VoIP in 2015: What to Watch Out For

As 2014 comes to a close, we look back to a great year in telecommunications and ask: can things be any better? The answer is a resounding yes!

By the looks of it, VoIP is hardly done with spearheading all the wonderful changes we have been enjoying, in terms of call quality, ease of installation and management, unified communications, and affordability. The industry is still on the cusp of really exploding and taking over telecommunications as we know it! Here are some of what we see happening in VoIP in 2015.

VoIP on the Cloud

There will be a massive move to the clouds. Cloud hosted VoIP is the more affordable option, especially for small- and medium-sized that have just decided to give VoIP a try. There are a lot of benefits in switching to VoIP. However, installation and technology management are the immediate issues for companies that do not have huge budgets for telecommunications.

Cloud-hosted VoIP is not just about affordability. Companies also benefit from the ease and speed of transition. Maintenance and technology management are also handled by the service provider, which takes off the burden and cost of premises-based telecommunications that requires expensive hardware and a dedicated team managing them.

At the same time, you benefit from scalability, integration with other communications platforms (unified communication) through your data network, and reliability.

So, in 2015, don't be surprised when more businesses make the switch. As the services and driving technologies of cloud-hosted VoIP improve, moving toward this is the best choice for VoIP newcomers and old-time VoIP users.

Cloud Platform Integration

The VoIP trend toward the cloud will also lead to increased integration with other applications on the cloud. This is a natural course in business VoIP. There are many possibilities in the integration of other data-centric technologies with digital communications. We are now seeing this in cloud-hosted CRM and productivity software.

Mobile VoIP

Mobile VoIP has also made headway in 2014, and will continue to be a major force in the industry. The driving force here seems to be the rising use of mobile gadgets (corporate property or BYOD aka bring your own device) within the work setting. With increased mobility through mobile devices, it is a productivity ideal to have essential members of the organization reachable even when not within the office premises.

Through mobile VoIP, this is made possible through VoIP applications. As the rest of the apps on your phone, coordinating between team members and partners then becomes a function done within your data network, separate from mobile voice.

With increasing availability of Wi-Fi and the decreasing cost of data services, this will be utilized more by organizations in 2015

VoIP Security Threats

And as with any online technology that is becoming increasingly popular, VoIP is now a target of malicious attacks. This ranges from the usual theft of service and the more vicious denial of service to malware and call interception.

There are vulnerabilities within the technology that require diligent monitoring from third party services, such as VoIP Spear. You need to monitor the different performance parameters in order to pinpoint lags in quality that might be from attacks.

VoIP Spear

The trend toward hosted VoIP pinpoints an increasing need for third party services that provide back-end analytics. The advantage of VoIP Spear is the ease and cost of implementation, management and maintenance. It is reliable service that provides regular reports and alerts when something is off. The service is perfect for businesses, regardless of size, that require consistent quality performance from their phone system.

In 2015, there's a lot more in store for VoIP Spear users. They can look forward to a new year of excellent VoIP testing and monitoring. Check out their website: http://voipspear.com

VoIP Call Quality Issues

When you transition to VoIP, be prepared to deal with typical service problems. These are natural conditions. Normally, you shouldn't experience any service disruption or distortions even when you have these. However, if you are with a so-so network or VoIP service provider, you will feel the effects of VoIP call quality issues.

• Know about problems before they affect your day-to-day operations
• Stay on top of how your VoIP service performs
• Enjoy the full benefits of VoIP

Typical VoIP call quality issues should not affect your VoIP performance. For instance, latency, which is the delay transport of data/voice packets, is normal. Even traditional telecommunications experience latency. But if it goes beyond 150ms one way, you will definitely experience voice quality distortions.

For certain circumstances, you can address VoIP call quality issues yourself. Here are some tips:

Slow connection: This is one of the worst things to have when you want to use VoIP. Digital communications rely on your network connections. Fast connections mean that you can have unhindered conversations. When you suffer from slow connections, the best thing to do is upgrade your service. This means either getting a better service project with the same or a different service provider.

Bad equipment: It could be that you experience VoIP call quality issues and the problem is on your end. You may have the wrong router for prioritizing VoIP calls. Or, you may have outdated equipment that result in voice quality distortion. The best solution here is to upgrade to a better router wherein you'd be able to configure the QoS. With the router's QoS, you can prioritize VoIP. This lessens the bandwidth allotment for other applications, particularly the bandwidth-heavy applications ones, like gaming applications.

