Internet Computer Telephony Free Phone VoIP: In the early days of VoIP, the central issue facing the industry was whether voice quality could be effectively maintained using IP as the transport. Technology vendors, service providers and corporate network managers put a huge amount of effort into addressing this issue. As a result, VoIP is now an attractive alternative to conventional analog voice and the PSTN.

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In the early days of VoIP, the central issue facing the industry was whether voice quality could be effectively maintained using IP as the transport. Technology vendors, service providers and corporate network managers put a huge amount of effort into addressing this issue. As a result, VoIP is now an attractive alternative to conventional analog voice and the PSTN.

As real-world VoIP rollouts continue, however, a new set of challenges emerging. In particular, businesses are encountering a variety of unanticipated problems as they deploy VoIP to remote locations. These problems include:

• Survivability
  One advantage of an IP PBX or hosted PBX/Centrex solution is elimination of the need to install a PBX in each remote location. But this kind of centralized architecture leaves phone service unacceptably vulnerable to network failure.
• Analog support
  Remote offices often require support for a wide range of "legacy" analog devices such as postage meters, security systems and HVAC monitoring units with built-in modems - as well as fax machines, intercoms and non-IP phones. All-IP environments don't provide this support.
• PSTN connectivity
  For inbound calls, local call and 911 access, it's typically important to provide remote office with PSTN connectivity. This connectivity must therefore be planned into any VoIP implementation - rather than considered only as an after thought.
• Management
  Centralized IT departments and service providers need to be able to effectively manage VoIP infrastructure at remote locations. If they can't, voice service levels can easily be jeopardized.

This white paper outlines the remote office challenges that are coming to light as more and more companies implement VoIP across the enterprise. It also explains how these challenges can be overcome. By keeping these concepts in mind as they plan their VoIP deployments, corporate IT departments and service providers alike can avoid the pitfalls experienced during the first wave of implementations.

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