QoS, put simply, means quality of service. It refers to the priority your network gives to different kinds of traffic. More specifically, in Business Phone System terms, QoS refers to the priority of voice data across your company’s network. If your network is not configured properly, you will experience lag (also known as latency). It is important to keep latency to a minimum otherwise it will adversely affect your calls. VoIP QoS is key to achieving this. For example, giving voice data priority on your network is one of the best ways to ensure that VoIP data packets are not lost due to lag.
How Important is VoIP QoS?
As mentioned above, VoIP QoS is handled by your network router. In some cases, your router is already configured to prioritize voice traffic. If this is not the default setting, you should strongly consider correcting this. Neglecting to do so will strongly affect your VoIP call quality. If you have a busy network, for example, you will almost certainly experience issues. This can apply to video calls as well. QoS addresses packet loss and jitter, both of which can create issues during calls. If your router does not offer QoS features, you should consider upgrading to one that does.
Conclusion
These days, businesses is conducted in various ways. Between video conferencing and phone calls, your network is put to the test daily. If you have VoIP and are not entirely satisfied, it could very well be a network configuration problem. When your network is not configured to highly value voice data, it stands to reason that your call quality won’t meet your expectations.
If you have any questions regarding VoIP QoS, or Business Phone Systems in general, please contact Advanced Communication Systems today at 800-750-3624. Please feel free to also follow us on Twitter.