Delays: All forms of telecommunications experience delays or latency. The crucial issue is the length of delay. There's tolerable delay and there's delay that ruins your overall user experience. With VoIP, the two-way delay should only add up to 250ms. A rate above means that there is disruption every so often. The delays may even be causing dropped packets and gaps in the conversation.

There are several ways of dealing with delays, depending on the cause of delays. If the cause is on your end – your equipment may be out of date or defective, or your network and VoIP connections may be bad – these are situations for which you can implement fixes.

Cut wires and incorrectly setup equipment can be fixed by changing cable wires, or upgrading to a newer model.

Sometimes, too, a simple way of fixing delays is to set yourself up closer to your router. Connecting via wi-fi will cause delays and if its too much, all you need to do is go closer.

A surefire way of correcting delays caused by your system is by prioritizing voice packets. You do this by configuring your QoS. Most modern routers now come with QoS access where you can set how much priority is given to different applications. To prioritize VoIP, you just have to prioritize voice applications while reducing priority of bandwidth heavy applications, such as gaming applications.

To stay on top of how your VoIP performs, set up an account with VoIP Spear, a VoIP monitoring service that offers free trial accounts and personal, residential and business options.

VoIP Quality of Service Test: What and How

One of the first things that you need to do for yourself or your business after switching to VoIP is to set up a consistent and continuous VoIP quality of service test, or a VoIP monitoring system that runs 24/7/365. This is the guarantee that your VoIP service delivers the good and reliable service it's supposed to. Otherwise, switching to VoIP is a moot move. If you can't get consistent service, you risk lost opportunities and connections.

What a VoIP Quality of Service Test Monitors

Regular VoIP quality of service test, through VoIP monitoring, involves mapping the performance of key VoIP quality indicators: MOS (Mean Opinion Score), Latency and Packet Loss.

Mean Opinion Score has its roots in traditional telephony, wherein testers scored voice quality while listening for impairment in a quiet room. In VoIP, the scoring system is more objective, wherein service impairment is assessed according to network performance.

Latency pertains to delays in the transport of data/ voice packets, which can originate from the sender, recipient or network. Latency can be rooted to packetization, jitter buffer or propagation. Whatever the cause, high latency rates affect your VoIP quality.

Packet loss pertains to dropped data packets that are usually caused by network congestion and faulty equipment. Even a small fraction of packet loss is unacceptable in business VoIP.

So how do you test for VoIP quality of service? Get the services of a reliable VoIP monitoring company, such as VoIP Spear.

How: Your VoIP Monitoring Options

There are different kinds of VoIP monitoring services to consider.

For big businesses with wide operations and big pockets, Appneta provides a good option. Its PathView network and server monitoring offers monitoring beyond what's required in VoIP monitoring because it also monitors applications. This is really more for the big boys with heavy monitoring needs. Plus, you need big pockets for this too. A device costs $5,000 each and you need one per server that you want to monitor.

Another option is the low-zero cost monitoring systems that you use whenever you want to test your VoIP network. An example here is Visualware's MySpeed testing service, which tests your VoIP only when you want it to.

While this is comparatively very cheap, it is also useless. Remember that in true VoIP testing, you need to test 24/7/365. This gives you a true profile of your VoIP quality. One-time testing only shows you your VoIP network performance  that one second when you sent test packets. It doesn't show you how your system performs 99.99% of the time -- when your clients and partners might actually be trying to get in touch with you.

The better option, especially for small- and medium-sized business, is VoIP Spear's no-installation 24/7/265 global VoIP monitoring service. VoIP Spear tests your VoIP endpoints from our strategically-located servers worldwide. The system tests your MOS, and other VoIP quality performance parameters, such as jitter, latency and packet loss.

One of the best things here is that you don't need an extra hand to manage and assess your VoIP testing results. Once you sign up, you can access your account, and configure your control panel. It's only a matter of plugging in your VoIP endpoints and selecting your testing server. Reports are easy to understand. And there's an online guide to help you out, just in case. 

