We discuss how VoIP phone systems work with most current internet packages at businesses.
Living in and around the greater New York City area has it’s perks. Aside from being able to get pancakes at a diner whenever you want, one of the greatest things about living in this area from a business perspective is reliable, high speed internet.
Ten to fifteen years ago, when we talked to customers about switching to a VoIP phone system, many ran the other way. With memories of dial-up still fresh in so many customer’s minds, the idea of running a phone system, that already worked perfectly well, over the internet, really made people think we were nuts.
However, times have changed, and while businesses all over the place are turning to VoIP technology, many customers we talk to still want to know if a VoIP phone system will work with their existing internet package. It’s a great question, so let’s dive into and discuss how VoIP and internet packages are related.
Will this new VoIP phone system work with my current internet package at my business?
The short answer is yes, absolutely. In fact, for small businesses, generally around 25 users and under, you can easily run your VoIP phone system over the run over public internet without a worry. From what we’ve seen over the years, around 60% of businesses under 25 people only run their VoIP phone system over a public internet circuit simply because their internet is strong and reliable enough to handle the strain that VoIP services place on it. We covered a similar topic in our article Does internet speed or bandwidth impact my VoIP phone system?
For companies with over 25 people, 90% generally follow one or more of the following best practices
MPLS T1 Circuit
This essentially creates a “fastlane” to our data center in Philadelphia. All VoIP traffic goes over a dedicated line ensuring a reliable, quality connection with no interruptions.
A 2nd Internet Circuit
The reason for this is simple: redundancy. You can easily balance you calls and data between two lines, or use just one line for both and use the second line as a backup in case the internet goes down. This is another topic we cover in depth in these articles:
- What happens to my VoIP phone systems during a power outage?
- What happens to the VoIP phone system at my business if the internet goes down?
So for example if you have internet with Cablevision and Verizon, and Verizon is having issues while Cablevision is working fine, your system can be setup to automatically move the VoIP calls to the other internet line. In fact, there’s hardware called a Peplink router that does just this. Whether you use hardware or the admin side of your VoIP system, this all keeps your calls steady and clear, and provides a peace of mind for no foreseeable issues in the future.
Separate Voice & Data Cabling
We’ve found over the years that sharing cat5e cable (ethernet cabling) between an IP phones and a PC generally causes issues and an overall poor VoIP experience. We see this occuring a lot when companies either hire outside IT help for the installation of a VoIP phone system, or a national level provider hires a 3rd party IT firm to hand the local instillation.
Many companies are happy about this (hiring a 3rd party, not the call quality issues!) because they mistakenly believe they’re saving money. Really, all this does is cause pain and frustration for a business.
SD-WAN
SD-WAN can be installed to guarantee quality of service. SD-WAN technology uses internet broadband connections to replace more expensive solutions. It is a physical appliance that is dropped in and can even work over only one internet circuit. This can reduce a business’s WAN costs by up to 90% and minimize the headache of managing the infrastructure and connectivity.
How can national level providers be sure I have a good enough internet package for VoIP service at my business?
Simply, they can’t.
Ever see commercials or read about plug & play packages?
Something like 8x8 or RingCentral? They are not taking your internet or office setup into consideration. That right there is the main difference between national & local level VoIP providers.
From our experience, what we see is a national level provider sends you phones in a box. No survey, no infrastructure test, nothing. They expect you to either plug them in and you’ll be good to go, or you’ll have to hire your own outside IT help to make sure things work.
Conversely, a local company like us here at Tele-Data Solutions WILL take your setup and internet into consideration and advise you based upon such information. In fact, when we visit you to discuss the option of moving to a VoIP phone system, we conduct a VoIP readiness test to make sure the quality & consistency is there. If it isn’t, we’ll provide the recommendations you need to ensure you have a high quality voip system at your business.
How to determine if your internet is good enough?
There are some key indicators to look for if you're trying to determine if your internet is good enough for a VoIP phone system.
- Are your employees noting any consistent internet issues at your office? If so, document and let your VoIP provider know about them beforehand!
- Are you in an area with high speed internet, but aren’t receiving a consistent high speed connection? This tends to be a rarity these days because most places do have high speed internet, but it can occasionally be an issue.
Whenever businesses ask, we do recommend people use Verizon Fios. While there is not an overall drastic difference, from our experience Verizon Fios packages tend to cause less headaches than any other providers.
Chances are pretty good your office, right now, as is, has an internet connection that will be more than enough to handle VoIP phone system needs.
Want to learn more about VoIP phone systems and how they could help your business? Click here to contact us online, or send an email to me directly at sales@tele-datasolutions.com to learn more about when's the right time for you to upgrade to a VoIP phone system.
By Vincent Finaldi
Vice-President, Tele-Data Solutions
E-mail: vin@tele-datasolutions.com | Direct Line: (908) 378-1218
What brings me satisfaction is meeting with New Jersey–based businesses and genuinely helping them solve communication and business problems. As someone who has lived in New Jersey my entire life, I love working and playing here. I live in Morristown with my wife, Lisa, and root for the New York Giants.
