For most Brevard County businesses, VoIP is now the better choice — it’s cheaper per user, packed with features, and works anywhere your team does. The one real edge a traditional landline had — staying up in a power outage — is smaller than it sounds, because a good VoIP system automatically reroutes your calls to cell phones or another location during an outage. On the Space Coast, where storms take down power and lines, that failover is often a reason to switch toward VoIP, not away from it.
If you’re weighing a new business phone system, you’re really choosing between two eras. Traditional phone systems — copper landlines and the on-site PBX — ran offices for decades and still work. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) sends your calls over your internet connection instead. Both make and take calls; where they differ is cost, features, flexibility, and what happens when the power goes out. Here’s the honest comparison for a Brevard business.
What are VoIP and traditional phone systems?
A traditional phone system uses the old copper telephone network (POTS lines) or a digital PBX box installed in your building, with dedicated phone wiring to each desk. A VoIP system turns your calls into data and sends them over your internet connection, with the “phone system” usually living in the cloud. The practical upshot: traditional ties your phones to a physical location and physical lines; VoIP frees them from both.
VoIP vs. traditional: the head-to-head
| VoIP | Traditional | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Lower — ~$20–$40/user | Higher per line, plus feature charges |
| Features | Voicemail-to-email, mobile app, auto-attendant, call routing — included | Basic; extras cost more |
| Remote / mobile work | Works anywhere with internet | Tied to the building |
| Scaling up | Add a user in minutes | Add lines and hardware |
| Power outage | Needs internet + power — but reroutes to cell automatically | Basic copper line can stay up |
| Availability | Widely available, future-proof | Copper being phased out |
Which is cheaper?
VoIP, in almost every case. A hosted VoIP seat commonly runs $20 to $40 per user, per month with the calling features bundled in, while traditional business lines cost more per line and then nickel-and-dime you for voicemail, auto-attendant, and long distance. Add remote and hybrid staff — who each need a “line” on a traditional system but just an app on VoIP — and the gap widens fast.
Is VoIP reliable — and what happens in an outage?
Modern VoIP is very reliable when it’s set up right, and “set up right” is the key phrase. VoIP depends on two things: a stable internet connection and power. That’s the fair knock people raise — if your internet or power dies, the phones on your desks go dark. The part they usually don’t know: a properly configured VoIP system doesn’t just fail. Because the “system” lives in the cloud, it can instantly reroute incoming calls to staff cell phones, a mobile app, or a backup location the moment your office drops offline. Your customers still get through; you just answer from your phone instead of your desk.
The reliability fixes are straightforward: put the router and network gear on a battery backup (UPS), have a solid business internet connection, and configure the failover rules before you need them — not during.
The Space Coast storm question
This is the one that matters most for a Brevard business. Hurricane season is real here, and outages happen. The instinct is that a copper landline is safer because it can stay up when the power’s out. Sometimes true — but a traditional system is still physically tied to your building. If the office loses power for three days or floods, that landline isn’t doing you much good if nobody can be there to answer it.
VoIP flips that. When your building goes dark, calls can already be rerouting to cell phones and staff working from anywhere the power’s still on. For a lot of Space Coast owners, that — not the desk phone — is the real continuity plan. The right answer is to build the failover in on purpose, which is exactly the kind of thing we set up before storm season, not during it.
Should your Brevard business switch to VoIP?
For most, yes — especially if you have remote or hybrid staff, multiple locations, aging phone equipment, or rising copper-line bills. The businesses that should move most deliberately are the ones with weak internet (fix that first) or very specialized legacy equipment. The good news is switching doesn’t mean losing your numbers or starting over: your existing business numbers port to the new system, and a good provider maps your current call flow so day one feels familiar, just with more capability behind it.
Key takeaways
- VoIP is cheaper per user, more feature-rich, and works anywhere — the better fit for most Brevard businesses.
- Traditional copper’s one advantage (staying up in an outage) is shrinking, and carriers are retiring copper anyway.
- VoIP’s outage answer is automatic failover — calls reroute to cell/app when the office drops.
- On the Space Coast, that failover is often a reason to move toward VoIP for storm continuity.
- Switching keeps your numbers and your call flow — port the numbers, map the routing, done.
Weighing VoIP for your Brevard business? We’ll check your internet, map your call flow, and give you a straight recommendation.
Talk to BBTS About VoIPFrequently asked questions
Is VoIP reliable enough for a business?
Yes, when it’s built on a stable internet connection with the network gear on a battery backup. Modern hosted VoIP runs in redundant data centers, and it adds something a landline can’t: if your office goes offline, calls automatically reroute to cell phones or another location so you never actually miss them.
What happens to VoIP during a power outage or hurricane?
The phones on your desks need power and internet, so they’ll go down with the building — but the phone system lives in the cloud, so it keeps routing calls. Configured properly, it forwards incoming calls to staff cell phones or a mobile app automatically, so on the Space Coast your customers still reach you even when the office is dark.
Can I keep my current business phone number if I switch to VoIP?
Yes. Number porting transfers your existing business numbers to the new VoIP system. It’s a scheduled cutover with a small one-time fee per number, handled so you don’t miss calls during the switch.
Is VoIP actually cheaper than a traditional phone system?
Almost always. A VoIP seat at $20–$40/month bundles features that traditional lines charge extra for, and remote staff cost a cheap app instead of a full line. The savings grow with every line and every hybrid worker.
Do I have to switch to VoIP, or can I keep my landlines?
You’re not forced to today, but the decision is being made for the market: carriers are retiring the old copper network, so traditional lines are getting pricier and harder to keep. Most Brevard businesses are better off planning a move to VoIP on their own timeline rather than being pushed into one later.
Herb and the BBTS team keep Brevard County and Space Coast businesses connected and protected — business phone systems, managed IT, and telecom solutions. Weighing a phone system change? Reach BBTS at bbtssolutions.com.
