Although VoIP is growing at a quick pace and its adoption is growing every day, a few crucial issues need to be fixed before it can substitute for Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN). The decisive factor here is reliability. VoIP is cheap, straightforward to implement, customize and administer, but it is only as reliable as the internet connection and the power supply that runs it. Following, we review VoIP disadvantages for home and business use.

VoIP services - effectiveness versus dependability

Undoubtedly, VoIP is an effective technology. The phone equipment and supporting software can be tailored to meet users' needs to near perfection. But do they assure 100% up time like the albeit conventional but dependable PSTN phone? Unfortunately not. That's because power and internet service breakdowns though rare, cannot be eliminated. Servers that run VoIP applications do sometimes break down. Conventional phone systems may sound outdated in the fast evolving digitized world but they are uncomplicated and rarely go out of order (not counting natural calamities, of course).

It isn't unexpected that many businesses haven't taken to VoIP yet. Their lack of enthusiasm is perfectly understandable. Very few businesses would take on the risk of losing phone connectivity, even for a short while. Below we discuss some of the problems that VoIP developers must sort out to convince businesses to aggressively switch to VoIP.

Reliance on power grid

The main downside of home or business VoIP service is that it utilizes the internet that relies upon electricity. Any breakdown in grid power cause a breakdown of the phone system too. So, even if a business invests in a VoIP system, it will need to keep some backup phone system to prevent loss of service during such occurrences. Or it will have to at least invest in an uninterrupted power source.

Integration issues with other equipment

There are quite a few issues with VoIP integrating with equipment such as digital video recorders, home security systems, etc. that work on the phone connection. This prevents home users from moving to VoIP as they would have to make a lot of unnecessary modifications in current equipment.

VoIP makes 911 emergency call tracking difficult

VoIP works with IP addresses, not physical locations. This turns into a major problem for 911 emergency calls as it is hard to find out the geographical location of the caller. The automated mechanism cannot transfer calls to the appropriate call centers and nearest Emergency Medical Service (EMS). This issue could be solved if a way could be found to include the geographical location in VoIP transmissions. Progress in this regard has been made in the last few years but the system is not perfect yet and prone to errors.

VoIP and the internet have to manage similar problems

All the problems that are relevant to digital transmission of data over the internet - jitter, loss of data packets, delayed transmission (latency) - are also pertinent to VoIP. These problems affect the audio quality giving rise to voice breaking, delayed transmission, etc. These drawbacks are not acceptable in a business environment.

VoIP network security problems

VoIP needs all the security steps that are required to prevent the broadband connection from being compromised through hacking, virus assaults, illegal data interception, etc. VoIP engineers are using various encryption strategies to mitigate this danger but more work needs to be put in for businesses to have complete faith in VoIP systems.

The relation between processor load and VoIP quality

VoIP phones come integrated with computer systems. If you are running a resource intensive application on your server, you will experience a sudden fall in audio quality during a call. This is not uncommon and called processor drain. Imagine you are on an important business call and the server hangs; you will also lose the call.

All these issues are tricky and VoIP engineers are constantly working to find solutions that can make VoIP more acceptable in business environments. VoIP security and dependability are key factors that may prevent some businesses from opting for. Advancing technology can make VoIP more reliable. If so, it could easily grow into a mainstream communication channel.