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For years, businesses relied on the steadfast reliability of their Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) landlines. But as the country-wide PSTN switch-off continues to get rolled out, many of these businesses are now grappling with deciding which alternative comms system – such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) – they should opt for. Not an easy decision when customer experience and satisfaction hang in the balance.
As a Solutions Specialist with extensive experience in all things comms & connectivity, I'm here to clear up the frequent concerns and misunderstandings around VoIP reliability in today's broadband infrastructure.
As technology has advanced and VoIP has become the primary alternative, the question: 'Will this new VoIP technology really be as reliable as the landline I've always trusted?' comes up. This blog will answer just that. We'll look at how VoIP has evolved into the seamless solution it is today, how it stacks up against a traditional landline and critical factors to consider for on-prem reliability. By the end, I'll help you understand if VoIP today can indeed be as reliable as your old landline.
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What This Blog Covers:
- VoIP Reliability: Beyond the Broadband Blues of a Decade Ago
- VoIP vs. Landline: The Backup Blind Spot
- Critical Factors for Reliable On-Premises VoIP
- Addressing Internet Dependency
- Navigating Power Outages
- A Quick Word on CRM Integration
VoIP Reliability: Beyond the Broadband Blues of a Decade Ago
Whether we like it or not, traditional landlines will soon be a thing of the past. As you begin to consider your PSTN replacement options, you may be thinking, 'Will this trendy VoIP be as dependable as the landline I've always relied on?'. And I don't blame you. One of the most frequent concerns I get from customers stems from their past experiences with early VoIP or cloud telephony systems – which, if we're being honest, wasn't exactly something to write home about.
A decade ago, the broadband infrastructure in the UK was still in its infancy and just wasn't up to scratch. You might remember those dropped calls and the distorted voices sounding like robots from a sci-fi movie. (In case you were wondering, that robotic voice issue could be chalked up to whoever had the technology back then probably not having enough bandwidth on their broadband to handle both data and voice simultaneously.)
But as we know, technology has evolved at lightning speed, and significant improvements have been made. The seismic shift in cloud telephony is that fibre to the premises is far more readily available now, which makes it so much more reliable than it used to be.
However, those early bad experiences and negative perceptions are etched in people's minds. Many SMBs still have a picture of a cloud system from ten years ago, and that's simply not the reality anymore. I get it, if I got food poisoning from eating at a certain restaurant, I probably wouldn't go there again. But I can assure you that this restaurant (cloud telephony) has passed its health inspection with flying colours.
VoIP vs. Landline: The Backup Blind Spot
Now, to answer the question of VoIP reliability, let's compare what it is today with a traditional ISDN line. Look, ISDN lines are probably more reliable than VoIP in the main – especially given that the latter relies on internet connectivity. But they're not as robust as you think, and again, they're on their way out, so you really don't have a choice but to move away from them and start looking at the alternatives.
Landline
While the ISDN lines are relatively more reliable, the physical on-site system has its vulnerabilities. Think about your current on-premises PBX with those ISDN lines plugged in: so many things can go wrong and break with the physical kit sitting in your comms room. And if the whole system goes down, your backup options are usually pretty limited – you can often only divert calls to one number.
VoIP
Cloud-based VoIP, on the other hand, is built with resilience in mind. Everything's hosted in multiple data centres across the UK – we at Babble use three, just to give you an idea. So, if one of those data centres has a wobble, your phone system remains intact. It's highly unlikely, but even if two had a problem, there's still a third one to help keep the connectivity up and running.
Critical Factors for Reliable On-Premises VoIP
More and more SMBs are migrating to the cloud, but if you're not quite ready to become cloud-native just yet, there is a kind of temporary happy medium. Although the trend is definitely towards the cloud, some businesses are sticking with their on-premises PBX for now and looking at VoIP. So, what are the critical things you need to nail to get a reliable experience?
Here are a few key factors:
- Cabling is crucial: Make sure you've got CAT5 or above cabling running throughout your business. This is what connects your computers and phones back to your comms cabinet.
- Broadband speed matters: While the technology for calls has improved and uses less bandwidth these days, you still need half-decent speeds. If your current broadband isn't great, we can still look at splitting your voice and data onto separate connections or prioritising voice traffic (no more robot voices). Some of our customers with less-than-ideal broadband run a separate line just for voice, and it works a treat.