Sign up now: http://www.voipspear.com/signup 

An Easy Guide to Transition to VoIP

When you have finally decided to ditch traditional wireline telecommunication for VoIP, don’t worry about the transition. Switching to VoIP can be a simple task. You only have to pay attention to the details at the start, when you want to ensure that you get a near-perfect service. Getting all this done early saves you from VoIP problems (at least those that you can control from your end).

VoIP is a reliable alternative to traditional telecommunication. It is also cheaper and more accessible, as long as you have reliable internet connections. Likewise, you need to have done your transition properly:

1. Get the right service providers: This is probably the most basic thing to do when you want to ensure a successful transitioning to VoIP. It means that your internet connection should be fast enough for VoIP (at least DSL). The service should also be reliable, with little downtime. At the same time, you should go with a reputable VoIP service company, ideally through a paid account.

2. Get suitable gear: The right gear to use with your VoIP account depends on your circumstances. It could be that you work in front of the computer most of the time, and would like to process calls through it to keep things simple. If that’s the case, then you just need a good headset and microphone. However, if you want to install VoIP for your entire household, then it’s a good idea to invest in a SIP phone or an ATA unit for your analog phone. If you’re an office manager handling your company’s VoIP transition, you will need to choose between investing in a gateway for your old PBX or getting an IP PBX. The IP PBX is the better choice if you’re transitioning your entire communications platform to VoIP.

3. Transfer your public telephone number: VoIP companies refer to this as your DID number, which stands for Direct Inward Dialing number. Your service provide will transfer your DIDs for you for a limited number of DIDs. Companies or those with big offices should coordinate with their phone company regarding the transfer of their DIDs.

4. Install your VoIP Service: At this point, you can already move forward with installing your VoIP service. 

5. Install Backup Services: There are two necessary backup services for VoIP. These are your VoIP testing services and your backup power plan. The call monitoring service is a third party service, like VoIP Spear. It usually comes for free for single endpoint testing. The backup power can be a simple UPS or generator. It can also be a default setup wherein calls are transferred mobile or wireline numbers when VoIP is not accessible.

Dealing with Packet Delay

The wonders of VoIP is all for nothing if you experience network problems that compromise the quality of your calls. Problems like packet delays may be minor irritants if these happen once in a blue moon. However, if this is a chronic problem, you should do something about it.

The solutions, when it comes to packet delay problems, can either be with you or your service provider. Sometimes, you just need a little tweaking on your end to enjoy better VoIP.

What Is Packet Delay

Packet delay refers to the delay in the travel time of data packets between endpoints. This delay is natural up to a certain degree. After all, data packets go through a series of hardware, plus the wireline telephone system. In a healthy network, this delay is not perceivable. You can use your VoIP and conversation is clear and without pauses.

However, in problematic networks or setups, packet delays are perceived by users as delays in audio and video, echo, feedback, and pauses in conversations, among other problems. In really bad situations, packet delays can affect how you enjoy (or not enjoy) VoIP.

Types of Packet Delays

There are two main types of packet delay, namely End System delays and IP network delays. Of these two, you can tweak settings to affect some end system delay issues.

IP network delays are delays that occur during the packet transmission. This may be caused by too much network traffic or being on a network that’s inappropriate for VoIP. The delay usually between ten to a thousand millisecond.

End system delays happen in the handling of the packets at the endpoints. Here, data packets go through decoding, encoding and buffering, with buffering being the main culprit in delays. Jitter buffer delay can take up to hundreds of milliseconds. Coding and decoding, on the other hand, only takes up to 40 milliseconds of delays total.

How Monitoring Your VoIP Helps

When you monitor your VoIP through third party services, such as VoIP Spear, you can know the root cause of your communication problems and be able to deal with this accordingly. VoIP monitoring services do consistent tests over a period of time, at set intervals. This means that you get a complete picture of your VoIP’s performance and can get to the problem right away, either to deal with this yourself or to report to your service provider.

Tweaks to Minimize Problems with Delay

There are things you can do at your end to help lessen problems caused by packet delays. Remember, however, that these are only tweaks.

1.      1.  Lessen the “path” that voice packets go through. If you are connecting to your internet via wifi, connect directly to your router instead.

