2 of 2

Write now Article Tools

VoIP has finally come of age - after the promises made in 1998-2001, now it is actually deployed in mass and has come to a home near you.

I have been employed in the VoIP field since 1999, and am thrilled to see this technology mature and move into the forefront. As a "veteran" of this field, I know what many of the issues were, and what had to be done to overcome them.

My phone bill has also shrunk from $170/month, to $29.99/month!

There are many service choices out there, from Vonage, to Packet 8 to newer solutions.

Service quality does vary from location to location.

Here are some of the issues that can happen with VoIP, and what to look for to make sure that you are getting the best quality:

1) VoIP works by turning voice data into "packets" just like informational data - and sending it by the fastest method to its destination. A good VoIP service will reassemble the packets quickly and make sure that they are buffered fully before transmitting them. This means you should not hear interruptions or pieces of missing sound in your final call. If you get a jaggedy call, this is not happening correctly. If it is happening too slowly, you will get an excessive delay on one side of the conversation.

2) Normal calls have some background noise or hum. We found that in VoIP, the absence of this caused people to think the other party had hung up! To compensate, we included what we called "comfort noise" or CNG. We also had VAD or voice activity detection which triggered when we turned the CNG on and off. If you hear dead silence, your carrier or equipment does not have this feature.

3) Echo was one of the earliest issues encountered by VoIP. As a result, many companies devised elaborate echo cancellation techniques and patented them. If you hear an echo, you are using a service that has purchased equipment with some first generation issues!

Even if you do have some remmnants of issues, the cost differences may be worth keeping your service. However, with a wide choice of service providers available, you should be able to find one who has battled the above issues and won.

Learn more about this author, Brenda Keener.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Assessing the quality of a VOIP service?
We want to hear your view. Write now!