What You Need to Know: VoIP Lesson 1

VoIP's quality can be great! With proper planning, a needs assessment, and a network designed specifically for your business, VoIP's quality will always be superb. Without proper planning, your voice service quality could be diminished and tarnish your business's image. If your business is considering changing its telephone service, it is critical for the decision makers to understand the different classifications of VoIP.

Classification #1: Voice over the Internet

Voice over the Internet is often the cheapest product available, and it is advertised the most. Why? This type of service lacks the infrastructure to provide proper security or the quality of service business class customers have come to expect. A lack of infrastructure translates into the absence of expensive equipment that ensures quality service. There is a time and a place for the cheapest product available; I want your business to buy the product that meets your expectations and your budget. In some cases, that product turns out to be the lowest priced. If you can tolerate a few dropped calls and diminished quality during peak traffic hours, Voice over the Internet will be a good choice for you and your budget.

Classification #2: Business Class VoIP

Depending on how the service is designed, I've also heard this called Private Line VoIP. A low price is not paramount when a vendor designs this service. However, that does not mean this will be the highest priced product either. Typically this service has circuits (or private lines) dedicated to voice usage. Dedicated is the key design feature. When I dedicate resources to a single task, I typically get better results than if I were to share resources with multiple tasks. The same is true with VoIP. Another key design feature in some offerings is private transmission lines or "private lines." Dedicated and private can be interchanged in the telecommunications industry from time to time. Both words are clues to features that you should consider when choosing a VoIP service that offers quality and security. You will not find those words in the marketing literature of a Voice over the Internet provider. Why not? Your voice shares the Internet with a lot of other people and applications.

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