In fact there are so many additional benefits over traditional PBX systems I couldn't even touch the tip of the iceberg in this review if I attempted to list them here.
Suffice to say if one considers VoIP as an internal company telephony system with shared directories and looks at replacing the existing analogue or digital PBX with an IP-based one (one that still interfaces the gateway with the exiting PSTN interconnections), the benefits derived from the new system will far outweigh those of the old.
Unfortunately not every business in Australia has the fast reliable broadband Internet connection required to take advantage of VoIP. And yes, you do need a fast connection. While some VoIP services may operate adequately with a 256/64 service, it would be better to go for 512kbps or even 1.5Mbps, particularly if the connection is likely to be shared with users downloading or surfing the Internet.
Not only does the connection need to be fast, it also needs to have low latency, so even though you may get on average a sustained 512kbps download and 128kbps upload service, it may take a second or so to route through the Internet to the target and start the downloads.
This is ok for TCP packets, which are not really time sensitive, but for UDP packets (which is the kind of packets used to transmit talking/voice data in VoIP) these are time sensitive. If there is a second or two of delay between sending and receiving then there is a second or two of delay in the conversation. Worse still is if the buffering or protocol stack times out and the call is subject to drop outs.
So while the broadband connection may be the fastest available, if there is undue latency on the network then things can get a little hairy for VoIP or any "real time" service.
This latency issue is particularly applicable if the user is on a satellite broadband connection. Recently two-way satellite services have become available to the public (they are now only a few thousand dollars for the hardware, which is much better than a few years ago when they were a few hundred thousand dollars for two way).
Unfortunately there is an unavoidable delay when using satellites caused by the distance the data needs to travel from the Earth to space, and then back down to Earth again. So the speeds are great, but the initial delay, which is unnoticeable when performing normal data downloads/uploads, becomes an issue when real-time applications such as VoIP need to use the service.
Vendors who kindly submitted handsets and related VoIP equipment for this review were 3Com, Avaya, NEC, and Zultys. We also received VoIP-related product from Engin and Plantronics. And we could not perform a VoIP review without mentioning Skype and Asterisk. Vendors who were invited but were unable to submit were Alcatel, Cisco, Nortel, Polycom, and Siemens. We invited vendors to submit three phones each -- entry-level phone, a mid-range phone, and a high-end phone.
1%
8%
ISP's are currently battling the broadband war. The race for customer aquisition is aggressive. What is the holy grail... VoIP or basic broadband revenue? The answer lies in the current broadband price offerings of ISP's.
The cost savings of VoIP to corporations is unquestionable and the future economic benefits of widespread adoption is inevitable. One just needs to review the developments of such products as 'Skype' over the last 12 months to arrive at the realisation of just where VoIP is heading. Companies in Asia have even commenced manufacturing 'Cisco ATA type' devices which interface with skype enabling VoIP calls from your normal PSTN phone. The future of VoIP is cemented and the war for market share is definitely on.