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Broadband has opened the door for VoIP and made it possible for the number of VoIP providers in the space today, but not all providers are created equal—especially when it comes to Quality of Service (QoS). The advent of VoIP has made business communications cheaper but in the process created a disparity in the quality of calls made.

Although voice uses a low level of bandwidth it is necessary to reserve a dedicated section of bandwidth simply for IP communications. When it comes to selecting a hosted PBX (News - Alert) provider it is paramount to do one’s research, and when it comes to QoS I would like to address three must-ask questions while in the selection process.

It is important to know how much of the network infrastructure the provider uses is owned by said provider. Why is this important? Although some providers own vast networks, inevitably its services will be transmitted over the public Internet. Infrastructure owned and QoS are linked hand in hand as the amount of infrastructure owned decreases the risk for a QoS issues increase greatly. Typically, one is faced with the decision of ‘do I want to pay less?’ or ‘do I want the highest QoS possible?’

Secondly, it is integral to know how much traffic is run over the public Internet. As previously mentioned, one of the largest factors hindering QoS is the use of public Internet by a service provider—the cause, bandwidth sharing. When discussing this with providers answers will vary, with some using 100 percent public Internet others use a hybrid of their own coupled with public networks. If your business is located in a high-demand area for bandwidth this could have a major impact on QoS.

We all like a guarantee when making a purchase, so to ask what a provider is willing to guarantee is something that after running a few tests should be easily disseminated. Traditional networks provided 99 percent perfect call quality, many VoIP providers can offer similar if not better QoS. The solution is simple when selecting a provider, let their network test results tell the tale and wait until you find a QoS you are comfortable with.    

It is important to have communication tools in business, but what good are they if they don’t function at the level you expect? There is nothing worse than listening to a client on a conference call and not be able to make out their input because of poor call quality. As I’ve said many times before, it is not about choosing the “best” provider; it is about picking the “best” solution for your needs.