Because we have lived through the beginning of the Internet age, many people are still skeptical of the reliability of the Internet. This can make a VoIP communications system seem risky. We get it!

However, service providers who offer VoIP have come a long way since the advent of the Internet. Our current Voice over Internet Protocol systems looks nothing like they did ten years ago, and now there are significant advantages to a VoIP system. America’s Phone Guys has been providing telecommunications solutions for nearly two decades, VoIP phone service for almost 10 years, and we love sharing information about our industry. In this article, we’ll give you four ways to make sure your VoIP service doesn’t suffer due to Internet issues.

1. Reroute Your Calls in Blackouts

When we recommend VoIP, the first and most common concern we hear is “What if the Internet goes down? I can’t take that risk!”

We agree, and you don’t have to take that risk. If you choose a quality VoIP service provider, they’ll be able to reroute your phone calls to cell phones in the case of an Internet interruption. You’ll never miss a phone call!

We have some clients who choose to receive phone calls in the office during the week, and reroute these calls over the weekend to their cell phones. Some clients only receive phone calls on their smart phones when they’re on a certain wifi network, so they won’t ever be disturbed at home. VoIP is completely customizable, and the services have gotten better than ever. Your provider should be able to walk you through these features when you sign up for service.

2. Make Sure You Account for Bandwidth

Remember dial-up? We were lucky to download a small video clip, let alone video conferencing! As the Internet has gotten faster, voice calls are easier and of higher quality than ever. However–the quality does depend on your Internet speed and available bandwidth.

VoIP calls need bandwidth, and they need dedicated channels for best results. If a dedicated “phone calls only” channel isn’t available, we recommend choosing a service that will give priority to voice calls over all other Internet traffic. If your VoIP provider can’t offer you this, you might want to consider switching providers! This is now a standard business practice, and should not be complicated to implement.

3. Choose Wideband Audio

VoIP is constantly improving, and a recent improvement involves the codecs used to transmit voice signals over the Internet. Many mobile and VoIP service providers have started offering customers the opportunity to use wideband audio, also known as HD voice, instead of the traditional bandwidth. Wideband audio transmits between 50-7000 Hz, rather than the much smaller standard of 300-3400 Hz.

This can significantly improve speech quality and reduce background noise interference, making your VoIP service even better than traditional phone lines. If your communications frequently involve long conversations, accented speakers, a significant amount of background noise, or other considerations, choosing wideband audio and high-quality headsets can significantly improve the voice quality of your phone calls.

4. Integrate an SD-WAN Device into your Network with Back-Up Internet

When you simply can’t miss one call or have a single call interrupted deployment of an SD-WAN device with back-up Internet service may be prudent. These devices can load balance the Internet services you have and seamlessly failover to whichever has the most bandwidth available for each call and even switch over during a call. Some Internet carriers even offer a service that can utilize this device along with a backup cellular service so you don’t have to pay for a second full-time connection.

This technology can also be helpful if your business is using many cloud-based applications (Office 365, Salesforce, etc.). The load-balancing features can help maximize the productivity of your staff by minimizing downtime during periods of high usage or outages that sometimes happen.

Ensure VoIP Success with America’s Phone Guys

Still have questions or concerns? Contact America’s Phone Guys! We’re always happy to help guide people toward a telecommunications solution that will work best for their business and lifestyle. If you need more information on VoIP and what it can do for you, reach out to us today!