Cable modem, poor outbound VoIP
by Dan Berger
(Clarksville, TN)
I currently use:
- PhonePower VoIP service
- Charter Communications (cable internet)
- RCA 25204RE1 2-Line Corded Speakerphone
- Plantronics CS55 with lifter
Often my customers tell me that they can not hear me or that they only catch every other word or so. I generally do not have any problems hearing the person on the other side.
PhonePower ran some tests on my line and said there was 'latency' in the line and that it was the ISP issue. The ISP claims that there is nothing wrong with the line (in their defense the issue seems to be intermittent, so it would be difficult to detect - unless it happened when they were looking).
I am looking for options to correct the issue. Is it the ISP, PhonePower, some combination of equipment I am using, etc?
What can I do to get a reliable service at a reasonable price? I like my current number and would like to keep it even if I move my business location in the future.
Bottom line is that I cannot continue to operate as I am, but don't have a way to troubleshoot beyond what I have already checked into.
Location: Clarksville, TN
Type of Business: SOHO user
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I don't mind investing in equipment, switching providers, etc to fix this issue, but I need to know what I am getting into.
Thanks,
Dan B.
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E-Dude's Response:
Sounds like you're experiencing a typical best effort connection failure in the QOS arena Dan. Upload speed / outbound QOS maybe the culprit here, and should be ruled out first. If you don't have any outbound QOS on your router, you might do that – or buy a small D-Link router that can handle it – you're looking for something that will place priority on your Voip packets as they leave your location onto the wire.
Also make sure you have adequate upstream bandwidth, at least 768/k if only one user and lot's of larger files flying around on the network (e-mail and so forth)
Although Phone Power is a reasonable quality provider, they cannot be ruled out. However after outbound traffic shaping / QOS, my guess would be IP routes to their PBX servers might be to blame or a more local issue with the cable connection (oversubscription)
Read more on this issue here http://www.business-voip-phone-service.com/voip-adsl.html and http://www.business-voip-phone-service.com/voip-problems.html
The equipment shouldn't be an issue based on what you mention here.
So the first priority would be to troubleshoot the connection itself. Most likely this is the issue, and after testing, should you find impairment, you can take these metrics to your ISP and demand they reroute your traffic differently, although you'll never be assured of a high level of QOS, as you're using a "best effort" service.
TEST HERE - MIDDLE OF THE PAGE http://www.business-voip-phone-service.com/Broadband-connection-test.html
Also "demanding" anything from the cable company is never easy, they may listen to you and make appropriate changes, or not. You'll have to have routing information (how your IP packets are getting to and from Phone Power) and so forth to prove the latency or packet loss. Then getting them to make permanent changes in your routes will be difficult.
Start with my bandwidth connection test, do it two to three few times a day, at different times. Read the articles below, do the test, and then over time you will start to see a pattern most likely in the QOS arena on this connection.
Unfortunately, I have limited offerings in the area of lower or similar cost internet pipe for you, although you can use my broadband finder at this the last link below to see if anything else is available. If you're needing only one concurrent voice call, then DSL maybe an option.
Click here for a SOHO DSL quote
In the end, the best connection would be an AT&T U-Verse or Verizon FIOS deal, lots of bandwidth and should be decent clean bandwidth.
Again, get some outbound QOS on the router, if this doesn't help, migrating away from the cable modem will most likely clear this up.
However, if after testing your cable connection this proves not to be the issue, then a change in VoIP providers may be indicated. A link to my VoIP chooser for SOHO is here:
Use this "VoIP best rates" finder to find the best plans for your personal or SOHO business needs. Click here to jump to the rate finder.
Hope this helps Dan!
