From Ezilon.com
VoIP versus regular Phone Service: A Comparison
By Ezilon.com Articles
Jan 24, 2006, 21:18
VoIP versus regular Phone Service: A Comparison
True, the telephone is 100 years old. But is that any reason to throw it away for newfangled voice over Internet protocol phone service?
VoIP transmits voice in packets over data networks. With the promise of new features and low prices, VoIP providers want to replace regular circuit switch phone service for the millions of U.S. homes that have the main technical requirement -- a broadband Internet service.
But a new study says VoIP has a ways to go to match normal phone service in reliability and call quality. Internet performance monitoring firm Keynote Systems did the study, which it will market to VoIP companies looking to see how they stand vs. the competition. The study also has a message for consumers - Before they spend money on VoIP service, people should realize that the quality of VoIP service is still below that of regular phone service.
The earliest VoIP entrants - Vonage and AT&T's CallVantage - scored better than their peers. They've had more time to work out kinks. There have been numerous consumer rankings, and VoIP providers have never claimed parity with regular phone service, but the Keynote study might be the most in-depth quality study yet.
VoIP providers were cool to the findings. Vonage customers want high reliability in their phones. They also understand VoIP is new. AT&T spokesman Gary Morgenstern says surveys have put CallVantage on top. As for reliability, VoIP is considered just as reliable as regular phone service.
People are turning to VoIP. As of April 1, 2005, 1.8 million home VoIP lines were running in North America, says market tracker Point Topic. That's up nearly 40% from 1.3 million just three months earlier.
The widespread use of broadband and the low prices for VoIP calls - almost always cheaper than conventional phone service -- have sparked the fast rise.
Once a novelty service that let people make free phone calls between PCs, VoIP has come closer to the mainstream. With most services, consumers use a normal-looking phone they can easily attach to home networking gear.
VoIP's created new telecom companies. They include U.S. VoIP leader Vonage as well as Sweden's Skype. Traditional phone companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications also offer VoIP.
The study looked at six VoIP services: Vonage, AT&T's CallVantage, Verizon's Voice Wing, Primus Telecommunications' Lingo, 8X8's Packet8 service and Skype. Keynote tested each service over different types of broadband: digital subscriber line, cable modem and a superhigh-speed business connection.
Regular phone service works 99.9% of the time, says Keynote. That means just one out of every 1,000 calls won't be completed. But the average VoIP service drops 31 out of every 1,000 calls. The worst performing service, which Keynote wouldn't name, dropped up to 52 calls out of every 1000.
Even the worst result might seem good. But any dropped call could be crucial, such as a call to an emergency service. And U.S. residents are used to, and count on, nearly 100% phone call success. In sound quality, VoIP scored lower than regular phone service.
Keynote also studied audio delay - how much time elapses after a caller speaks before the words are heard on the other end of the line. These are fractions of seconds, but too much delay makes a call sound herky-jerky, such as how some overseas calls sound.
On average, VoIP had a longer audio delay than regular phone service. The delay was not so long as to result in conversation overlap, but it remains an area that VoIP providers most need to improve.
The study also compared individual VoIP providers. Privately held Vonage had the best reliability. Still, Vonage needs to do a better job of preventing calls from being dropped mid-conversation.
On call quality, AT&T's CallVantage came out on top and Vonage No. 2. Still, CallVantage, Vonage and all the others need to improve.
The type of broadband service used with VoIP had an impact. DSL proved the most VoIP reliable method, but cable modem and business-class broadband were close behind. Cable modem scored highest in call quality.
Overall, consumers should be aware that not all VoIP services are equal. The main reason people switch to VoIP has been the low prices. But low prices can't replace reliability and quality
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