Technology Guide: Demystifying Business VoIP Services
Table of Contents
This 34-page Technology Guide includes 5 Tables and 12 Figures.
| Section | Description | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Foreword from Arrow Voice & Data | 4 | |
| 1 | Introduction | 5 |
| 1.1 | The Difference Between VoIP and IP Telephony | 5 |
| 2 | Understanding Different Types of Business VoIP Services | 6 |
| 2.1 | Internet Services: Consumer-Grade and Business-Grade Broadband | 6 |
| 2.2 | Internet-Based Services | 9 |
| 2.2.1 | Internet-Based Toll Bypass and Inter-Office VoIP | 9 |
| 2.2.2 | Internet-Based VoIP with Internet-PSTN Gateway | 10 |
| 2.2.3 | Replacing the PSTN with Internet Calling | 13 |
| 2.3 | Private Network-Based Services | 14 |
| 2.3.1 | Private Network Service with Provider-based VoIP | 14 |
| 2.3.2 | Private Network VoIP with PSTN Gateway | 15 |
| 2.4 | Hosted Voice ("IP Centrex") Value-Added Services | 18 |
| 2.4.1 | Internet-Based Hosted Voice ("IP Centrex") | 19 |
| 2.4.2 | Private Network-Based Hosted Voice ("IP Centrex") | 20 |
| 3 | Understanding Business Telephony Requirements | 21 |
| 3.1 | Outline of Business Requirements | 21 |
| 3.1.1 | Indicative Codec Requirements | 21 |
| 3.2 | Service Features | 22 |
| 3.3 | Service Level Agreements (SLAs) | 24 |
| 3.3.1 | The Need for SLAs | 24 |
| 3.3.2 | Data Service SLAs | 25 |
| 3.3.3 | Voice Service SLAs | 26 |
| 3.3.4 | Support SLAs | 26 |
| 3.3.5 | Establishing Responsibilities in SLAs | 26 |
| 3.3.6 | Call Quality Testing | 27 |
| 4 | Choosing a Business VoIP Service | 29 |
| 4.1 | Telecommunications Subscription and Call Costs | 29 |
| 4.2 | Business Requirements | 31 |
| 4.3 | Choosing a Provider | 32 |
| 5 | Key Implementation Considerations | 33 |
| Glossary of Acronyms | 34 |
Tables
| Description | Page |
|---|---|
| Table 1. - Indicative Codec Requirements | 22 |
| Table 2. - VoIP Service Features | 23 |
| Table 3. - Costing Telecommunications Services | 29 |
| Table 4. - Business Requirements Checklist | 31 |
| Table 5. - Implementation Considerations | 33 |
Figures
| Description | Page |
|---|---|
| Figure 1. - Consumer-Grade Internet Access | 7 |
| Figure 2. - Business-Grade Internet Access | 8 |
| Figure 3. - Internet-Based Toll Bypass and Inter-Office VoIP | 9 |
| Figure 4. - Internet-Based VoIP with Internet-PSTN Gateway (Multi-Site) | 11 |
| Figure 5. - Internet-Based VoIP with Internet-PSTN Gateway (Single Site) | 12 |
| Figure 6. - Replacing the PSTN with Internet Calling | 13 |
| Figure 7. - Using Private Data Networks to Access the VoIP Provider | 15 |
| Figure 8. - Combined Private Network VoIP and PSTN Calling (Multi-Site) | 16 |
| Figure 9. - Combined Private Network VoIP and PSTN Calling (Single Site) | 17 |
| Figure 10. - Hosted Voice in Practice | 18 |
| Figure 11. - Internet-Based Hosted Voice ("IP Centrex") | 19 |
| Figure 12. - Private Network-Based Hosted Voice ("IP Centrex") | 20 |
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This Technology Guide was made possible by the kind sponsorship of Arrow Voice & Data
