What hosted telephony is, and what it replaces
Hosted telephony is a business phone system that lives in your provider’s cloud instead of on a box in the office. Your numbers, call routing, voicemail and features run on the hosted platform; calls travel over your internet connection as data, which is what VoIP means; and your people answer on an IP desk phone, a desktop or mobile app, or inside Microsoft Teams. There is no copper phone line anywhere in the chain, which is precisely why it is the standard replacement for the lines Openreach is switching off.
Most businesses arrive with one of four set-ups. The table is the honest map of what each becomes.
| What you have today | What replaces it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Analogue lines (PSTN) and a few desk phones | Hosted seats, one per user, on IP handsets or the app | Numbers port across; the line rental disappears from the bill |
| ISDN2 or ISDN30 into an office phone system | Hosted telephony, or SIP trunks into the PBX you already own | SIP keeps the PBX alive; hosted retires it. The TCO usually decides |
| An on-premise PBX you have outgrown | A cloud PBX with the same call flows and no maintenance contract | See hosted vs on-premise total cost |
| Microsoft 365 everywhere, phones nowhere | Teams Phone, alone or alongside a hosted system for reception and queues | Operator Connect or Direct Routing, depending on licences and scale |
What you get
Every hosted seat we deploy comes with the call handling a small business used to pay a phone-system installer for. The features that earn their keep, in the order customers actually use them:
- One number, every device. Your office number rings the desk phone, the laptop app and the mobile app; a hybrid team works from anywhere without giving out personal mobiles.
- Auto attendant and IVR that routes callers properly, plus call queues, hunt groups and out-of-hours rules you can change yourself.
- Call recording with retention controls, for training or because the FCA, your insurer or your contracts say so.
- Call analytics: missed calls, wait times and who is actually answering the phone.
- Voicemail-to-email, CRM and Microsoft 365 integration, and the rest of the feature set you will use more than you expect.
- Resilience. If the office loses power or internet, calls carry on to mobiles — the business-continuity case is usually what sells it to the finance director.
Design and price my phone system
What it costs
Hosted telephony is priced per user per month, and the honest answer to “how much?” is a range with a reason for each end. Our UK pricing guide has the worked examples; the summary:
As an illustrative September 2026 guide: a standard seat typically runs £8 to £20 per user per month ex VAT, the top of that range buying unlimited UK minutes, recording and analytics. IP handsets are roughly £60 to £200 one-off or a few pounds a month rented; many teams skip them and use the app. Porting is often free or a small per-number fee, and set-up is usually bundled into the term. These are guide figures, not a quote.
Two things move the bill more than the seat price. First, how many of your people genuinely need a full seat rather than occasional calling from Teams or a shared handset. Second, whether the connectivity is already good enough — a line upgrade is sometimes the right call, but it should be a decision, not a surprise on the invoice. Our guide to reducing the business phone bill walks through both.
Microsoft Teams calling
If your team already lives in Microsoft 365, the question is not whether Teams can be your phone system but which of three routes to take: Microsoft’s own Calling Plans, Operator Connect (a UK carrier plugged straight into Teams admin), or Direct Routing through a session border controller. They differ in cost per user, number flexibility and how they handle reception, queues and recording. Because we support both Microsoft 365 and telephony, we can build any of the three or run Teams alongside a conventional hosted system — the comparison is in Microsoft Teams Phone for UK businesses and the practical set-up in integrating your phone system with Teams.
The PSTN and ISDN switch-off
Openreach has stopped selling analogue and ISDN lines and is switching the remaining ones off, with the national deadline of 31 January 2027. For the phones themselves, hosted telephony is the answer and it is usually cheaper than what it replaces. The devices that catch businesses out are the ones nobody thinks of as phones: alarm signalling, lift emergency lines, older card terminals and door entry. Our switch-off explainer covers the technology; the business-landlines guides cover the deadline and order of work, the cost, and a checklist for the devices.
How a quote works
- Audit. Send us a recent bill or tell us what you have. We list every line and number, what it is really for, and what is reusable — handsets, numbers, the connectivity.
