Voice over IP (VoIP)

It is generally accepted that there are four different categories of VoIP: Voice over the Internet, Business Class VoIP, Hosted VoIP & IP PBX.

Voice over the Internet (often the cheapest VoIP) uses the VoIP protocol to transfer voice over the public Internet. This has absolutely no security or Quality of Service (QOS), and is often adversely impacted during peak traffic hours causing interruptions and dropped calls. This is a residential product and is by no means meant to be used for a business application. Vonage, Skype, and MagicJack are all examples of this type of service.

Business Class VoIP uses dedicated private lines or VPN tunnels through the Internet that are secure and have QOS and Service Level Agreements (SLA) to minimize or eliminate overloading or interruptions. The Business Class VoIP service provider is typically a major telecommunications carrier such as AT&T, Qwest, Global Crossing, etc. VoIP business phone service is mainly used to transmit voice over a company’s private data network allowing businesses with multiple locations to operate as if they are simply different divisions all operating within the same central office. When implemented properly and by a reputable company, VoIP phone services can be a cost effective method for handling businesses voice needs.

Hosted VoIP solutions are a form of Business Class VoIP in which the main telecommunications equipment are housed offsite at a vendor’s location, and the telephones and routers/switches are housed at the customer’s facility. Service is supplied via specialized T1 lines. Hosted VoIP solutions are becoming increasingly popular with business customers, especially those that don’t have an IT department to manage a non-hosted solution. This is an attractive offer to businesses as it reduces maintenance expenses and costs less than traditional voice solution. However, customers should use caution when deploying Hosted VoIP solutions, as it is critical that the provider has the necessary bandwidth. Additionally, many Hosted VoIP vendors oversubscribe their bandwidth to improve their bottom line…at the expense of their customers.

IP PBX or true IP Telephony are products that are housed on the customer premises. This method is similar to Hosted VoIP; however, it requires specific equipment from a qualified vendor such as Avaya, NEC, Toshiba, Cisco, Nortel, etc. IP PBX solutions also typically require an on-site, full time technician or IT department to manage the service and monitor capacity of the connection. This method if often used in conjunction with SIP Trunking.