Comparing live pricing and terms from 400+ carriers and platforms
Every carrier and platform publishes a service level agreement. Almost nobody reads it, and almost nobody claims against it. Here is what those promises actually mean, with real examples, so you know what you are entitled to.
Buckeye is an independent advisor — we do not operate a network, so we do not issue the SLA. The service level agreement comes from the carrier or platform you buy through, and it is a contract between you and them.
What we do is read it before you sign, tell you what it is actually worth, and hold the provider to it when something goes wrong. The examples below are the kind of terms you will find across the providers we work with.
| Uptime promise | Common name | Allowed downtime per month |
|---|---|---|
| 99.999% | Five nines | About 26 seconds |
| 99.99% | Four nines | About 4 minutes 20 seconds |
| 99.9% | Three nines | About 43 minutes |
| No published SLA | Best-effort service | No committed target at all |
| Credit category | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Can reach 100% monthly credit | A long enough outage can wipe out the entire month's recurring charge. |
| Credit capped below 100% | The schedule tops out at a fraction of the month no matter how long you were down. |
| Credits set per contract | Nothing is published. Whatever your agreement says is what you get. |
| No published SLA | Best-effort service with no committed target and no credit schedule. |
Your MSA, service agreement, or even a recent bill. A real person reads it, and your company details stay confidential.
We surface the exact guarantee, the credit schedule, and an estimate of what a real outage should have paid back.
Want it recovered? As your vendor-neutral advisor we file the claim and follow up. We are paid by the carriers, not by you.
Every carrier requires you to open a ticket and request the credit, often within 30 to 60 days of the outage. Miss that window and the money you were promised is simply gone. That is the gap we close for you.
Your hosted phone platform has an SLA too. Cloud voice providers make the same kind of uptime promise your internet does, and the same claim rules apply.
Search a provider to see its actual service-level terms in plain English — the uptime promise, the credit schedule, and the catch. Verified against each provider's published SLA. Every provider in the library has a schedule like this one. The credit is almost never automatic, and the request window is usually 30 days.
Cloud phone platforms make the same kind of uptime promise your internet does. Here is what the major providers put in writing.
Terms shown are based on each provider’s published service-level agreement and are for informational purposes only — not legal or financial advice. SLA terms vary by product, region, and contract, and change over time. Always verify the specific terms of your agreement with your provider before acting. Buckeye Telecom is an independent, vendor-neutral technology advisor, not a law firm.
No advisory fee. A real person reads it. Your company details stay confidential.