VOIP The Dark Secret, Buyer Beware.
Every time I turn around I see another advertisement for the Voice Over Internet Protocol.
Most of the phones supplied by the Cable companies and also independent’s such as say Vonage are known as VOIP phones.
In a past life I did a lot of IP related work and what bothers me is when they sell these services, and do nto tell you of any potential problems. It's all roses and fireworks for great things that are cheap. I do not see any disclaimers or warnings.
How it works:
If all the VOIP traffic stays within a properly configured network like say a Road Runner network and you call another person on Road Runner network, it’s highly likely that Road Runner has implement something called Quality of Service (QOS). This helps prioritize traffic and help make sure the VOIP packets get to were they are supposed to go.
What can go wrong:
To the best of my knowledge the IP portion of VOIP – does not have a provision or means to provide QOS . The issue lies that any “call” placed to someone over the plain internet therefore gets delivered on a “best effort” type of delivery scheme. So it depends on how busy the net is at that time and how good the quality of the network is that the packets are traveling over. I call it “cross your fingers” delivery. I have used VOIP myself but never for anything critical.
What is Reality:
If you make calls primarily to other users on the same network and that service provider is reliable then VOIP could work for you. If you consider the phone mission critical and a “must work” 100% of the time, I’d seriously question using VOIP.
I refuse to let my own parents or in-laws switch to these services. It’s hard because they see them as cheaper, and that’s pushed on them and it’s an attractive option to them to save costs. Unfortunately costs savings are pushed but no downsides are often mentioned.
There are a few other downsides to VOIP:
Faxing can be tricky and if you have a security system, it may not be happen with a VOIP connection. There exist work arounds for these scenarios but they may not be elegant.
My Conclusion:
My personal experience is the call quality ranges vastly from day to day and call to call. I personally still do not see VOIP as a reliable replacement for the phone companies land line service.
If you want VOIP, choose carefully weigh your options and decide. Well chosen and implemented correctly VOIP can be functional. A poor VOIP provider and ISP combo can be a nightmare.
Educated yourself, choose carefully and be skeptical.
VOIP Links
- VoIP Cons - VoIP Drawbacks and Pitfalls
VoIP Cons are an issue, although VoIP has great pros. While VoIP's benefits outnumber its disadvantages, you should be aware of the VoIP pitfalls as a user, so that you have a better VoIP experience.
