VoIP Ultimate

Amelie Mag asked:


Business VoIP services are already being hailed as the rightful successors to the traditional phone services. Many large enterprises have already integrated VoIP into their networks and with more sophisticated, affordable VoIP solutions in the market, small and medium businesses too are planning to start using business VoIP phones. This is probably the best time for any organization to take a look at the costs and benefits of business VoIP service and determine if it is right for them.

All that’s good with a business VoIP phone….

The most well-known and compelling reason for most businesses to consider VoIP is cost savings. A business VoIP service saves costs for a company on local calls and long-distance calls, which include both domestic and international calls. In particular if the company has many branches, within the country or overseas, then it makes a lot of business sense to go in for a VoIP solution as calls to and from the same provider are often free – similar to cell phone plans.

Other than cost-savings, business VoIP service offers many sophisticated value-added services which make it attractive. For example, a business VoIP phone service does not depend on the location. Whether you are calling an employee in an office a few thousand miles away or a local client, with a business VoIP phone, no extra cables are needed which means there are no extra costs. Also, you can carry your business VoIP phone number with you when you travel. No wonder it is called a virtual number! Where a Wi-Fi network is available, you could log into it and use your business VoIP service to start making and receiving phone calls. The same facility could be extended to mobile phones, which could use the VoIP network to make calls instead of standard mobile operators.

The biggest advantage of business VoIP service over traditional phone services is the complete integrated communications solution that it offers. With a business VoIP phone, it is possible to – make cheap domestic and international voice calls; take advantage of both audio and video conferencing; have features like call forwarding and call waiting; have voice messages and fax messages sent to your email address – and much more.

What’s not so good with a business VoIP phone…

While a business may benefit considerably with the cost-savings and additional features that a business VoIP phone service offers, there are certain cost factors, which need to be taken into account.

A business VoIP service is clearly dependent on power supply, implying that if there is no power, you will not be able to make or receive phone calls. This would mean you need a UPS to keep the business VoIP phone active during power outages and you would need a back-up PSTN line, just in case of emergencies.

Quality of voice in a business VoIP service had been an issue for some time, with complaints of echoes and jitters, etc. However, with VoIP solutions becoming more stable and mainstream now, you could get fairly good quality voice even on your business VoIP phone.

A converged network carrying both voice and data could raise issues of insufficient bandwidth, especially for small and medium business who typically have only one broadband line.

For any business, moving to a business VoIP phone service may be inevitable, but choosing a proper service provider will allow the company to seek features that will bring it immediate benefits, leaving a more comprehensive implementation for later.

Resource Box: Business VoIP can save a company thousands of dollars a year, some report savings of up to 80%. For smaller businesses a look at the benefits of a Business VoIP solution helps to see the advantages this new technology enables.



VOIP Security made Easy

Kevin Sinclair asked:

VoIP is a great way to communicate with family and friends at a very low price. However, there are a variety of hindrances with switching to VoIP. This article goes over many of the disadvantages of VoIP, which may have experienced. Additionally, this article will explain how you can improve the quality of VoIP phone service.

Disadvantages of VoIP

Although there are many advantages of VoIP, there are also quite a few disadvantages. Below are four of the most common disadvantages of VoIP.

1. Maintaining a Dependable VoIP Internet Connection

If for any reason, you lose your internet connection, you will not have phone service. Therefore, you must use a cellular phone should this type of situation arise.

2. 911 Access

When you place a 911 call, the location cannot be immediately determined. Unlike PSTN, you must register your phone number online so that should you need to make a 911 call from your VoIP, emergency services will know your location.

3. Networks Have a Large Number of Computers Connected

If your network has a large quantity of computers connected and they are all using the internet at the same time, your VoIP quality will generally be less than desirable. One way to avoid this situation is to invest in an Ethernet.

4. VoIP Poor Quality

Audio quality is one of the largest issues. No matter what your VoIP service offers you, the basic role of any phone is voice communication. If the quality is not up to par, then there is absolutely no point to all of the bells and whistles that come with the service. If you have a lot of background noise, then a VoIP that can handle music, video, caller ID and a variety of other advanced features is practically useless. In the next section, we will address this issue more thoroughly.

Even with all of the advancements of VoIP, there are times when the audio quality suffers. Since VoIP relies completely on the internet connection, anytime the internet suffers so will the VoIP.

Six Ways to Improve the Quality of VoIP

Poor audio quality (disadvantage #4) along with dropped calls, are all complaints that user of VoIP tend to make. Below are six ways the setup of your VoIP can affect the overall quality. By following these simple steps, you can easily improve the quality of your VoIP service.

1. Internet Connection

One of the first recommendations is a high speed internet connection. There are companies which offer VoIP for dial up users. However, the connection can result in poor audio quality. Eventually, you will grow to dislike your VoIP. However, it is not the VoIP, but rather the internet connection. Even if you have DSL, there are occasions when the connection may be slow and your VoIP quality will suffer. Therefore, an Ethernet connection is highly recommended.

2. External Factors

Weather conditions, such as thunder storms, heavy rains and snowstorms can all can an increase in static on broadband lines. In some instances, simply turning rebooting the VoIP can solve the problem. Another solution to reduce the static is for the VoIP service provider to replace the cables with a higher quality cable.

3. Compression Software

The technical details of codecs are a bit too much for this article. If you would like additional information, you can go to Wikipedia. Here is a quick overview of codecs as it pertains to VoIP. When sending data, VoIP compresses it. This is simply because if the data is too large, transmission can be extremely slow and ineffective. Codec is a software program that can be used for data compression. However, a poor quality codec will lead to poor audio quality.

4. VoIP Location and Hardware

The hardware you choose for you VoIP can affect the audio quality. Most of the most important pieces of hardware is the ATA/Router. The VoIP ATA or Analog Telephone Adaptor, brings ordinary phones to the networked world. The adaptor connects a phone handset to an Ethernet adaptor and therefore connects regular, analog phones with VoIP networks. If you are looking for additional information on ATA, check out Wikipedia.

In general, ATAs should have support for security and firewall, as well as echo cancellation and compression technologies. Many technicians have discovered that certain VoIP equipment can interfere with each and possibly create feedback or buzzing noises and dropped calls. Although VoIP equipment and hardware should be places as close as possible to each other, ATA should not be placed near the broadband internet router. The audio quality can be decreased if they are placed too close together.

5. Computer Maintenance and Hardware

There are a variety of different things that can affect the quality of your VoIP service. Therefore, computer maintenance is extremely important in improving the service’s quality. Make sure that you de-fragment your computer on a regular bases. As well, make sure that you have sufficient memory for the computer and high quality microphone and speakers.

6. VoIP Phone Type/Frequency

The type of phone you have, as well as the frequency can affect the quality of your VoIP. Many people believe that the higher a phone’s frequency is, the better the quality of VoIP. However, in some instances, a lower frequency phone may fit your connection better. You may want to try a phone with a lower frequency if you are experiencing a lot of audio feedback.

Overall, VoIP is a great low cost alternative for communication. VoIP are not passing through, they are here to stay. Major corporations have done some significant research to fix the disadvantages of VoIP service, as well as improve the overall quality. With all of the improvements continually going on with VoIP, it will soon be accepted by everyone as an acceptable alternative to PSTN.

VOIP Security made Easy