What do You Really Know About Low Rate VOIP? And is it Right for You?

What do You Really Know About Low Rate VOIP? And is it Right for You?

Believe it or not, Voice Over Internet Protocol (or, ‘VoIP‘ as it is more commonly referred to) is now 20-years-old. However, despite it’s two-decade presence in the market, many business owners are still confused as to what it does and how it can save them money and increase productivity.

In a survey conducted by Hello Operator, they found that nearly 71% of consumers couldn’t define what VoIP is without getting a contextual cue. And surprisingly enough, even though younger users are thought to be more “tech-savvy” than older users, the report indicates they aren’t any more knowledgeable about VoIP than their older coworkers.

Since it’s clear more people need to understand the wide-spread benefits of wholesale VoIP for business, let’s point out some important facts about the service:

What exactly is VoIP?

According to dictionary.com, they define VoIP as:

A technology or set of standards for delivery of telephone calls and other voice communications over the Internet, involving the conversion of analog voice signals to digital form.

Because calls are made over the Internet rather than traditional analog phone lines, this provides a great deal of opportunity for a reduction in IT and phone company costs as well as the ability to provide more enhanced communication features that were costly additions for the traditional, analog services.

Is it reliable?

According to the same Hello Operator study, the main concerns with implementing a low rate VoIP solution are reliability during a power outage and call quality.

As for power outages, the implementation of IP-PBX equipment (like Mitel Sky) helps to best protect a business from the loss of dial tone during a power outage. These systems provide the path that route the inbound and outbound phone calls to the business extensions through the Internet. Because of this, the VoIP system should contain an uninterruptible power source that stores energy to use to route the calls in the event of an emergency.

As far as call quality is concerned, the easiest way to avoid an issue is to invest in the proper amount of bandwidth to support the call volume for the business. As systems get more robust, they utilize more bandwidth to operate. In some cases, a SIP trunk may be installed that helps to prioritize and manage the call and internet traffic to ensure call reliability. These trunks are serve as the direct connections to the internet service provider who can then manage and allocate the traffic load.

Is VoIP right for us?

Wholesale VoIP continues to be a cost-effective, user-friendly and easy-to-implement solution for businesses. Large or small, these solutions can be scaled to accommodate the communication needs of virtually any business. As VoIP technology advances, providers like Mitel and Millennia Technologies are able to provide solutions for business that help to advance communication both in-house and with customers as well as reduce operational costs. If you think you are ready to start reaping the many benefits a wholesale VoIP solution can provide, contact us today.