VoIP: Advantages & Disadvantages

VoIP has become very popular. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It is nothing more than real time conversations that happen over an Internet Protocol network or over the internet. This means that companies can use them internally or externally to anywhere at almost anytime. The almost in the previous sentence will be discussed further down in this article and is a major disadvantage of VoIP. Many companies are choosing VoIP for numerous reasons.

The advantages include costs. VoIP is relatively inexpensive. This is the biggest advantage to most companies. VoIP is technically free. Typically, companies pay their normal high speed internet provider and in return receive VoIP free. These companies can connect with almost anyone and at almost anytime. Once again the almost in the previous sentence will be explained in the disadvantages.

VoIP creates a phone system that eliminates many problems. One example is that VoIP allows a company to route telephone calls to one location instead of several. The advantage of this is that the companies do not have to keep as many employees on staff which saves money, and the companies are able to reroute the calls to the appropriate person or place with very little effort and can do this within or outside of multiple buildings in multiple cities.

The second major advantage of VoIP is that it is mobile. What I mean is that any employee can take it with them on business trips, vacations, etc. All you have to have is a high speed internet connection to use this from anywhere. You can check in at the office while on vacation or you can use it to call your office for hundreds of reasons while on business trips. This is particularly nice for people who want to work from home. With VoIP, people are able to complete their work from the comfort of their own couch. Today, people can sit at home, take care of their children, and still earn a decent paycheck via VoIP.

Companies use VoIP for many reasons, including conference calls and sending information. It is very simple with VoIP due to the infrastructure and accessibility. You can virtually send anything at anytime. All you have to have is a high speed internet connection.

VoIP offers customers many advantages, but there are also some disadvantages. VoIP is not very reliable. If the electricity is out for any reason, then you will not have a phone system, unless you keep your landline for emergency purposes. This is the biggest worry and why most people choose not to implement VoIP in their homes. They are too afraid that the electricity will go out and they will not be able to contact the police, fire department, poison control, etc. These are all very important concerns for people. Many psychological studies have proven that the number one concern of people is their own health or the health of their families. To over power the concern of power outages, people do can choose to purchase a generator or another type of mechanism that allows uninterrupted power. However, these are usually expensive and you need an in home technical support team to set them up.

This has also brought up a good point with VoIP. The government just recently ordered that all VoIP providers make 911 available. Up to this point, people who did switch from a landline to VoIP were not able to call 911 for emergency services. This is a huge disadvantage if you have a relative living with you that is ill frequently or if an accident occurs.

The cost is among the top reasons for not obtaining VoIP as well as the biggest advantage. There are smaller countries that have regulations and fees that are hefty for VoIP. This is where you will end up paying an arm and a leg. In most places VoIP is free, but if you know that you are going to contact a country with a large fee frequently, you might be better off keeping the landline. At least with it, you can discuss discounts and cheaper rates with competitors.

It has some technical issues that need to be fixed, include echoing and static. While these are not constant, they are very annoying. Consider the situation today with the recent flooding in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in the United States. Would you want to be on the internet speaking with your mother, father, brother, or sister, who just survived this catastrophe, and not be able to hear them due to the static on the connection? It would be horrible to not be able to tell if he/she just said they were fine or if they said they were seriously injured and awaiting a medical unit.

There are several reasons to consider using VoIP, but there are also reasons not to consider it. Technical teams for the different internet providers are still working out all of the bugs and hopefully soon they will have them all out.