I’m going to write today about a topic I’ve written about before, but from a different angle.
To many people, VoIP has serious problems that make it unworthy of consideration at any time or under any circumstances. Let’s take a look at 3 reasons why some consider VoIP to be a dirty word:
- Compared to a traditional phone line, voice quality when using VoIP is poor at best. Everyone knows this, it must be true.
- 911 service is either not available over VoIP or it has severe limitations. It simply isn’t worth the risk when compared to 911 service over a traditional phone line.
- VoIP, like Skype is novelty that will soon be gone. I shouldn’t invest in the technology because it is a waste of money when I already have invested in old technology that does what I need.
Are these legitimate concerns? Perhaps at one time they were, but like most technologies VoIP started out imperfectly and has developed to a point where it is now a very viable means of voice communication which at the same time offers previously unheard of benefits at much lower costs than traditional voice lines. Let’s address the concerns above in order:
- VoIP technology has improved to a point now where it is not only being considered but is being implemented in ever increasing numbers by large corporations. Medium and small businesses are not adopting the technology as fast, mainly I believe because they don’t have the technical people within their companies to provide support for a new voice communication system. That is changing, however.
- E911 service is provided by most VoIP service providers. E911 is enhanced 911 meaning that your name and location is displayed to the 911 operator when you call to report an emergency. One thing to note is that VoIP provides number portability. This means that when you move you must provide your new address to your VoIP service provider so that they can update their database with the new information.
- Skype like VoIP isn’t going away. Skype is expanding their services and now offers not only free services but commercial VoIP service for residential and business users. The fact that Skype has a free offering prompts many to believe that VoIP also is free and because it is free then it must just be a novelty, some say. But commercial VoIP is alive and doing well. In fact many large telephone service providers use VoIP technology to provide home and business phone service to their customers, but they don’t call it VoIP. In Canada, Rogers Home Phone for example uses VoIP technology to provide Voice over Cable, but they’re not calling it VoIP.
If you are the owner or manager of a small or medium sized business, where do you turn for support when you want to implement a VoIP solution? I can help. Check out www.surevoice.ca or contact me at info@surevoice.ca.
I hope this article has been of some interest and help. I will be writing a new longer article on this topic, available soon for download here.