- A good quality networking kit is essential: Here we're talking routers from the likes of Netgear or DrayTek and switches from TP-Link. Often, your VoIP provider will supply this sort of gear, but it doesn't hurt to still check the broadband speed.
Ultimately, the foundation you need for reliable VoIP is a stable network. This, of course, makes an on-premises PBX connected via Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) channels dependent on the internet. So, if your internet goes down, you're pretty much stuck with diverting to a single phone number, which is not ideal for a busy business.
Addressing Internet Dependency
As I mentioned earlier, cloud solutions give you a lot more control here. If your internet is down, you can often log into an online portal and divert calls yourself within minutes, rather than having to call your provider and wait. Plus, if you've got the Webex or Teams apps on your mobiles or laptops, your team can continue working remotely even without a fixed internet connection.
What's more, even during local broadband outages, cloud VoIP can offer business continuity: we at Babble can provide a backup network with a 3G, 4G, or 5G router for data only, so if the main internet goes down, you can switch over to that as a backup and swiftly bypass any downtime.
If your business absolutely needs top-tier reliability (as most do), you should seriously think about getting a dedicated lease line – especially if you've got more than around 20 employees. These are a far more reliable option for VoIP because it's a private, dedicated network just for your organisation. This means you don't have to share the public internet like standard fibre or broadband – which is a cyber security risk, but that's a different story. You also get almost guaranteed speeds, even during peak hours when everyone else is streaming.
Before you get your provider on the phone, just know that they are quite pricey – maybe around four times the cost of fibre – so it's about finding the right fit for your needs. We can help you figure out what kind of connectivity you've got and what the best option is for your business – lease line, fibre, and everything in between.
If I had to rank your connectivity options, I'd definitely put lease lines at the top of the list, then fibre to the premises as the next best, and then maybe Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), depending on the speeds. But you'd potentially need to split the voice and data, so we probably wouldn't recommend ADSL on its own.
Navigating Power Outages
What happens when the power goes out? With an on-site PBX and a power cut, again, you're usually stuck with diverting your main line to maybe one other number. But with a cloud system, it'll be business as usual until your mobile phones and laptops run out of battery power. This gives you time to put backup plans in place, which could be as simple as employees working from home using their laptops and mobile apps. So the downtime can be pretty minimal. But with a PBX, there isn't a lot you can do during a power outage.
Your old landline might seem like the gold standard for reliability, but the world is moving on. That may sound dramatic, but the good news is that everyone's in the same boat: these old lines are being phased out across the country.
VoIP, especially when it's a well-implemented cloud solution, offers some real advantages, especially when things go wrong. You're going from a situation where disaster recovery might mean one person taking calls on their mobile phone to a scenario where your team can pretty much continue working in the same capacity.
A Quick Word on CRM Integration
This isn't to say that cloud-based VoIP solutions are the greatest invention since sliced bread. One area where on-premises PBXs have the upper hand (for now) is that they can be more feature-rich than cloud systems, particularly with integration into customer relationship management (CRM) databases.
At the moment, you might find a wider variety of CRM systems that integrate better with on-site PBXs. But the cloud is quickly catching up, especially with the big CRM players like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics. It's more when you get into the smaller, niche databases that integration with the cloud can be a bit trickier, but this won't be the case for much longer.
Securing Your Business Future with Reliable VoIP
So, while it might feel like a big change, moving to VoIP doesn't have to mean you'll have a less reliable system. In many ways, it can actually make your communication systems more resilient when the unexpected happens. The upside of better disaster recovery with VoIP is most obvious when something goes wrong.
Remember, the PSTN switch-off means you don't have a choice but to move away from them. Besides, everyone is facing this shift away from landlines, which evens out the playing field.
Look, it's understandable to have concerns based on early, less-than-ideal VoIP experiences a decade ago. However, as a Solutions Specialist here at Babble, I've seen firsthand how far cloud telephony has truly come, and have helped numerous businesses like yours use this tech to take their business to new heights.
Figuring out the right connectivity and solution for your business is key to ensuring reliability. We can help you assess your current connectivity, like fibre or ADSL, and determine the best options – perhaps exploring fibre to the premises or even a dedicated lease line for top-tier reliability, depending on your needs. The next step in securing your communication future is ensuring that your broadband is up to scratch, so be sure to read the next article to find out how yours measures up.
