VoIP telephony has improved over the years and is gaining acceptance in various offices and homes. However, some vital issues need to be fixed before it can replace Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN). The keyword is dependability. VoIP is cost effective, easy to implement, customize and administer, but it is only as reliable as the internet connection and the electrical supply that runs it. Following, we review VoIP disadvantages for home and business use.

VoIP services - performance versus reliability

VoIP phone systems are no doubt extremely useful. The phone equipment and supporting software can be tailored to meet the needs of personnel to near perfection. But do they assure 100% up time like the PSTN phone? Unfortunately not. The reason is that electricity and internet service outages though rare, cannot be ruled out. Servers that run VoIP applications do sometimes break down. Customary phone systems sound old fashioned in the fast evolving digitized world but they are uncomplicated and highly reliable (not considering natural disasters, of course).

It is hardly a surprise that numerous businesses haven't taken to VoIP yet. Their reluctance is not unjustifiable. Very few businesses would take on the risk of losing phone connectivity, for however short a period. Let's discuss a few of the problems that VoIP developers must sort out to win the trust of customers.

Reliance on power grid

The fundamental problem with home or business VoIP service is that it works over the internet that depends on electrical supply. Any disruption in power lines will disrupt the phone system too. So, even if a business invests in a VoIP system, it will need to maintain backup phone system to cover itself against such occurrences. Or it will have to at least purchase a power resource that promises close to 100% up time.

Integration issues with other equipment

VoIP as yet does not integrate with equipment such as video recorders, residential security systems, etc. that rely on the phone connection. This prevents home users from changing over to VoIP as they would have to make a lot of unnecessary modifications in current equipment.

VoIP makes 911 call tracking difficult

VoIP works with IP addresses, not physical addresses. This becomes a serious impediment for 911 emergency calls as it is difficult to find out the geographical location of the caller. The automated system is unable to transfer calls to the correct call centers and nearest Emergency Medical Service (EMS). This issue could be solved if a way could be found to include the geographical location in VoIP packets. Progress in this regard has been made in the last few years but the system is still imperfect and prone to errors.

VoIP and the internet have to manage similar risks

All the risks that apply to digital transmission of information over cyberspace networks - jitter, lost data packets, delayed transmission (latency) - are also applicable to VoIP. These problems negatively impact the voice quality giving rise to voice breaking, sound delays, etc. These drawbacks are not acceptable in a business setting.

VoIP security issues

VoIP needs all the security procedures that are required with a broadband connection to protect users from hacking, virus attacks, eavesdropping, etc. VoIP developers have come up with encryption schemes to mitigate this risk but more work needs to be put in for businesses to trust VoIP systems completely.

Impact of processor load on VoIP quality

VoIP phones come integrated with computer systems. If you are executing a resource intensive application on your server, there might be an abrupt deterioration in the sound quality of the ongoing call. This is not uncommon and called processor drain. Imagine you are on a critical business call and the server hangs; your call will also end abruptly.

All these issues are tricky and VoIP developers are constantly working to crack them so that VoIP becomes good enough for business environments. VoIP security and dependability are major factors that may stop some businesses from selecting VoIP. Advancing technology can make VoIP more reliable. If so, it could easily grow into a mainstream communication channel.

VOIP communications with the skype wi-fi phone technology.