FLX Telecom

Think About It Thursday | Are You Paying £60.00 Just For Your Phoneline?

We were recently approached from a customer who had a standard multiline for their business.

Nothing strange there. 3 office users, more often 1 or 2 in the office. Perfect scenrio for a multi-line.

What was strange was the bill...£60.00 per month plus VAT, with another £27.00 plus VAT in calls.

Now, we know with the PSTN switch off, Openreach have been increasing wholesale costs. The increased by 20% in April, another 40% in July and they will go up ANOTHER 40% in October (https://www.openreach.com/news/openreach-announces-price-changes-to-encourage-digital-adoption-of-newer-more-reliable-and-better-value-technology/)

That's wholesale too; expect your bill to go up even more by the time the invoice reaches you.

It's such an easy fix and can save your business 50% or more in operating costs to move to Internet Phone (IP) solution.

Calls included. Soft client included. All the options your business could probably need.

Don't hang around until it's too late.

Lead times will increase as demand increases for last minute movers.

Still on a copper phoneline and not sure where to start?

Get in touch today.

https://flxtelecom.com/
Keeping Your Business Connected.

FLX Telecom Fast Internet Connection Fastest Way To Share Your Voice. Future Proofing your business for the upcoming ISDN/PSTN Switch off; what it means for you and your businesses needs Enquire Now VoIP and SIP Trunking Connectivity Dedicated Fibre Mobile Who We Are We Are A Professional Telecom Service Provid...

Tech Tuesday | Router vs Firewall. What's the Difference?

Your business has the internet connection coming in; but what is actually controlling your connection?

That's where your router and firewall come in and, although they often work together, they serve different purposes.

Think of a router as the traffic controller for your network, connecting different networks, such as your office network and the internet, to the right location.

Think of your firewall as the security guard, deciding what traffic is allowed through. It controls network traffic based on security rules, helping prevent unauthorised access and unwanted connections.

So, do you need both?

Yes! However, that doesn't necessarily mean two separate devices.

Many business-grade routers include built-in firewall functionality, while dedicated firewalls offer more advanced security features, such as intrusion prevention, application control and detailed traffic monitoring.

For businesses, it's not just about having a fast internet connection. It's about ensuring your network is connected, properly managed and protected.

https://flxtelecom.com/
Keeping Your Business Connected.

FLX Telecom Fast Internet Connection Fastest Way To Share Your Voice. Future Proofing your business for the upcoming ISDN/PSTN Switch off; what it means for you and your businesses needs Enquire Now VoIP and SIP Trunking Connectivity Dedicated Fibre Mobile Who We Are We Are A Professional Telecom Service Provid...

Think About It Thursday | When Did You Last Test Your Backup Internet?

Having a back up connection is great!

But when did you actually test it without a real outage? And does it do it automatically?

Ensuring that all your internal systems continue to work when there is a real usage is critical to your businesses operations. Putting it through its paces before an actual outage allows you to ensure system work without the stress.

Things such as
- CCTV and remote monitoring
- VPN's
- VoIP Systems
- IP addressing is correct

Realising your failover doesn't work when an outage hits, defeats the purpose all together.

Test your back up. Ensure it works as its designed.

FLX Telecom Fast Internet Connection Fastest Way To Share Your Voice. Future Proofing your business for the upcoming ISDN/PSTN Switch off; what it means for you and your businesses needs Enquire Now VoIP and SIP Trunking Connectivity Dedicated Fibre Mobile Who We Are We Are A Professional Telecom Service Provid...

Tech Tuesday | What are LAN & WAN ?

If you've ever looked at any router or switch in your life time, whether for your business or at home, you will have seen 'WAN' and 'LAN' on the back of it.

But what do they actually mean and do?

Firstly, understanding what they stand for helps.

LAN is your Local Area Network; this is anything inside your office/shop, such as your computers, phones, CCTV etc

WAN is what connects your LAN to the network outside it, typically your internet connection or other offices/data centres.

