Business phones and internet in the northwest Chicago suburbs
Photex is based in South Barrington. We price business phone lines and internet on T-Mobile for Business and AT&T Business side by side for companies across Schaumburg, Barrington, Palatine and the towns around them, and we run the switch so your team does not lose a day.
Where we work
Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Barrington, South Barrington, Lake Zurich, Elgin, Crystal Lake, and the rest of Cook, Lake, Kane and McHenry counties. We are set up for businesses with 10 to 50 lines: contractors and trades with crews on the road, restaurants and retail with more than one location, property managers, offices along the I-90 corridor, and fleets.
We also work with businesses outside Illinois. Everything except a site visit can be done by phone and email.
What we do at your size
Current per-line rates for both carriers are on business phone plans for 10 to 50 lines.
Check the building, not the map
Carrier coverage maps are drawn for the outdoors. What matters for a business is signal inside the office, the warehouse or the back of the kitchen, and whether fiber is already in the building. Before we recommend a carrier we check each address with both T-Mobile and AT&T and ask how your people actually work: at a desk on Wi-Fi, in a truck, or on a job site.
For internet, the usual answer is AT&T Business Fiber where it is in the building, T-Mobile 5G where you need to be online this week, and a backup connection where an outage stops card payments or online orders.
What it costs to use us
Nothing. The carrier bills you at carrier pricing, the same as buying direct, and the carrier pays us. You get one local person who compares both networks, moves your numbers and picks up the phone when something goes wrong. Call 847-991-9419 or email hello@photex.us.
Questions from local businesses
Yes. Photex is based in South Barrington and works with businesses in Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Lake Zurich, Elgin, Crystal Lake and nearby towns, as well as customers nationwide.
It depends on the building and the people more than the town. Coverage inside a particular office or warehouse, and whether fiber is already in the building, decide most of it. We check your addresses with both carriers before we quote, and if one network is weak inside your building we will say so.
T-Mobile 5G Business Internet uses a gateway you plug in, so a site can be online in days where 5G reaches it. AT&T Business Fiber is the stronger permanent connection, and install time depends on whether fiber is already in the building. A common approach is 5G on day one and fiber when it is ready.
A photo or PDF of one current phone bill and the addresses you want covered. We price it on T-Mobile and AT&T and come back within one business day.
Working it out
Plain answers to the questions we get asked most, with the pricing next to them.
T-Mobile or AT&T?
Where each one actually wins, the pricing on six lines, and the catch in AT&T's advertised rate.
Read it →When does the price become negotiable?
Under 20 lines you pay the rate card. From 20 to 99 the carriers will quote you — but only if someone registers the account.
Read it →Independent advice, or straight to the carrier?
It costs the same either way. What changes is whether anyone is looking at the whole picture for you.
Read it →Starlink as backup internet
Three different jobs it can do, what each costs, and why backup and coverage are not the same problem.
Read it →Running two carriers at once
Fiber from one, 5G failover from the other — and when one bill with satellite behind it is the simpler answer.
Read it →How long does switching take?
About three weeks. Why the phones are never the hold-up, and how to avoid waiting on a fiber build.
Read it →Get both carriers priced for your business
Email a photo or PDF of your current phone or internet bill to hello@photex.us and we will price it on T-Mobile and AT&T within one business day. Or call 847-991-9419.