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Internet Requirements for VoIP

A VoIP PBX is a great option for businesses and organizations that are looking to save money, work from home (or anywhere), enable their team members with flexible schedules. And the best part? These phones don’t require any static IP addresses, so you can use them on any device!

You may not know the requirements for your service to be at its best quality, such as Internet speed or VoIP bandwidth. It is essential to test your internet speed before you can experience all the benefits of a VoIP solution that utilizes SIP trunks.

Broadband Requirements for VoIP

Unlike traditional telephone lines, VoIP trunks use the internet to make and receive calls. Internet speed is one of many crucial factors in determining how pleasant your experience will be with a VoIP trunk connection.

In this article, you will learn what internet specifications are needed in order to make a seamless transition from your phone system to a VoIP one.

The Importance of Broadband Speed with VoIP

You know that sluggish feeling when you’re trying to do too many things online at once? Like, browsing the web or watching videos and downloading files all at once on your computer. Your internet speed starts slowing down because there’s not enough bandwidth for everything going in. When this happens, try taking one thing off of those busy lists before jumping right back into another heavy activity – like uploading pictures from vacation!

This may be a simple inconvenience when it happens to your home Internet, for example. You might have trouble loading videos on YouTube or watching Netflix in HD quality because of congestion on the network connection. Still, the data will eventually download, and you can watch your film. However, with real-time voice applications like VoIP trunks, there can be immediate problems if bandwidth becomes limited and you start having dropouts during calls. As we all know, there are few things more infuriating than a choppy phone line.

When it comes to customer communications, a lack of VoIP bandwidth can seriously impact your business. A poor phone experience could lead customers away and cost you money in lost sales!

You’d be surprised by the number of small businesses that have bandwidth bottlenecks and call quality problems because they don’t plan for their VoIP phone system. To avoid these kinds of headaches, you need to know how much internet data is going into your business and what bandwidth you require to support all those incoming calls from customers.

Engineer using VoIP
Engineer using VoIP in our call centre

How Much Bandwidth Do I Need for a Voip Phone System?

With a VoIP phone system, it is important to have the right bandwidth. Our calculation below is made based upon the following criteria.

To make a brief calculation of bandwidth for your VoIP service, you need to take into account:

  1. How many computers are you running on your network?
  2. What are the computers being used for?
  3. How many phones do you need?
  4. What isyour hourly call volume, or how many phones call are likely to be had simultaneously?
You don’t need a large and expensive server rack to run a VoIP phone system

Scenario 1 – 4 Phones on Concurrent Calls

A standard ADSL broadband connection woudl be sufficient to run this system.

Scenario 2 – 10 Phones on Concurrent calls

An FTTC 40/10 (Fibre To The Cabinet) would be adequate for a system with 10 phones running concurrently. 40/10 refers to 40Mbps Download 10Mbps upload

Scenario 3 – 50 Phones on Concurrent Calls

An FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) broadband connection would be sufficient to service 50 concurrent calls. 

Conclusion

The internet speed requirements of your VoIP phone system are important, but there is no one size fits all when it comes down to what you need. For example, if a business only handles a few calls per week they may not require such an expensive lease line, while businesses that rely heavily on answering numerous calls every day will likely benefit from faster connections than regular domestic lines provide. Click here to speak with one of our experts about the best option for your company.

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