls to Hawaii are charged at 19 cents per minute and calls to Alaska are charged at 30 cents per minute.

Toll free rates also do not include Hawaii (charged at 5 cents per minute) and Alaska (charged at 45 cents per minute).

Several of their services have been branded under different names which may mean separate bills for each service. Businesses like to bundle services to reduce their time dealing with additional bills.

The Bottom Line

  • A lack of information on their website may deter some potential customers away - our recommendation is to call and talk to an agent if you think they might be a good fit for your business.
  • Republic Wireless: Various plans are available. The lowest priced plan starts at $5/month but only includes WiFi talk, text and data. For $10/month you get the unlimited WiFi service plus unlimited cell talk and text (no data). The most popular plan is $25/month and includes the addition of unlimited 3G data capabilities. For 4G data the monthly plan increases to $40/month.

Overall Thoughts

If you are a provider of business services and are looking to add additional IP based communications to your portfolio then Bandwidth.com are worth taking a look at. They have many years of experience in the industry. They also provide a mixture of services directly to businesses and consumers, such as their Phonebooth hosted VoIP solution (for businesses), their Republic Wireless solution (business/consumer), and their Broadband.com Internet solutions (business/consumers). With different name branding across services it can reduce the overall brand experience by the customer though. It may also mean multiple bills for services from the same umbrella company.

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