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VoIP Stories: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Readers share their Voice-over-IP experiences.
November 17, 2004
7 Min Read
I asked Small Business Pipeline readers to share their Voice-over-IP (VoIP) stories. I got a great response, and I'd like to share some of the stories I heard.
Dick Archer is delighted with his Vonage Small Business Unlimited service, which provides his four-person document imaging startup with two lines (voice and fax), unlimited usage, and unlimited long-distance calls to the U.S. and Canada for $49.99 per month -- less than the price of single business line without free long distance. He writes:
During our first few months we are trying to operate very lean, and this package has a lot of great features that help us accomplish this. Most notable are email notification when a voice mail message has been received (great when working from home or Starbucks) and complete control of your account through a Web-based control panel. This includes being able to turn call-forwarding on and off remotely.
Rick Corder is also pleased with his service. He writes:
The return on investment is far better than any wired solution. We are currently in the process of installing a T1 from NuVox, which will be broken down into 24 channels, with half being used for Internet access and the rest for VoIP. We are a reseller for NuVox and are now able to justify the cost. VoIP is probably the future for voice communication, with the SBCs and their competitors providing the copper, and vendors like NuVox leasing it for their services.
Rick did encounter one snag:
The only problem we have experienced was a hardware failure which required that we give Vonage our credit card before they would cross-ship the replacement. Once they received the failed device we received a credit on our card. Because we use the Vonage service for business, we would like to have seen a quicker replacement to our device.
Another reader said that after researching several options, he had just placed his VoIP service order with Packet8. But he had a question about bandwidth limitations:
One surprising omission was that none of the providers made mention of a minimum bandwidth necessary. All that was specified was a broadband connection. Wonder how well it would work with a 128/256K DSL (or some percentage thereof) service?
Good question. Dick Archer answered it in his e-mail:
One caveat is that VoIP doesn't work very well over slow or over-utilized Internet connections. During the first couple of weeks in our new office we tried to make use of an existing Covad 144K DSL circuit while our T-1 was being delivered. It got us by for e-mail and limited Web browsing, but the Vonage service was totally unsatisfactory. Calls were choppy, with enough gaps to make talking impossible. But once we plugged into the T-1, the phone quality was as good as any land line.
Other readers cited "skipping and chattering" sound-quality problems and the inability to keep the same phone number while switching VoIP providers as drawbacks.
Now for the horror story. (You knew there had to be one.) Jim Long is the owner of TekHome, a technology integrator in Florida. Three successive hurricanes ripped through the east coast of Florida earlier this year, knocking out Jim's power (and of course his network and VoIP service). He writes:
I rehooked my system for a system check as soon as power was restored after a long hiatus due to the storms. I had bypassed my UPS system because it was no longer charged. I was only online for twenty minutes checking my business email when POW! The area around here received quite a surge that took out my cable modem, my router, my IP packet generating device for VoIP and my main computer. It was an ignorant move -- I should have delayed until my UPS was up again in another day. I had to wait until the billing cycle was over for that month to transfer my original number back to BellSouth, and it took about two and a half months for analog services to be restored. Everyone else in this park had their telephone service during two of the three storms continuously without a hitch.
Fortunately, I still had a backup and was able to restore data to my main PC, so I was able to find and call all my clients and my vendors, supplying my cell number, with which I have a plan providing free incoming calls. I lost all my new contacts via phone from advertising sources and so on, but I am about to recover financially soon. My full system backup saved me.
If anyone else wants to be an early adopter, they should take my advice and try it with a new number for a while and keep their old telco as a backup. There's nothing like analog when you don't have guaranteed power!
Good advice indeed. Read on for some conditions your business should meet before implementing VoIP.Bryan Cohen, a senior sales engineer for technology solutions provider CDW, shared his list of five initial conditions a company needs to meet in order to successfully run VoIP:
A Quality of Service (QoS) Network
For VOIP to work, the switches and routers in the company's network need to support the QoS standard, also known as 802.1P/Q. The standard makes sure that words arrive in the right order and that voice takes priority over data. When you choose a vendor to install your phone system, they should offer you services that can test this for you.Network Redundancy
If the company network fails, you won't be able to make phone calls or send emails. All communications will cease until the problem is fixed. Therefore, ensuring network redundancy is critical. (If you've experienced failures or frequent slowdowns on your network, you probably don't have network redundancy.)Additional Training
Traditional PBXes are managed through a telephone set or terminal, while VoIP is managed through a PC. Most VoIP systems are easier to manage than traditional phone systems, but it takes time to learn the new interface. At least one person in your office must become experienced at managing the VoIP system, so be sure to ask vendors about training for your staff when you're considering VoIP solutions.IT Support
Companies need someone who can manage both VoIP and the data network. Unlike calling a local Bell company when the phone system goes down, someone in the company will have to service the network or it will have to be outsourced. Is your IT department prepared to provide tech support for your phone service as well as your network?Flexible Downtime
If your phone system isn't mission-critical, you can run VoIP. However, if it is mission-critical, you'll need as close to 100 percent uptime as possible. Since no network provider can guarantee 100 percent network uptime, you would better off with the reliability of a digital PBX system.
As you can see, Bryan takes a cautious view. I think most of the early adopters who wrote to me would agree with him to some extent, but these are folks who are willing to do some extra work (like learning how to manage and support the VoIP system) and endure a few inconveniences in order to reap the savings offered by VoIP.
Dick Archer even has an answer to the power- or network-outage problem:
One of the features that Vonage under-promotes is the fact that you can have their server automatically forward calls to an alternate number (like a cell phone) if the Internet connection goes down due to a power outage or communications problem. Even the phone company can't figure out how to do that!
If you have a steady power supply, a redundant QoS network, fast broadband, staff members who are willing to manage and support a VoIP system, and you don't need 100% uptime, VoIP is well worth looking into. The rest of us may want to give it a try but should retain our old phone systems for backup -- especially those who live in hurricane paths.
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