The age old debate (well recent)… between VoIP phones and traditional land phones is often driven by cost˳ But instead of price what if you looked at value?
I think the value in VoIP is relative only to a business’s needs˳ VoIP is a great value for scenarios that involve multiple sites, employees working from home and a traveling workforce˳ Typically the small to medium business with one location and none of the above set of circumstances is still better served by TDM due to it’s stability, clarity and reliability˳
The original question is actually a loaded one (on purpose to “test” your awareness)˳
The fact is that VoIP comes in many flavors and in many types of architectures˳ I would advise that when you say “VoIP service” you need to be specific˳ First off I agree that whenever a customer can utilize VoIP service to better consolidate their network and reduce total telecom spending…˳ it is a good idea˳ I also agree that the term VoIP is becoming very standardized and is not a bleeding edge concept anymore˳
However lets talk about why people still use TDM (POTS – Plain Old telephone System, or “landlines”)˳ First off, you need to understand the limitations of most VoIP offerings˳ If you handle VoIP through any old IP gateway then there is no QOS (Quality of Service) for the IP call˳ This is what many hosted PBX providers give their customers and quite frankly the quality is crappy˳ Sure it works sometimes but not all the time˳
Also access becomes a big issue˳ A small company might not be able to justify the cost of a full T1 for access (which is dedicated)… and might opt for a cable modem, DSL, or other shared Internet service˳ Although VoIP can work in these situations… again there is no QOS and you run the risk of the problems you might encounter with shared services˳
SO for these customers TDM services still make lots of sense (i˳e˳ pots lines, maybe PRIs for call centers that do not have as much need for data)˳
There ya go… a little more information to help make an educated decision˳ If you’d like help to do a cost analysis…˳ comparing providers available in your specific area…˳ use the “Best Rate Calculator” tools here: Compare Phone Costs
This works for both residential and business applications…˳ and there’s a tool for both VoIP and for land lines (POTS)˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Is-VoIP-Phone-Service-a-Better-Value-Than-a-Traditional-Phone-Service?&id=2227540
