3 Factors that Could have a Negative Effect on Voice over IP

VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is voice communications over the internet.  Many people think that VoIP should be free or very inexpensive, because it doesn’t cost anything to send emails or transmit other information over the internet (other then the cost of an internet connection).

The existence and popularity of low cost VoIP services, like Vonage, the Magic Jack and Skype, also help to set consumer expectations.  That, and with the cost of a basic business phone line approaching $50 per month, from companies like AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink, many are seeking a lower cost alternative.

The trouble is, the call quality that is acceptable at home, shouldn’t be acceptable at a place of business.  Voice delay, echoes and dropped calls are the result of a poor Voice over IP call connection.

What can lead to poor quality Voice over IP? 

The following are factors that could lead to poor call quality from Voice over IP: 

Using different VoIP and internet service providers – adding one provider’s VoIP services to a different provider’s internet is almost always a recipe for disaster.  If the VoIP provider doesn’t have full control over the internet connection, they can’t monitor factors like latency, jitter and throughput.  Those components and some others can have a negative effect on VoIP call quality.  It’s never a good idea to receive your internet and VoIP services from different service providers.

Packet Switching – The internet’s effectiveness is based on the principal of packet switching.  Packet Switching is the method where data is broken into packets and then transmitted across the internet.  Data packets can take different paths to reach the same destination; they’re reassembled when they arrive.  Packet Switching is fine with non-time sensitive data, like emails and documents but can play havoc on real time transmissions, like voice and video.  The solution to the issues caused by Packet Switching is Class of Service.  Class of Service acts like a traffic cop and assigns a priority to real time traffic so it arrives intact.  Without Class of Service, voice communication sounds choppy and is difficult to understand.

Poor Internet Connection – Old phone network can make it difficult to achieve the proper internet bandwidth necessary for Voice over IP.  A call typically uses 64k of bandwidth.  If you’re operating a business with 10 VoIP lines and all 10 are in use, that’s 640k or almost half a T1 of bandwidth.  Even if voice is given a priority over other data, you’re internet connection can get bogged down, because every internet connection is shared at some point and oversubscribed.  If your internet connection doesn’t provide sufficient bandwidth, then it’s almost guaranteed you’ll experience poor quality Voice over IP.

If you’re experiencing poor call quality from your Voice over IP, contact CarrierBid today.  We can help you diagnose and remedy the problem.  Poor voice quality can send the wrong message to your customers.  Contact CarrierBid today.