VoIP
Disadvantage
Dependence On Power And
Internet
The main VoIP disadvantage or
limitation is that VoIP Telephony needs both power and internet to
work. When the power goes out, you don't have VoIP.
The same thing occurs when
your ISP (Internet Service Provider) doesn't have power or is down for
maintenance. In this situation, if you don't have an additional
landline phone, you are left with no means of communication with the
outside world.
Here is where the traditional
phone line scores over the VoIP telephone system. Even when there is no
power in your house or office, your traditional landline phone works as
it is powered by the electricity at the phone company.
Emergency
Calls
Power outage may not be much of a problem if it is for a shortPower outage
may not be much of a problem if it is for a short duration, but this can cause
severe difficulty if you want to make an emergency call during this
time. One way to get around this problem is to have a back up power
system - universal power supply - or maintain a regular
landline phone for such emergency situations.
Another area where your
traditional phone has advantage over the VoIP telephone is that when
you dial 911 on it, you are immediately connected to the nearest PSAP
(PublicSafety
Answering Point), a physical location where
911 emergency telephone calls are received and then routed to the
proper emergency services.
Inability to make 911 calls
on VoIP phones was a serious issue, but this VoIP disadvantage has been
largely overcome because now most VoIP service providers offer
E911
feature with their services.
If emergency calling is your concern and if you plan to replace your
landline phone with an internet phone, sign up with a service provider
which provides acceptable E911 facility with its service.
Here the thing to remember is
that even the best E911 service from your VoIP provider will be of no
use when your internet connection goes down because your ISP has power
outage or is down for maintenance.
Other
Related Issues:
-
Home
Security
If
you have a home security system which runs on your traditional
telephone line, it will shut down when you replace your landline phone
with an internet phone. The solution here is to go for a
VoIP-compatible or independent wireless security system. You can find
such companies serving your area by making a search on the internet.
-
DSL
Internet Connection
If you have broadband DSL connection
coming through a wired telephone line, you will have to replace it with
cable broadband when replacing your landline phone.
-
You Lose Your Phone Number
Still another VoIP disadvantage is that when you give up your regular
phone in favor of an internet phone, you get a new phone number. You
have to inform your relatives, friends and business contacts about this
change. A way to overcome this VoIP disadvantage is to keep your old
phone number -one of the many
VoIP features
offered by VoIP service providers
-
PC Power
One of the advantages of VoIP is that you can make a VoIP call and surf
the internet at the same time. This can turn into a VoIP disadvantage
if your pc has limited process capacity. Your call can be affected or
totally crash if you are downloading a big file or running a program
that needs lots of process power.
VoIP Security
Still another VoIP disadvantage is that VoIP can suffer the same
security threats that your pc does - viruses, identity theft, phising
and spam. If you have been using your pc to surf the internet you know
that there are ways to safeguard yourself against such threats. It is
the same with VoIP. Here also you can certainly take a number of steps
toward
VoIP
security and enjoy the many benefits of VoIP.
With one VoIP
disadvantage after another, should you give up on VoIP?
No, certainly not. VoIP has lots of
benefits
along with some drawbacks like any other system.
The regular phone system has
been around for more than a century and has faced a number of problems
before attaining its present status. In comparison, VoIP is a toddler
learning to take its first steps.
But compared to the
traditional telephony, it has made big strides in a short time. So you
can expect the voip technology to overcome these disadvantages in not
too distant a future.
Related
Pages:
VoIP
Features
VoIP
Benefits
VoIP
Security
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