VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol)

One of the biggest disadvantages right now with Voice over IP deals with internet connections. In order for Voice over IP to work you must have a reliable and high speed internet connection. If these two specifications are not met you may not be able to make or receive phone calls, plus it can lead to the calls having reduced quality and minor problems like echoing. There are some Voice over IP companies who are now using dedicated internet connections, point to point T1 connections. By doing this the Voice over IP company can convert their customers phone calls back to traditional local calls. Voice over IP companies are able to do this by using specialized routers to make sure that the highest possible quality is attained. You may want to keep in mind that most Voice over IP users tend to still have a traditional analog voice line in order to send and receive faxes and to call 911 in case of emergencies.

Another major disadvantage that can affect several people negatively is Voice over IP’s difficulty with sending faxes. Even currently there are still several problems with sending faxes with Voice over IP mainly because of the software available and the networking restraints in the majority of home systems. People are holding out and hoping that a new alternative for sending Fax-over-IP, the T.38 protocol, will be offered sometime in the near future. For now people are really looking into making it possible for the fax system to be more like a message switching system, so that real time data transmission will no longer be needed. The incoming fax data would be able to buffer completely before displaying or printing the fax image.

An additional disadvantage to Voice over IP is the fact you can not make phone calls if there was a power outage. If a power outage were to occur you can have your phone calls forwarded to either a cell phone or another phone number. The downfall to this though is that you would be able to receive your phone calls, but you would not be able to make any phone calls. The good news is that some modems are now being built with lithium ion battery backup. With a battery backup you would be able to still use your Voice over IP service during a power outage.