2.     2.  Close all other applications that use up bandwidth. When you want to focus on VoIP, stick to that for the meantime. Close all applications that are not connected to VoIP, especially the big bandwidth eaters: file sharing and gaming.

3.       3. Customize your QoS setup. Your QoS refers to a tool when you login to your router. This lets you set upload and download speeds, bandwidth priorities. When you want to enjoy VoIP, give voice and video application top priority. Deprioritize gaming and file sharing. 

VoIP Quality Testing to Prepare for Holiday Call Traffic

Doing VoIP quality tests regularly is one of the basic steps that you need to do when you want to be prepared for the holiday's call traffic. And trust us, there will be call traffic. The next couple of months will be all about loved ones who will try to get in touch with you. When you're on VoIP or if you rely on the technology as your main means of communication, it's best to be prepared. The steps are simple but you have to start now.

Test Your Network and VoIP

As mentioned earlier, you need to have a VoIP quality monitoring service set up for your VoIP service. This does not need to cost you anything. There are free services for single endpoint setups, which is what most home users have. Check out VoIP Spear for a free account.

The services of VoIP Spear monitor your network and VoIP at set intervals, and provide you with online reports. These ensure that your system works okay, and that you can make quality VoIP calls, without interference, feedback or low quality audio. You can pinpoint problem areas and address these accordingly, either on your own or with the assistance of your network administrator.

See How You're Setup

Sometimes the problem isn't actually rooted on your network or VoIP service. It could be that you have broken or low-quality gear. Make sure that your router and ATA work at acceptable capacities. Likewise, see if you have cut wiring. Cut cables will definitely affect how you receive voice data packages.

Another aspect to check is how your gear is lined up. VoIP hardware that are too close to each other may produce interference, such as feedback and other background noise. For this, do test calls and see if you experience noise. Move your equipment around until you get better audio.

Tweak Your QoS

On top of testing your VoIP quality and your gear, it's also a good idea to tweak your QoS. QoS refers to the tool that comes with most modern routers. When you login to your router's control panel, you'll find that you can set upload and download limits, as well as bandwidth priorities based on application, device and MAC addresses, among others.

When you want to tweak your QoS for optimal VoIP performance, you need to set limits on your download and upload bandwidth usage, which would then trigger the implementation of your QoS priorities. Download and upload bandwidth usage should just be 70% to 80% of normal capacity. Use an online speed tester to get to your normal capacity. Make sure that you do not have any active transfers when you test.

Then, it's time to set your priorities. For this one, remember that you have three major bandwidth users on your setup. This is: voice, file sharing and gaming. When you want to give priority to VoIP, you need to deprioritize the others. To do this, assign Standard or Bulk priority to gaming and file transfer applications. For voice and video applications, assign Exempt as priority. When this is set at Exempt, the system assigns 60 to 100% of the bandwidth to voice and video.

VoIP Call Quality Test: Why Do You Need It

VoIP, as an alternative to wireline telephony, has made leaps and bounds in close to a decade since its commercial development. It has become a true option to landlines, offering consumers with cheaper communications rates and more accessibility.

However, an issue with VoIP has always been its dependence on your network connections. If you have unreliable internet, you are bound to experience interference and choppy connections during your conversation. If you still have a free account with VoIP service providers, such as Skype, this might be okay. You can ignore fluctuating quality of service if you have not completely switched to VoIP.

However, homes and businesses that have made the VoIP switch and rely on it as their main means of communications need to have at least a 99% uptime – and not just that. They have to have reliable and good quality internet connections if they want to talk without echo, static and other possible audio disturbances.

This is where doing a VoIP call quality test becomes important. Technically, you don't have to have an active VoIP account to begin testing your VoIP readiness. With third party services, such as VoIP Spear, you can test your IP endpoint and make it go through a series of threshold checks. Through these tests, you can monitor key aspects of your network connections like jitter, packet loss and latency.

VoIP Spear measures VoIP quality using MOS or Mean Opinion Score, which is the industry standard in grading VoIP service quality. Through your MOS, you can get a pretty accurate assessment of your network's VoIP suitability.

And you need to do consistent VoIP call quality test. This is one of the best ways to be on top of your VoIP service. VoIP is definitely the next level in telecommunications. Before we get the most of it though, everything has to be in place. A VoIP service is only as good as the network it's on.