Business VoIP – What are your VoIP requirements?

What are your VoIP requirements?

The advantages of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) have not been lost on consumers and business users. Competition in this area has increased significantly, and VoIP services are available today from both the major telecom carriers as well as from innovative startups. But before selecting a carrier, the first thing you have to do, whether you are a home user or business user, is to compile a VoIP requirements list.

The VoIP requirements list has become necessary, simply because VoIP is a much richer offering than ordinary telephone service, and there is just so much more available in terms of features. First and foremost, the most important consideration is adequate broadband speed. Since VoIP goes over the Internet instead of through the normal circuit-switched copper wires from the phone company, you do need to consider the connection. Your VoIP requirements list starts out then, with high-speed Internet connectivity. It is possible theoretically to have a VoIP call with a dial-up connection, although it is not practical—and the call quality would be unacceptable.

Most commercially available home broadband offerings are adequate for VoIP, although higher speeds are always better. A minimally provisioned broadband home can still handle VoIP, but there may be some minor incidence of jitter in the calls.

On Premises Equipment

You may also need some on-premises equipment as part of your VoIP requirements list. If you are doing a full conversion to VoIP, you will have to understand that ordinary telephones cannot handle VoIP calls. You will have to have a special VoIP phone or an adapter for your regular phone. If you are using VoIP only from your PC however, this may not be necessary.

For home users with only one or two phone lines, of course, no PBX is necessary, although businesses with multiple lines will have another item to add to the VoIP requirements list, and that is a special IP PBX to route the VoIP calls. Alternately, a hosted PBX service can be used to avoid having to roll out on-premises equipment.

Once you have the requisite equipment purchased and installed, the next item on your VoIP requirements list is the type of service you want and the features you require. Available features will vary depending on the carrier and the selected level of service, but there is a lot to choose from. Take stock of your business requirements or home phone needs, and round out your VoIP requirements list by taking note of every feature that you need, or that you may want. At the top of the VoIP requirements list is low price of course, and be aware that not every VoIP provider is equal. Compare at least three different providers, and don't forget to include some of the lesser-known ones in the mix to get a good idea of price ranges available. And then in terms of services, consider that you may require extensive business-related services, such as conferencing, and make sure that your provider has these available.

Submit a VoIP quote request today for your business and save up to 80% on your monthly phone bills.