One of the major issues surrounding Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology is the lack of proper information. Now we know exactly what you are thinking; in this day in age where we are all surrounded by information how could there be a lack of it? You see it is quite possible and the specific area surrounding VoIP where this gap exits is the way in which you just get the system to work.
Most of the VoIP issues that happen are a direct result of poor communication between the provider and the customer. The expectations about what the service is supposed to deliver and how it is going to do are often at a mismatch. Most providers will tell you to just order their service, plug the phone to your network and everything will just work. That might be true for some but it is not for most.
Your network is a complicated place. A place where there are servers, computers, wireless devices, printers and many other items that are communicating through its wires. Now you are planning on adding another item to that network, phones. You see your phone is probably your most critical item and it needs a nice clean path between it and your provider. Without taking the right steps before installation VoIP phones you will most certainly experience call quality issues.
Have you ever been on a call with someone only to catch every other word? Have you ever called someone and they claim to not even have a record of your call? These are some issues that are associated with VoIP done wrong.
Your voice data is important and there are ways to make sure that it is running smoothly through your network. Here are some tips.
- You need to test your Internet Service Provider’s (ISP’s) network. If your ISP’s network is prone to issues your VoIP traffic will not flow well and you will experience issues.
- Testing your internal network is a must. Yes, you need to run tests and diagnostics on the network to make sure that you are in fact equipped to properly handle voice calls/traffic.
- Voice traffic should be segregated from your data traffic. Additionally, you want your voice traffic to be prioritized over all other traffic on your network as it is the most sensitive.
Without the proper testing and setup of your network a VoIP solution will be more of a nightmare than it’s worth. There are many pitfalls and most providers are not making sure that you avoid them. If you want to avoid the failures of VoIP installs give our experts a call at 908.688.2444 or fill out the contact form to the right and we will be glad to guide you through the process the right way.