Let’s find out some advantages and disadvantages of VoIP. Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is becoming increasingly popular with companies across all sectors, although it has been around since the 1970s in one form or another. Instead of using conventional telephone systems, technology allows people to make and receive calls over the internet.
The greatest benefit is the opportunity to make calls anywhere in the world regardless of what telephone networks are in operation, or the nature of telephone signals that are available.
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How VoIP works?
VoIP voice calls are made via Local Area Networks (LANs) that convert digital data from analog voice signals that are transmitted over the internet in the same way as emails or website information.
It may take the place of a conventional telephone system or work alongside one to strengthen the capabilities of commercial or domestic telephones and enhance communications for all business types anywhere in the world.
Advantages Of VoIP
Such a flexibility advantage and ease of communication are more critical than ever in this modern world of coronavirus-related lockdowns and restrictions. As with any device of this kind, there are, however, drawbacks to using VoIP.
To determine whether it is the best system for your particular company or individual circumstances, it is all about weighing up these disadvantages and comparing them to the advantages. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of VoIP has been discussed below:
1. Cost
Costing is the main advantage of VoIP. In general, the initial setup and ongoing expenses for running a VoIP system are less than for a more conventional phone system. There is no need for a conventional phone line, as Voice Over Internet Protocol(VoIP) operates off your internet connection. This means that for both the internet and the phone, you only have to deal with one account, one bill.
Calls over the internet from PC to PC are open. There is typically a cost attached to calls from PC to landline, but the prices are considerably lower than for a standard phone line. Cost efficiency is one of the advantages of VoIP.
2. Portability
VoIP is not distance or location-dependent, which means you can take your VoIP phone system with you everywhere you go, ensuring that the office system is optimized for your device. This advantage of VoIP makes it efficient to carry while traveling and even working outdoor.
Just as open as your email inbox is cloud-based telephony; all you’ll need is a compatible device, an internet connection, and probably a headset. This ensures that even remote workers can sustain productivity levels, enabling increased business effectiveness and flexibility.
3. Low taxes
Since calls are carried over the Internet, VoIP phone services have not been heavily taxed by governments. Compare that to your local phone bill and you’ll see that every month you pay quite a bit on taxes. For you and your family, selecting a Voice Over Internet Protocol provider may also add up to substantial savings.
4. Accessibility
There is a distinct difference between a VoIP phone system and a conventional phone system. If you are calling your head office on the other side of the nation or making a call to the other side of the world, distance or location makes no difference to a Voice Over Internet Protocol device. Communication is possible as long as you both have an internet connection.
All that’s required is to sign up for your broadband account. You can do so at a reduced cost if you are always on the road or away from the office but want to stay linked. VoIP is a lot more convenient than a standard telephone line. Accessibility is one of the major advantages of VoIP.
5. Extra features
The additional features it provides, such as call forwarding, call logging, call queues, and call transfer, are another advantage of VoIP. These functions are developed with business users in mind, allowing for better call routing efficiency and reducing wasted time on the phone.
6. Flexibility
The advantage of a Voice Over Internet Protocol network is a great deal of flexibility compared to a PBX (Private Box Exchange). For a private internal phone network, the number of lines available within the system is restricted to how many phones may be connected to the system.
You are restricted only by bandwidth with a VoIP network, so thousands of connections can conceivably be made.
7. Voice quality
You should experience voice quality that is equal to if not better than a conventional phone connection if you have a stable internet connection with sufficient bandwidth. Your characteristics will suffer if you are in a rural area without a good link.
Voice Over Internet Protocol(VoIP) provides impressive voice quality depending on the network coverage. It’s fair enough to say that it provides according to the availability can also be considered as an advantage of VoIP.
Disadvantages Of VoIP
In the field of technology, there is always a loophole or uncertainty of what is going to happen next. Only the known possible outcome is tackled but the problem keeps arising as the system starts to function at full throttle. As we discussed some of the advantages of VoIP let’s move forward with some disadvantages of VoIP.
1. Reliable internet connection required
Your VoIP service is only as strong as your internet connection, to begin with. The service is bound to suffer if your network bandwidth is poor. As you would imagine, Voice Over Internet Protocol doesn’t use as much bandwidth.
It is important that your network receives low latency from VoIP devices. Each device should have an upload speed of at least 100 kbps enabled. A decent link has a ping and jitter of less than 70ms, which tests the internet connection’s latency and stability.
The bandwidth required by your organization will depend on the number of simultaneous calls you expect to make. Running a bandwidth test on your existing network is the best way to assess this.
2. Power outages
The sudden power outage will disrupt your operation which is one of the disadvantages of VoIP. As with any electronic or communication equipment that relies on electricity to operate, your VoIP system will stop functioning if there is a power outage and you will not be able to make or receive voice calls over the internet.
This can be mildly annoying if it occurs once or twice, but if power outages are more frequent, or you live in a more rural area, or an area plagued by energy supply interruptions, it can cause serious problems.
In case the power shuts down for some reason, many companies who use VoIP want to have a landline and/or cell phone contract running alongside it to add reassurance and support of a back-up phone option.
3. Audio quality
VoIP link efficiency and reliability cannot be as good as regular phone connections, depending on your broadband, hardware, and services. Delays, noise, and resonance are typical problems that can occur during calls. The uncertainty in the audio quality is marked as the disadvantage of VoIP.
4. Latency
Latency problems can affect the quality of calls made through the VoIP system, particularly if you rely on a shared internet connection. However, the quality of calls does not suffer if you have a private internet link or a dedicated business broadband connection.
The risk of low-quality sound is mitigated by opting for a leased line or ISP quality that offers high bandwidth availability.
5. Emergencies
Another downside to only using VoIP is the concern that VoIP users would not be able to lift the alarm or call for help in an emergency situation that coincides with a power outage. Again, having a landline phone running in tandem is one option.
VoIP also does not give any information to an emergency dispatcher about where you are physically calling from so, he or she may not use location tracking technology to figure out how to find you. If an emergency occurs, users may need to be prepared to provide the information verbally or in another way.
6. Security
Viruses, hacking, and other forms of cybercrime are vulnerable to such VoIP services. Avoid the detrimental influence on your business practices of such exploits. Should use the following credentials/certifications for VoIP providers: FISMA, HIPAA, Cyber Essentials, Privacy Shield Framework.
VoIP providers that have such certifications have in place rigorous security procedures. But consumers should apply best practices in cybersecurity as well. These involve single sign-on authentication, the security of endpoints, and strong passwords.
These were some advantages and disadvantages of VoIP. This article might have helped to find the difference between VoIP and other networks.