- Design. Users, sites, call flows, recording and Teams requirements, plus a line test so we know the connection will carry voice properly. This is where most of the saving is found.
- Proposal within one working day. Per user, all-in, with the one-offs separated from the monthly figure. Then install and number porting, typically two to four weeks from go-ahead, timed so nothing goes dark.
Use The Geeks was incorporated on 15 July 2016 and works from 2 Slater Terrace, Burnley. Your quote is written by one of four named advisors — Andrew Pickett, Daniel Jones, Keith Moore or Jonathan Wardrobe — so the person who designed it is the person you get through to when you ring back on 0333 006 9399. There is no call centre. We support businesses across Lancashire and Greater Manchester in person and the rest of the UK remotely.
Who it suits
The same platform, configured differently. The guides go deeper on each situation.
- Remote & hybrid teams
- Customer-facing teams
- Regulated firms
- Microsoft 365 businesses
- Businesses with a PBX
- Multi-site
- Care homes
- Lancashire & Manchester
Every hosted telephony guide
- What hosted telephony is and how it works
- What hosted telephony costs in the UK
- How to choose a hosted telephony provider
- Microsoft Teams Phone for UK businesses
- The PSTN and ISDN switch-off explained
- What a cloud PBX is
- SIP trunking vs hosted VoIP
- VoIP vs traditional phone lines
- Hosted vs on-premise PBX: total cost
- Number porting: keeping your numbers
- The internet speed VoIP needs
- Common VoIP problems and fixes
- Hosted phone system features worth using
- Auto attendants and IVR
- Call recording and compliance
- Call analytics
- Hosted telephony for remote and hybrid teams
- Business continuity with hosted telephony
- How VoIP improves customer service
- How to reduce your business phone bill
- Integrating your phone system with Teams
- Hosted telephony in Lancashire and Greater Manchester
Frequently asked questions
What is hosted telephony?
A business phone system that runs in your provider's cloud rather than on a box in your office. Calls travel over your internet connection as data (VoIP), your numbers and call routing live on the hosted platform, and staff use IP desk phones, a desktop or mobile app, or Microsoft Teams. Nothing needs a copper phone line.
How much does hosted telephony cost in the UK?
As an illustrative September 2026 guide, a standard seat is typically around £8 to £20 per user per month ex VAT, depending on the bundled minutes and features such as call recording. IP handsets are roughly £60 to £200 each one-off, or a few pounds a month rented, and many teams use the app instead. Number porting is often free or a small per-number fee. These are guide ranges, not a quote - we price each business against its actual users, numbers and sites.
Can we keep our existing phone numbers?
Yes. UK geographic and non-geographic numbers port to a hosted platform under Ofcom's porting rules, including whole DDI ranges. We handle the port as part of the install and time it so there is no gap in service. Keeping the numbers is the reason to start before your old lines are switched off rather than after.
Do we need new phones?
Not necessarily. Any modern SIP desk phone can usually be re-registered to a hosted platform, and many people prefer the desktop and mobile app or Teams. Analogue phones and devices such as door entry or fax can run through an adapter. We will tell you what is reusable before quoting anything new.
What internet connection does VoIP need?
Less than people expect - roughly 100 kbps per concurrent call - but it needs a stable connection with low latency and jitter, and ideally a router that prioritises voice traffic. Most business fibre and SoGEA lines are fine; we test the line as part of the quote and say so if it is not.
Can hosted telephony work with Microsoft Teams?
Yes, three ways: Microsoft Calling Plans, Operator Connect, or Direct Routing through a session border controller. Which one fits depends on your licences, how many people need a full phone rather than occasional calling, and whether you want to keep a conventional hosted system for reception, queues and recording. We support both Microsoft 365 and telephony, so we can set it up end to end.
What happens when the PSTN is switched off?
Openreach has stopped selling analogue and ISDN lines and is switching the remaining ones off, with the national deadline of 31 January 2027. Anything still on a copper phone line then - phones, alarm signalling, lift lines, some card terminals - stops working. Hosted telephony is the standard replacement for the phones; the other devices need their own plan, which we cover in the guides linked on this page.