Phones and internet for property managers
Property management companies run more lines than they think: office staff, leasing agents, maintenance crews, and the emergency lines inside every building. We price the whole portfolio on T-Mobile for Business and AT&T Business side by side and run the switch.
What a portfolio actually needs
Current per-line rates for both carriers are on business phone plans for 10 to 50 lines.
Elevator and fire alarm lines
Many buildings still have copper phone lines that nobody thinks about until they stop working: the elevator emergency phone, the fire alarm panel's dial-out line, gate and door entry systems. Carriers are retiring copper. AT&T has said it plans to retire most of its copper landline network by the end of 2029.
The work is simple but easy to put off. We go through your bills and list every building line by address, find out what is connected to each one, and price a replacement before a carrier notice sets the deadline for you. The equipment side and any inspection stay with your elevator and fire alarm contractors.
Count every building together
Staff lines spread across several properties are one account, not several small ones. Above about 20 lines the carriers will quote against your real volume, so pricing the whole portfolio together usually beats buying building by building. When business phone pricing becomes negotiable.
For leasing offices and amenity spaces, the usual answer is fiber where it is in the building and 5G where you need to be online this week, with a backup connection where an outage stops payments or access control.
What it costs to use us
Nothing. The carrier bills you at carrier pricing, the same as buying direct, and the carrier pays us. Send a photo or PDF of one phone bill and the list of properties, and we come back within one business day. Call 847-991-9419 or email hello@photex.us.
Questions from property managers
Office staff, leasing agents and maintenance techs add up quickly. A company managing a dozen buildings often has 15 to 40 phones before counting the lines inside the buildings. Above about 20 lines the carriers will quote against your real volume once the account is registered with their pricing desks.
Those lines have to keep working, so they need a replacement before the copper service ends. AT&T has said it plans to retire most of its copper landline network by the end of 2029. We list each building line, confirm what is connected to it, and price a replacement with the carrier. Your elevator and fire alarm contractors confirm the equipment side and any inspection.
Yes. Staff lines and internet at each site can sit on one account per carrier, priced as one group. Three buildings with eight people each is a 24-line account, not three small ones.
Yes. Photex is based in South Barrington and works with property managers and building owners in Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Elgin, Crystal Lake and nearby towns, and with portfolios outside Illinois.
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.