VoIP Providers & Business Phone Companies in Puerto Rico (PR)

How to choose VoIP providers in Puerto Rico

Where to find VoIP providers in Puerto Rico, from San Juan to the south coast

A business phone system on the island has to cope with things a buyer in Ohio rarely plans for. Hurricane season runs from June through November, power outages can last well past a day, and a lot of callers switch between Spanish and English in the same call. The first question for any provider here is what happens to your lines when the building goes dark.

Most of the choice sits in the San Juan metro area. San Juan, Bayamón, Carolina, Guaynabo and Caguas make up the island's largest business cluster, and that is where you will find the most installers, cabling contractors and resellers of the big cloud platforms, plus firms that specialize in call centers, clinics or hotels. Ponce is the main center on the south coast, and Mayagüez and Arecibo anchor the west and north.

Outside those cities the picture changes. A company in Salinas or elsewhere in the southern municipalities will often work with a regional firm based in Ponce or Caguas, or with a provider that does nearly everything remotely and sends a technician only when hardware fails. That suits many offices. Ask how far away the nearest technician is, and how long a site visit takes after a hurricane, when every installer on the island is busy.

Puerto Rico 911, IVU and NET rules that affect a VoIP contract

Registration with the NET. The Negociado de Telecomunicaciones, part of the Junta Reglamentadora de Servicio Público, keeps a separate category for registered interconnected VoIP companies. Telecom companies have to file their prices and charges with the NET and update them when they change. Ask whether the provider is registered. The NET takes complaints if a billing dispute stalls, though it does not set VoIP rates.

9-1-1 charges. The Negociado de Sistemas de Emergencias 9-1-1, under the Departamento de Seguridad Pública, is funded through 9-1-1 charges that phone companies collect from subscribers. The charge is set per line, and business lines are charged differently from residential ones. On a quote, check whether the 9-1-1 charge is calculated per user, per number or per trunk.

Universal service. Puerto Rico runs its own universal service fund, and interconnected VoIP is covered by the NET's universal service rules. Expect a line for it on the bill alongside any federal universal service fee.

IVU on telecom. The Departamento de Hacienda treats telecommunications services as subject to the full 11.5% IVU. They do not get the 4% special rate that applies to many business-to-business services. A mainland provider quoting "plus applicable taxes" should show you how IVU will appear on the invoice. Rates and charges change, so confirm current figures with Hacienda, the NET or the 9-1-1 bureau before you sign.

Kari's Law and RAY BAUM's Act. These federal rules apply here as on the mainland. Kari's Law requires multi-line systems to let staff dial 911 without a prefix such as 9 and to alert a front desk or security office when someone does. RAY BAUM's Act requires a dispatchable location to go with the call, meaning a street address plus details like floor or suite. This matters in Puerto Rico, where many addresses are urbanización names, kilometer markers or rural routes. Ask how the provider will register your locations, including for remote workers.

Call recording. The Penal Code is generally read to require consent from all parties before a phone call is recorded. If you record sales or support calls, set up a bilingual announcement at the start of every call and ask the provider whether its recording feature can play one automatically.

Questions to ask VoIP providers in Puerto Rico before you sign

  • Can you port our 787 and 939 numbers, and how long does porting usually take?
  • Does the auto attendant support Spanish and English menus, and who records the prompts?
  • What happens to inbound calls during a power or internet outage? Can calls fail over to cell phones automatically?
  • Do you recommend battery backup or a second internet connection, and will you install it?
  • Is support local, remote or both, and what are the response times in writing?

Local or national VoIP provider: what works for Puerto Rico businesses

National cloud platforms are often cheaper per seat and have solid apps. Where they tend to fall short is local knowledge: setting addresses for 911, dealing with local carriers on porting, and sending someone to your office when a switch dies. A local reseller of one of those platforms can sometimes give you both. Ask who owns the service and who you call at 2 a.m.

Ask for two or three references from businesses your size, ideally ones that stayed with the provider through a major storm. Ask how long they were down.

On contracts, read the term length, the auto-renewal clause and any early termination fee closely. Also check who owns the phones if you leave. A 36-month deal with leased handsets can cost more to exit than it saved. Ask for the service level agreement in writing, including any credits for outages. Here, a fast fix after a hurricane matters more than any feature on the quote.