Your Hosted PBX phone line isn’t just a regular phone. In fact, it operates a lot more like your computer than a traditional phone which means call quality can be effected by your network performance. Your PBX phone is more like your laptop than a traditional phone in that the sound of your voice is digitized and carried through your company’s network. This is very similar to the digital data that makes up your email and document data. Voice data and digital data are not identical, however, and each must be handled in a unique way all across the network from your company’s server back through the line provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) out to the Internet itself.
The Domino Effect
Are you planning to make changes to your network? Maybe you are picking up a new wireless router or switching your Internet Service Provider (ISP) from one company to another. In any of these examples, making these changes could disrupt your phone service or cause quality issues to arise. Whatever your planned changes may be, know that we are here to help you every step of the way.
Please call us and let us know so when can work with you to help make sure everything continues to run smoothly. Our goal is always to deliver optimum service for your phones, even when our system relies on the good work of other providers. It will also help us to be ready during your scheduled transition so that we can dedicate strict attention to your account.
Common network changes that can effect voice quality include:
- Router changes
- Changing T1 cable to Fiber
- Changing network hardware
- Installing a new firewall
- Adding/removing a network switch
Choose a Better Plan Option
When selecting a new internet service offer, it is best to choose a Service Level Agreement (SLA) plan. This plan will typically include guarantees that ensure your internet connection service is always up and, if an outage should occur, the provider must fix the problem within an established time. This is why SLA agreements are generally a little more costly than the advertised high bandwidth promotional services. While the high bandwidth plans may be less costly, they don’t include much more than ‘best effort’ service. This can mean your office is without internet service for a full day or longer and frequent, brief outages can diminish your phone’s voice quality. In this case, the value plan is really more of a ‘you get what you pay for” plan and may not be right for your business. (See Call Jitter terminology.)
No matter what your plans may be, we are happy to consult with you. Our goal it to be your technology partner and act as your advocate. We can monitor your phone data and ensure that data is given high priority attention with your web traffic data. You will notice a difference when web pages load just fine, but your call quality is suddenly reduced and you experience slurring, garbled or robotic conversations.
If this happens, call us right away. We are here 24/7 to help you.
Learn more: Common PBX Terms to Know