Without a doubt, technology has drastically changed the way we live – and communicate. Over the years, telephony has developed itself for the better, from cable phones to smartphones – and now VoIP phones. This new telecommunications system has been taking over the world, giving internet users and businesses the possibility to save time and money as they improve their performance in ways never imagined.Â
Voice over Internet Protocol enables both voice and data transmissions occur through the internet by converting them into data packets sent and received over the network to be later converted into voice by any technological device, like a smartphone, laptop, tablet and even a landline.
Even though VoIP has become the favorite for many, if you are new to this topic, chances are you’ll find difficulty when making the decision to switch your smartphone into a VoIP phone, which is why the purpose of this article is to show you both sides of the coin – pros and cons of VoIP.
Pros of VoIP
There are numerous advantages of VoIP technology. Let’s name a few of them:
LOWER COSTS
It doesn’t matter whether you are a netizen or a business person, it is always important to take advantage of every cost-saving opportunity. A landline phone system costs around $50 per line every month, and it can only comprise local or domestic calls. Conversely, VoIP telephone plans are available for less than $20 per line – or even for free. No matter how advanced technology is, VoIP services are definitely cheaper than traditional phone services – they can lower phone bills by more than a half. Switching to VoIP will bring you considerable cost savings.
GREATER ACCESSIBILITYÂ
This is the most distinct advantage of this cloud-based technology. You can make and receive calls and text messages from literally anywhere, as long as you have decent internet connection. This remote accessibility will allow you to have a more professional and flexible work regardless of your location.Â
ABSOLUTE PORTABILITYÂ
VoIP telephonies give each user a virtual number with an area code of their choice. These numbers are completely portable, which means that consumers can use them wherever they go, instead of having telephone numbers tied to a specific area. This characteristic of VoIP systems is quite useful if you are constantly travel or need to change your business address.Â
Better yet, if you wish to verify certain online accounts, choosing any area code for your phone number will make your signup process more secure and effective. For this, we strongly recommend you Non VoIP phones, since they are not attached to a specific location.
MORE ADVANCED FEATURESÂ
The diversity of features VoIP counts with exceeds those of traditional phone systems. Some of them are auto attendant and call transferring, conference calling, caller ID, call forwarding and waiting, plus the possibility of sending pictures, documents and videos while you’re on a call. It is all about making the best use out of VoIP phones.Â
BETTER VOICE QUALITYÂ
Through the years, this broadband telephony has evolved for the better. In its beginnings, VoIP calls had very weak quality and would drop for no reason. Today, fast and stable internet connection make VoIP calls clearer with no latency problems, lags or dropouts what so ever.Â
Nowadays’ innovations in VoIP technology, such as noise-cancelling microphones and more advanced audio compressions enable virtual phones to provide better sound quality – you can finally say goodbye to echos, delays and background noise.Â
INCREASED SECURITY
This is probably the most important advantage of this virtual telephony. The current demand for privacy protection is above the clouds and most people just want to remain safe and calmed, skipping all kinds of fraud and spam. VoIP systems have the capacity to soften different security threats as they leverage advancements made in IP technology, such as encryption and improved identity management.Â
The best way to remain safe when using VoIP phones is to relay on a good virtual telephone service provider that can independently perform security audits, ensure healthy password habits on every user and set up automated alerts for questionable calling behavior.
Cons of VoIP
As always, every advantage comes with a disadvantage – and VoIP telephony isn’t exempt from this rule. Below, are some of the downsides associated to VoIP services you need to be aware of.
INTERNET CONNECTION DEPENDENCY
You may think that the more bandwidth you have, the better quality of phone calls you get – but this isn’t entirely true. There is nothing more essential for VoIP than to have low latency on the network, which is why the bandwidth you need depends on the number of calls you want to make or receive – we recommend you to run a bandwidth test before switching to VoIP.Â
You need to keep in mind that your internet service must provide you enough bandwidth to handle all kinds of activities you wish to perform with VoIP telephones, including surfing the web, downloading documents, playing games online and watching videos – each VoIP phone needs around 100 kbps to execute its features correctly.
Another thing to take under consideration is that if your internet connection is not stable, chances are you will have lots of issues when trying to make or receive calls on your VoIP phone. Plus, your VoIP system will not work if there’s a blackout in your location – just as a landline phone.
Consequently, if you are located in an area with poor internet reception or power outages, VoIP systems are not suitable for you.Â
DIFFICULT LOCATION TRACKING
This one could be considered the worst disadvantage of VoIP systems when it comes to emergency calls. Because of the portability and accessibility this virtual telephony counts with, it can become an impossible task for emergency attendants to find the right location of the call, since it comes from an IP address that doesn’t have any GPS data or telephone tower information.Â
Make up your mind
Now that you’ve seen the most important pros and cons of cloud-based telephony, you should know there is no doubt it notably overcomes any inconvenience that may arise when using this communication system. The only thing left for you to know is which sms verification service provider suits your needs.Â
In order to implement VoIP systems, you must first consider all the advantages and disadvantages of virtual telephony, if you have internet connections available, how mobile your workforce is, what network security measures you have to secure your entire phone system, how much you spend on your traditional phone service and if VoIP will help you save much more money.
If you take a look at all the pros and cons mentioned before, it is more than obvious that the benefits of VoIP far outweigh any drawbacks that may occur. In every corner of the world, netizens and business people have been making the transition from traditional telephony to unified communication solutions.
Without a doubt, the pros of VoIP overcome the cons. Getting used to new developments of technology can take some time, especially when it comes to VoIP, but it is definitely a convenient, quality option that can make you save tons of money. Go ahead and make the switch!