Problems With VoIP and How to Work Around Them

We've discussed the advantages of VoIP in many different articles. However, it would be wrong to say that there are no problems with VoIP at all. Mostly this is because VoIP infrastructure isn't standardized and when a person's infrastructure isn't up to scratch, there are bound to be problems. Let's take a look at some of them below.

Voice Quality

We have seen before that VoIP delivers superior voice quality when codecs making use of HD voice are used. This however, only works when two conditions are satisfied. First, both phones have to support the HD codec - meaning that calls involving a PSTN based phone don't qualify. And second, the bandwidth that's being used to complete the call is sufficient to transfer the HD data.

Now most of the time, the second condition is met since customers have unlimited plans with Megabit speeds. When your voice traffic increases however, the demand for bandwidth goes up. If you're using the same Internet connection for your regular Internet needs as well, it's obvious how your VoIP traffic would be affected.

When there aren't enough resources, VoIP communication can get delayed and because phone calls are real time systems, it can really inconvenience the users. This isn't a shortcoming of VoIP per se, but a reflection of poor bandwidth management. Regular PSTN phone lines are dedicated - meaning they can't be used for any other purpose. Many large firms do the same for VoIP and ensure that their bandwidth is dedicated - or else they have sophisticated traffic control mechanisms to ensure that other traffic doesn't interfere with VoIP bandwidth.

Power Outages

Another disadvantage of VoIP is that if your electricity connection is cut off, so is VoIP access. This is because the modems, VoIP servers and the rest of the infrastructure depends on electricity, unlike the phone jacks which get their electric current from a separate source.

The solution of course lies in ensuring that there is redundancy and an adequate backup system to keep voice traffic flowing. Based on your location, you might decide to take the risk of a power cut for a few minutes every once in a very long while. It depends on the nature of your business.

As you can see, it's the infrastructure that VoIP is deployed on that's the culprit for most of the problems VoIP users face. With good management and adequate resources, VoIP delivers better performance than PSTN.

Bhagwad is an expert in advising small businesses using VoIP. He also specializes in reviews for VoIP Phones.