Lumen Next-Gen Voice vs. PanTerra Networks

CenturyLink SIP is an acceptable solution if you have an on-prem PBX (ShoreTel, Mitel, etc) that accepts SIP. I have found a better solution is to run two different carriers through SD-WAN (such as Bigleaf or Velocloud MSR) and use a provider like BCMOne (formerly NexVortex) to manage the SIP.

Incentivized

One of the main draws of PanTerra Networks Streams is the unlimited calling, which was very enticing. We chose the platform over other models (per-call for example) because they simplified billing. While the video conferencing and messaging feel bare-bones or underdeveloped in comparison to other players in the market, the fact that the messaging is seamlessly integrated into the PBX makes it easy to use. The call routing systems are especially robust, which in the collections world is very important to be able to segment calls to different users.

Incentivized

• Reliable service
• Supports wide range of key features
• They do have high levels of support where you can receive real answers

Incentivized

• Attended or un-attended answering of incoming calls
• Transfer calls to appropriate person
• Integrates with cell phones for always available
• Keeps a log of phone calls
• Allows me to use messaging on my phone system and desktop
• Allows me to manage user accounts

Incentivized

• Lumen-Centurylink has suffered from many noticeable outages in the last few years - this is a blow to their reputation that they still have to recover from.
• Lumen-CenturyLink does not peer well enough with OTHER carriers - they depend on their own network to give you SIP, which means less true redundancy.
• Lumen-CenturyLink needs a better customer portal/interface to handle failover, see the real-time status, etc.

Incentivized

• Integration with Gorgias software
• Accounting had asked me to mention the way the bills are shown in the invoices can be confusing as to how it is broken out and what each charge is for. She mentioned wishing it was a little more detailed.
• Virtual test environment would be nice. When testing if there is an outage or testing updates, it would be cool to either be able to hear what a customer would hear and make sure things are working in the system without interrupting customer service. This is small, but a feature that would be cool to utilize.

Incentivized

In all likelihood, we will remain Panterra customers for many years. VoIP phone and messaging is a rapidly expanding and evolving market, however, and its possible a better solution will come along, but for now, Panterra Streams offers a compelling solution combining leading features, great customer service, and affordable pricing.

Incentivized

PanTerra Networks needs to make the interface more user friendly and make it easier for the users. Like saving message templates or saving phone numbers for the fax directory.

Incentivized

We have not experienced any outages or issues during business hours

Incentivized

Fantastic. Very happy!!! We love it and haven't had any issues.

Incentivized

SIP service support is definitely improving. A few years ago I would have rated them a 2. Now a 7. But, Lumen still needs a better portal experience to report and see a real-time status. Also to manage SIP failover functions in a WYSIWIG/GUI interface. When Lumen's network breaks in a larger outage, there are long hold times and support is not good.

Incentivized

Always available and quick to respond. The team is also very knowledgeable so no waiting for a fix or an answer. At times they just go in and fix the setting vs telling you how to do it and sending you on your way. It's also done via text so you don't need to drop your call or be on hold

Incentivized

Everything was fantastic. Training was sufficient and everything was easy to use. It was provided on our schedule and was very clear. I did the training myself. Training person was very knowledgeable. We are very happy. Only two users. very happy very happy very happy very happy very happy very happy

Incentivized

The implementation was very smooth. They assisted in getting phones tied to the various lines and getting everything set up in the admin portal. It's been a few years since our implementation, but there were no issues at the time.

Incentivized

CenturyLink [Enterprise Voice SIP] was the incumbent, so switching providers, particularly for our HQ was an overwhelming task for our small team. We did migrate from the legacy CenturyLink voice product EIPT to the new Voice Complete solution as well as upgrade our US and UK circuits along with a hardware upgrade of the managed PE routers in each location. We also decided to implement RingCentral in one of our very small international branches but the lack of features is problematic. We still have T1 service in our other international branches but are looking to go full cloud SaaS PBX there, likely through Microsoft Teams, which we already use for messaging. There are some complexities, as we can't port our numbers directly yet and need to set up an additional CUBE router for SIP. Eventually we hope to get to fully SaaS via Teams.

Incentivized

PanTerra Networks is viewed as more competitive, and close enough to win. Those other companies do offer more integrations off the shelve, and do have a more user friendly portal. Panterra does give the client a more personalized experience when it comes to the presentation, so the customer feels like they're getting a more personalized experience.

Incentivized

Best pricing available. VERY HAPPY. Has not increased much at all.

Incentivized

We only have three phones and two users

Incentivized

• Faster learning
• Increased numbers of calls
• Organization of calls

Incentivized

• Very reliable. We make hundreds of calls outbound and there has never been a connectivity issue or otherwise
• We decreased our monthly expense for reliable service by several hundred dollars
• The onboarding support was the best we've ever experienced. They were on the phone while we hooked up every phone, tested, and got it all set up with ease.
• Any changes needed after onboarding were difficult to accomplish without a call to customer service. Some of those calls to customer service made things more confusing

Incentivized