From New Zealand Connections

VoIP is a new and interesting technology that allows one to transmit voice over Internet Protocol. Its a highly effective means of transmitting it, removing the requirement for large exchanges and being locked in one location.

However, VoIP can mean that there are some complications depending on the type of service you go with. These complications can scare many people as they are not as technical as the people advocating the technology.

Benefits of VoIP:

• Portable in the sense that you can connect from most internet connections worldwide, albeit with the possibility of latency.
• Has most POTS 'smart' services included like call forwarding, caller ID, voice mail.
• Can offer competitive calling rates.

Benefits of POTS:

• Does not require any specialised equipment. Just plug your phone in and go.
• Works with faxes and data modems better (partly due to the devices being designed for POTS, but newer devices will be IP based)
• Does not require any external power from the household, phones are self powered. The exception is with cordless or fax based phones.
• Phone will typically work in a degraded line state.
• Can offer very competitive calling rates.

Possible concerns with VoIP:

• Depending on product used, technical knowledge may be required to set up SIP, port forwarding.
• Requires QoS if connection is heavily utilised otherwise voice quality may be degraded.
• Requires power to function. No power - no phone even if one has standard POTS phone.
• Heavily dependent on internet connection quality, if connection is degraded, voice calls may not be possible.

Possible concerns with POTS:

• Smart services all are extra, while they come standard for most VoIP devices.
• Typically higher monthly rental.
• Fixed to one location, unless one sets call forwarding up.

When considering VoIP, while one thinks about the calling rates first - think about the users who will be using it. Will they be a position to troubleshoot the connection if things go astray. Consider getting a UPS if they really do require access during power outages.

The other thing is education. Don't just change the configuration to a VoIP solution, discuss it with the end users and ensure that they understand what to do with things don't work. A lot of people can be scared off by new things because they don't know what to do when things don't work.

Things like 'if you check the front panel and don't see a 'line 1' line, turn it off/on' can go a long way. When considering these types of audiences consider PSTN replacement products which aim to provide a simple replacement to a landline rather than more complex providers which could be more complex.

• If they don't have broadband, it may not be worth considering VoIP.
• If they are not comfortable with the changes it may be better to leave them with the land line which they understand.

VoIP is coming in one form or another in the future, but just how it is presented to the end user is another matter.

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