VoIP Bandwidth Considerations for Business Phone Systems

Suppose you are a business looking to invest in VoIP-hosted services instead of traditional phone systems. In that case, this is your one-stop guide to every detail regarding VoIP system, VoIP bandwidth, including the factors that affect VoIP quality. 

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) has been a breakthrough technology in the telecommunication world. By using only an internet connection, VoIP bandwidth vendors can facilitate voice and video calls that are high in quality yet much cheaper than that regular analog networks.

If a comparison of leading cloud-based VoIP bandwidth providers is carried out, it's not difficult to see how SaaS has dramatically increased the enterprise software space. As a result, VoIP bandwidth technology has been made all the more accessible through subscription plans which are so affordable that even smaller businesses can conveniently sign up sans any commitment - and scale up if needed.

However, many factors affect VoIP call quality. This can make the technology feel trickier than phone systems, especially if VoIP bandwidth technical issues are experienced at the eleventh hour. 

Here, we outline a layman’s guide to the factors that affect the VoIP quality of platforms today and what can be done to improve. If you are a business looking to invest in VoIP systems, research well on the VoIP bandwidth before investing in one. It is one of the prime factors that affect VoIP quality. 

A good analogy for VoIP bandwidth is that of a water pipe. The Internet is the water pipe; the water flowing through it is your data. The line must be extensive and significant for the water to move smoothly. Similarly, for your data to assemble, disassemble and move through the internet smoothly, your VoIP bandwidth needs to be big enough for your VoIP system and business.

Over the recent years, instead of traditional terminologies of phone systems, you may have heard of newer languages such as kbps or Mbps when it comes to internet connectivity. Measured in kilobytes or megabytes per second, internet speeds are one factor contributing to VoIP bandwidth and hence, VoIP quality, without a doubt. This is why top VoIP bandwidth provider companies offer a tiered range of speeds, with better speeds accounting for higher costs. 

However, the speed required for each organization (as well as each employee) depends on the number of calls made, the duration, and interactive elements such as video. But it is still helpful to have a good rule of thumb when quantifying speeds for your business’s VoIP bandwidth needs. 

An average business phone call requires 85 Kbps of VoIP bandwidth. Most VoIP systems recommend a stable upload speed of 100kbps, depending on the CODEC they are running.

With about 100 kbps of speed required for one call (for upload and download each), concurrent calls will require multiples of this quantity, depending on how many calls are taking place simultaneously. Your VoIP bandwidth provider can offer you exact recommendations on what (and how much) is best while suggesting other options to improve internet speeds, such as using a particular router for VoIP.

There are numerous advantages to using VoIP-hosted services, but making a quick yet affordable call from anywhere is one of the most significant advantages of VoIP bandwidth. However, speed isn’t the only factor that affects VoIP bandwidth quality. Whether your employees are working at the office or working from home, many tasks are in the background and consuming VoIP bandwidth. 

This is why maintaining 100 kbps per call may be insufficient; you will need to research other factors that affect VoIP bandwidth quality in other tasks that employees may be consuming the internet for (such as file transfers, software use, and cybersecurity). Taking employee numbers into consideration, as well as internet usage on a departmental basis (the field sales team may be consuming less internet at the office, compared to marketing, for instance), your VoIP bandwidth vendor can determine which plan will be most suitable for your business’s unique requirements.

Short for coder-decoder, VoIP codecs convert analog signals into digital (and vice versa) as signals are transmitted via VoIP bandwidth networks. Codecs come in many variants, ranging from those that deliver high quality (but with minimal compression) to lower rates (but with more reduction and, therefore, faster transmission).

Knowing everything about VoIP codecs offers greater clarity on how to configure your VoIP bandwidth systems better to encourage enhanced voice and video quality when making calls—although highly technical, knowing basic information such as popular codec types and the best devices/routers for each codec can make all the difference when it comes to VoIP quality.

VoIP bandwidth isn't just integral for quality; it is paramount towards also contributing to business cost savings. Therefore, VoIP bandwidth carriers may focus on specific codecs used to offer products and services that fit an organization’s budget. 

Codecs that retain high voice quality may compress less, meaning that more internet and VoIP bandwidth will have to be consumed to transmit digital packets. On the other hand, codecs offering lower voice quality may place less burden on bandwidth - and therefore help organizations save more money in the long run. 

If you are a business researcher well on the VoIP bandwidth required for your level of business, look well into the factors that affect VoIP quality well to ensure the smooth running of your business over VoIP systems. By focusing on many factors, including a good VoIP bandwidth and ensuring each is intelligently configured, it is possible to maintain good VoIP bandwidth quality without breaking the bank.

Explore more about VoIP providers and their VoIP bandwidth requirements via our phone systems buyer’s guide and compare different vendors for the VoIP bandwidth provider for your requirements.