Unified Communications, or UC, platforms have been adopted by many organizations in recent years. A UC is the integration of all digital communications traffic, data and VoIP for businesses, over a single physical network. This is made possible by various software applications.
IT must carefully manage traffic response times, especially for real-time voice and video applications, to ensure an optimal experience for all users. This is usually accomplished through the creation and management of Quality of Service protocols.
What is Quality of Service?
Quality of Service, typically shortened to QoS, is the assessment of a network service’s complete performance. Oftentimes, it is gauged from the end-user’s perspective and how they feel about the level of service they are receiving.
What is Measured?
The opinions of users is the most important metric. If VoIP calls are constantly breaking up and having gaps, then that’s an issue. Poor VoIP performance can be caused by packet loss, latency, and jitter during periods of high network traffic.
Packet Loss
Packet loss is when some packets don’t make it to the intended destination. In VoIP, speech is digitized and put into packets for transmission over a network connection between speakers. If any of these transmissions are lost, the receiver won’t get the message as intended.
Latency
Latency is the amount of time a packet takes to travel from the sender to the receiver. Low latency and equal latency for all packets is essential for good QoS. Because different packets can take different routes, this can be difficult to achieve, and many QoS devices such as switches buffer VoIP packets to maintain the order of the packets.
Jitter
To maintain a good level of voice quality, VoIP packets need to be sent in an unbroken stream from the sender to the receiver. If there is congestion at any point on the network, it can cause gaps or Interruptions in this stream which affects audio quality – this is Jitter.
VoIP Service Suppliers and QoS
It’s crucial to comprehend that not all VoIP service providers are created equal. They offer various levels of services at diverse price points and have distinct methods of handling customer QoS issues. In other words, the answer to the question “Is QoS the Same in Every VoIP Provider” is no.
The agreement between you and the service supplier should stipulate regular review meetings to discuss recent performance, identify any issues (present or future), and agree on steps for resolution. VoIP infrastructure updates (both software and hardware) are inevitable from time to time; these need to be planned in advance.
Another crucial thing to remember is that not every device is VoIP-compatible and will still require a connection to the old network. If it’s not configured correctly, your voIP could have issues. To put it simply, VoIP for business should be seen as a high-quality way of networking that is integral to your company’s strategy. Because first impressions are key, lackluster performance from VOIP can reflect poorly on your organization as a whole.
At TSC VoIP, we currently offer a full complement of VoIP and UCaaS services. We are also pleased to offer no-cost, no-obligation quotes for business class phone systems and service. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your business!