Poor VoIP Call Quality: Common Problems

Jitter is a common problem of the connectionless networks or packet switched networks. Because the information is divided into packets, each packet can travel by a different path from the sender to the receiver. When packets arrive at their intended destination in a different order then they were originally sent, the result is a call with poor or scrambled audio. A jitter buffer temporarily stores arriving packets in order to minimize delay variations. If packets arrive too late then they are discarded. Many small businesses use their internet connection for both voice and data. This is perfectly fine as long as your router has the ability to prioritize the VoIP service. Without a router that is configured for packet prioritization, call quality can be impacted by the other users on your network. For example, if during a call, another user on your network downloads a large file, without packet prioritization, your call quality could be degraded. A VoIP router prevents this from happening by giving priority to voice traffic on your network. VoIP routers are not an expensive piece of hardware. A VoIP router for a small business ranges from $300.00 for a five person office to under $1,000.00 for a 25-person office.