In really simple terms, your 'WAN' connection essentially connects your 'LAN' to the internet or your core network, depending on the set up.

It's important to understand the distinction, because in some instances when something goes down, it doesn't mean your internet is down. It could be a local issue on your LAN, such as a faulty cable and/or switch.

https://flxtelecom.com
Keeping Your Business Connected.

Think About It Thursday | Does Your Business Need More Than Just a Connection?

Businesses often rely on a number of differing solutions to ensure their data is safe and their business is secure.

VPN?
Remote access to CCTV?
Firewall rules?
Server access across countries?

Before choosing any new connectivity solution, it's worth thinking:

• Do you require a static public IP address?
• Do you operate a corporate VPN?
• Do you have firewalls or remote access systems?
• Is CCTV accessed remotely?
• Are any services restricted by IP address?
• Are there systems that rely on a specific network configuration?

4G and 5G are excellent connectivity options that allow for rapid rollout, but for most businesses, a standard plug and play solution just doesn't cut it.

The most important question isn't always:

"Can we get you connected?"

Sometimes it's:

"How does your business actually need that connection to work?"

Tech Tuesday | Have You Thought About Your IP Subnet?

If you're already asking yourself 'I've not had anyone ask me that when discussing fibre' then the answer is probably no.

The first conversation is usually…

Speed.

100Mb, 500Mb, 1Gb…

But something often overlooked is the IP subnet.

For a straightforward office, 2 usable static IP addresses may be absolutely fine. But more complex networks can require larger IP blocks for:

• Firewalls & VPNs
• Hosted services
• CCTV & remote access
• Separate tenant networks
• Existing equipment using public IPs

The problem? Finding this out after the circuit has been ordered or installed can mean additional cost and delays, particularly as larger IP blocks need to be justified and authorised.

When replacing business-critical connectivity, speed is only part of the conversation.

Make sure your provider is asking the right questions from day one.

Not the result the Stars wanted - but we go on.

🏒 FINAL SCORE

Fife Flyers 7 (Kelly, Drabek x2, Hunt, Vainio, Watson, Power)
MKM Dundee Stars 2 (Stuart, Bengtsson)

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FLX Telecom
Keeping your business connected

Think About It Thursday | Is Sticking With Familiar Always the Right Choice?

Something we’re hearing more and more when speaking to businesses is:

“I’ve been with BT for years. I don’t really know what’s what anymore, they don’t seem to know either, and I just don’t have the time to sit on the phone explaining everything over and over again.”

We get why businesses stick with BT. They’re a household name, everyone knows them, and in many cases their pricing can be very competitive.

But have you ever actually looked at what else is out there?

At FLX Telecom, we’ve built our service around understanding your business, how you operate and how important your connectivity and telephony are to keeping things moving.

When something goes wrong, you shouldn’t have to spend hours explaining your setup to different departments before someone can help.

You need someone who already understands it.

So, the question I pose is...

Would you pay a little more each month for a service that could save you hours of frustration when something goes wrong?

Tech Tuesday | “Can You Check SIP ALG Is Disabled?”

If you’ve ever had an issue with the softphone on your laptop, there’s a good chance you’ve heard a support team mention 'SIP ALG'.

But what actually is it?

SIP ALG is a feature built into many routers, designed to inspect and modify VoIP traffic to help calls pass through the network.

Sounds useful…right? However, it it can often do quite the opposite.

By interfering with the SIP signalling between your phone and phone system, it can cause:

❌ One-way or no audio
❌ Calls dropping
❌ Phones failing to register
❌ Inbound or outbound call issues

It’s particularly common with remote workers.

Your office might work perfectly, but a user at home is behind a completely different router with its own settings.

Same phone system. Same configuration. Completely different experience.

So when support asks “Is SIP ALG disabled?'...there’s usually a good reason!