Rob Lith, Connection Telecom

The argument for using voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) as a cost-cutting tool in businesses has long been won. In many instances, VOIP has cut costs in organisations by up to 50%. For others, the experience with VOIP was less than satisfactory – particularly the quality of phone calls. Complaints of delays, interference from non-voice traffic on the network and poor quality of calls are not uncommon or invalid. But, before one dismisses the technology, it’s important to examine both the reasons for these issues, and possible solutions.

A company’s Internet connection and bandwidth will always top the list of factors affecting voice quality in VOIP conversations. A broadband connection will work well as long as it is not “bursty”, doesn’t suffer high latency, and isn’t shared with too many other communication applications. However, this is not the only possible cause for poor call quality.

The VOIP hardware used can greatly affect voice quality. The cheapest solutions are normally the poorest quality (but not always). It is always advisable to have as much information as possible on an analogue telephone adapter, router or IP phone before investing in it and starting to use it. Bargain basement shopping for VOIP equipment is certain to end in disaster. Similarly, it’s important to partner with the right VOIP provider. Experienced VOIP providers can employ a range of tactics to offer quality assurance, from infrastructural interventions including local area network design and analysis, to managed interventions including monitoring of the solution, to a range of network applications to prevent and remedy quality issues. Of these, infrastructural preparation is the first and most fundamental.

But in some cases, local ADSL exchanges may be oversubscribed. In such cases, no matter the quality assurance that has been implemented on the client’s side, VOIP traffic will suffer unless alternatives are sought to ADSL, or additional measures are taken to protect the voice traffic on it. A managed service, while not strictly speaking a quality-enhancing feature, can be effective in countering quality problems. VOIP providers should manage the entire service – from customer premises equipment through to the hosted PBX solution, if any.

The right VOIP provider, and improvements in technology, means that voice over IP calls are now a more viable, cost-effective solution than ever.

About the author: Rob Lith is director of Connection Telecom.