VoIP FAQs
A decade after the first commercial voice over IP services were first launched it has matured to a point where it is now revolutionising the way telephone calls are transmitted. These are some of the questions we are asked as to why this sea change has come about.
Are all VoIP services the same?
What questions do I need to ask then before migrating to a VoIP service?
Who is voice over IP suitable for?
What benefits can I gain from your hosted services as opposed to traditional systems?
Why is NetServices voice service different from other offerings in the market?
What differences will I notice if I change from my traditional system?
I don't understand IP technology?
Can we see it working before we go ahead with NetServices?
Can we keep our existing numbers?
Which calls do I pay for and how much are these?
Who will bill us for the service?
Are all VoIP services the same?
No they are not. Most of the high profile consumer related products use the public internet to deliver their service as do some providers promoting themselves to businesses. If other traffic is running over the infrastructure call quality as well as security cannot be guaranteed. Many other companies (some of whom do have private networks) really only provide components of a voip service e. a managed network or IP Centrex and leave it to you to bolt these together. Therefore you are responsible for making sure that it all works in 'synch'.
NetServices proprietary hosted voice services provide you with a complete wholly integrated service. Every element of the service including the network, the phones and the soft switch has been designed to work together, rather than be bolted together as with other business services. And, because it has been developed in house as one seamless service you have a single point of contact to deal with who has ownership of the complete service.
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What questions do I need to ask then before migrating to a VoIP service?
- When assessing any service there are a number of key areas businesses should investigate.
- What network is the provider using, what control do they have over this?
- Can they really guarantee bandwidth end to end?
- What is exactly is included in the service, i.e. are they just providing you a voice compatible network (into which you plug phones and PBX sourced elsewhere) or are they simply providing you with IP phones leaving you responsible for the network.
- What functionality does their switch provide you with?
- Will you have access to any additional services, e.g. integrated billing information that can help you manage you telephony in a more sophisticated manner?
- What SLAs can they offer you and what exactly does this cover, particularly important if you are not looking at an end to end managed service.
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Who is voice over IP suitable for?
Voip is suitable for all businesses but businesses tend to implement it when key events occur e.g. when their PBX needs to be upgraded or replaced. Voip is also offer huge benefits in terms of cost to companies who have numerous sites - with voip inter-site calls carry no call charge!
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What benefits can I gain from your hosted services as opposed to traditional systems?
- Significant cost savings
It is estimated that most businesses can save between 20 and 40% over a traditional telephony service although exact savings will vary according to specific business activities. Savings are made not just on inter-site calls but on time saved spent managing the system.
- Never again have to upgrade your PBX
PBX upgrades are a huge capital expense as well as an upheaval to businesses. The soft switch replaces the traditional PBX system and is also accessed by customers via the NetServices web portal. All the features you would expect in a PBX such as being able to change extensions, redirect phones and voicemail are all available, and are much easier to amend then in conventional systems.
- User Friendly
This is accessed via a portal interface which provides an easy to navigate intuitive interface to keep you in control of the system.
- Increase Information Management
Through your portal interface you can log in to your account and integrate the billing system and review your call spend and structure for that accounting period. This provides you with real time bills at any time in the month, as soon as a call is terminated it registers on your bill so you are always in possession of up to date information. The system can provide you with breakdowns by incoming and internal calls as well as external, all of which can prove valuable business information.
Resellers login in have the ability to alter call costs as and when these change, or should they want to run a promotional offer to their customers.
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Why is NetServices voice service different from other offerings in the market?
Each component of our system has been designed to work with service excellence in mind. This includes the technical product i.e. the network, the soft switch etc and the service features including the billing and portal functionality. NetServices networking expertise, in particular our unique ability in running QoS over all access technologies ensures voice always gets the priority it needs over the network so call quality is never an issue.
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What differences will I notice if I change from my traditional system?
You will still have a phone on your desk as you have always done and will notice no difference in quality. Neither will anyway calling into your company. The difference you will notice are that it is an easier system to manage, and that you can start to consider what you could spend the budget you've saved by migrating your telephony to NetServices.
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I don't understand IP technology?
We see that as our job, in the same way as it wasn't your responsibility to manage the PSTN network neither do you need to manage or even understand an IP network. We are confident that you'll be confident to let us manage it on your behalf.
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Can we see it working before we go ahead with NetServices?
You can see every aspect of the service working before you go ahead by visiting our demo suite. We will even demonstrate the difference our network makes by letting you use the network infrastructure other business providers are using so you can compare the call quality.
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Can we keep our existing numbers?
Yes, existing numbers are ported from your current telephony supplier, a process which we manage on your behalf as part of our service.
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Which calls do I pay for and how much are these?
All calls within your network connected sites do not cost you anything. Calls that break out of your own network are charged at highly competitive agreed rates.
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Who will bill us for the service?
The service will be billed from NetServices one bill will include details of your call costs all of which can be itemised and broken down as required, as well as the monthly /quarterly service charges
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