by Joe Gleinser
27. July 2009 19:30
It is especially apparent at this late stage in VoIP adoption just how far off some early VoIP predictions were. The mobile, free, ubiquitous connection that early VoIP proponents espoused is only marginally closer than it was 10 years ago. In fact today the generation-old PSTN provides more of these features than modern VoIP systems.
The remote VoIP handset still suffers many problems. Without point to point connectivity QoS can only be ensured at the endpoints. As many Vonage subscribers can tell you, this leads to dropped calls, distorted voice and static. Many vendors still require VPN connections between sites for these remote handsets to 'function.'
The Avaya IP Office has supported remote VoIP handsets, with an embedded VPN client, for years. Recently they have improved their mobile solutions with 'old' technology - the PSTN and mobile phone network. New telecommuter features allow a home phone (PSTN, or otherwise) to receive calls directly while providing advanced telephony features through a remote connection to Phone Manager Pro (Avaya's premium telephony app). Great quality, advanced features and very reliable - that's tough to beat. In addition the Twinning functionality supports multiple endpoint connections. Call my DID to ring both my work phone and cell phone. By pushing the call across the 3G network I get a very good quality call that can reach me through my DID. Neither of these advanced voice features require an IP connection (excepting the remote connection to Phone Manager Pro).
Where is VoIP a fit? That might be the next blog post!