The mobile softphone is one of the most practical innovations in business telephony. It's a smartphone app that connects to your business VoIP system and lets you make and receive business calls as if you were sitting at your desk — even when you're at a job site, in a client meeting, working from home, or traveling. Your callers see your business number. Your personal number stays private.
What a Mobile Softphone Does
The Broadtela softphone app (available for iOS and Android) connects to your VoIP account over your cellular data or Wi-Fi connection. Once installed and logged in:
- Inbound calls to your business number or extension ring the app on your phone
- Outbound calls appear as your business number on the recipient's caller ID
- You can put callers on hold, transfer to another extension, or conference in a colleague
- Voicemail notifications appear as push notifications; messages are accessible in the app
- Your presence status (available, busy, do not disturb) is visible to colleagues
Setting Up the Softphone
For Broadtela customers, setup is simple. After your account is configured, your account manager sends each user a setup email with their credentials and a link to download the app. The user installs the app, enters their credentials, and is connected within minutes. No technical configuration is required from the user — just download, login, and make a call.
Wi-Fi vs. Cellular Data
The softphone works over both Wi-Fi and cellular data (4G/5G). Call quality over a strong Wi-Fi connection is typically excellent — indistinguishable from a desk phone. Over cellular data, quality depends on your signal strength. In areas with good 4G or 5G coverage, call quality is very good. In areas with weak signal, you may notice occasional call quality degradation.
For employees who spend significant time in areas with poor cellular coverage, we recommend Wi-Fi calling when available. Most modern offices and client facilities have Wi-Fi that the softphone can use.
Battery and Data Usage
The softphone app uses minimal battery when idle — it's in a low-power "registered" state, listening for incoming calls but not actively processing data. Active call data usage is approximately 1–2 MB per minute of call, which is trivial on any standard data plan. A full day of heavy business calling (say, 4 hours of active call time) uses roughly 500 MB of data.
Separating Business and Personal
The softphone solves the personal/business blending problem that plagues employees who use their personal cell for business. When using the softphone:
- Clients have your business number, not your personal number
- You can turn off business call notifications after hours (set status to "Do Not Disturb") without affecting personal calls
- If you leave the company, your business number stays with the company, not on your personal device
- Business call history is in the system, not buried in your personal phone's recent calls
Best Practices for Remote Teams
- Use wired headphones or Bluetooth headsets for calls in noisy environments
- Ensure Wi-Fi is stable before jumping on an important call (a quick test call first)
- Set business hours for call notifications so personal time stays personal
- Use the "transfer" function to route calls back to the office when leaving for the day