Frequently Asked Questions about VoIP
Is the call quality and reliability as good as traditional phone service?
Our testing, as well as other third-party, independent research, continues to show that most consumers find VoIP quality and reliability as good as or better than traditional phone service. In a recent study by research firm Telephia, 71% of VoIP users found that VoIP was equally as reliable as traditional landline service, with 16% finding VoIP more reliable and 13% finding traditional service more reliable. Similarly, in a January 2006 survey by Consumer Reports, half the users found VoIP and traditional phone service equally reliable, with the rest evenly split as to which service was more reliable. In terms of call quality, the Telephia study showed that 67% of users found VoIP and traditional phone service to have the same quality, with 19% finding VoIP better and 14% finding it worse. 57% of the Consumer Reports respondents found VoIP quality to be as good as or better than traditional service, although 43 percent found traditional service better.
Most VoIP quality issues that consumers face are caused by a slow or unreliable Internet connection. The higher the speed of the connection, the more likely it is that you will have excellent call quality. We recommend that you have at least 90 kbps upload and download speed in order to have good voice quality. Typically the download speed will not be a problem but occasionally upload speed is too low because of subpar service from an ISP. We have found a very helpful free test that estimates the quality of VoIP call you can expect to receive based on your Internet connection. Regardless of your test results, however, we still recommend that you order one of our recommended VoIP services, install it, and make some phone calls to make sure the quality is acceptable. Only after verifying the quality should you cancel or make changes to your existing phone service or initiate number transfer. Since all our recommended providers offer money back guarantees, you should pay close attention to their requirements and if the service does not work well enough, cancel the service and get your refund.
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