Spotlight On: OTT Communication

Maine-based OTT Communications has been in the telephone business for 125 years, but the company of today is completely different from what it was when it began as Saco River Telephone.

“We are primarily a business phone and Internet as well as some residential phone service,” said OTT Communications marketing manager Mary Post. The company based in New Gloucester serves western Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, New Hampshire and New Gloucester, Maine.

“Telephone service has evolved. Just like you transition your cell every two years, so has your phone,” said Post. “Our biggest obstacle is shedding the idea that we are just a phone company. We can customize,” Post said.

The service is VoIP, Voice over Internet Protocol, meaning the Internet carries packets of voice information to the receiver of the call. Only one phone line is needed in the digital world, even for 10 people. It’s the same speed, no matter who is on the phone or online, Post said. “It optimizes itself.” No longer do customers pay for things they used to, like touch tone, intra-company calls, local calls or call recording.

The phone system is completely portable. As long as there is an Internet connection, the phone will work like it’s in the office. A restaurant can shut down during inclement weather and the hostess could bring the phone home to take new reservations and to let callers know the business is closed. A seasonal business could take the phone to Florida in the winter and no one would know any different. 

“Whatever you need, we can do it all,” Post said. “We have a unique portfolio for technology. We will build it,” Post said.

Most plans are under $100 per month. Each business has an in-person training session and more than once if needed.

“We are a local company. We really take it seriously,” she said. Customer service is very important to the company. When someone emails or calls, they might be speaking with the director of sales Bob Froberg. “How you’re handled and how you’re taken care of…that’s the difference,” said Post about the difference between OTT Communications and other phone companies. “It’s like buying a toy at the local toy shop or at a big Walmart. What relationship do you have?” Post asked.

OTT Communications is also part of the community it resides in. “We’re happy to be our businesses’ business,” said Post. They sponsor sports teams and all employees, 200 of them in New Gloucester, are given eight hours a year to volunteer in some capacity.

“We’re not industry specific, we’re business specific,” said Post. “Sometimes it’s the small things that make the difference.”

Reach OTT Communications at www.OTTCommunications.com or call 1-877-643-6246.