VoIP
One thing is clear: the internet needs of business is escalating, not least on bandwidth issues. Many would say that the need for broadband is now overtaking the need for Voice, as when a problem occurs with the voice network we have variable alternatives but when Broadband fails, as a business what do we do???
So where does that leave VoIP?
VoIP has always suffered from Quality of Service (QoS) issues, there’s no getting around that or is there???. Crackling lines, dropped connections, and incompatible VoIP formats results in a poor user experience that reflects poorly on the technology. But is this the technology which is VoIP fault, or simply the vehicle which it needs to be able to deliver it services? Quietly simply it is the latter! If you had to be held from the top of the BT tower would you buy a piece of string or a engineered piece of climbing rope? No option really, so how can businesses expect to deliver a VoIP service on a £14.99 residential, highly contended broadband connection. Simply you can’t!
With broadband services in the UK being sold on price points as opposed to QoS, it’s no wonder that many people’s experiences of VoIP or hosted services isn’t necessarily the most positive.
There are Solutions to these connectivity problems though, using existing ADSL technologies: leased lines, VPN, WAN and bonded ADSL services all offer the ability to supercharge a company’s broadband potential.
The trouble is, historically many of these services have remained out of reach of small business because of the cost-investment required to apply them.
The result is a two-tier internet provision - mass market , and specialist high-budget services.
However, as activities increase and especially video usage and VoIP becomes an increasing norm, the expectation is that market forces will adapt to bring more users from the mass market into the higher end services. However savy business owners will realised this is available now!!
We’re not yet seeing that happen, but we are still living in the early days of a media-rich internet. As technologies, pricing models, and user activity matures in these areas we should see continued progress in this area.
In the meantime, VoIP still has a somewhat uncertain reputation. It is a service which simply is being positioned wrong in the market place, this is not a service which should be sold to B2B on a zero price-point but a service which will enhance the productivity of their business.
We are now starting to see advanced ADSL technologies expand and increase in availability, so will we see VoIP not as a free bundled service, but a quality paid-for service in its own right?
