What Is VoIP QoS and How Does It Make Your Calls Better?

Are you experiencing call quality issues, even with a solid internet connection? Then, you must optimize your business phone system with Quality of Service (QoS).

Today, 92 % of customer interaction takes place over the phone. Hence, maintaining good audio quality is crucial for any organization to provide a better calling experience and enhance customer satisfaction.

Poor communication is a red flag for any customer. Customers get frustrated and dissatisfied when they face call quality issues.

So, in this blog, we’ll talk about VoIP QoS, why it is essential, its best practices, and everything you want to know about QoS. So, let’s dive right in and upgrade your call quality.

What is VoIP QoS?

VoIP QoS is a technology that helps to provide high-quality voice communication over the internet, prioritizing network traffic passing via a router. VoIP Quality of Service (QoS) is essential to ensure high-quality and reliable communication without any communication issues. 

It is crucial for any business phone system. Businesses can use VoIP QoS to provide dedicated bandwidth support to specific customer service teams, users, and events. Additionally, they can optimize data traffic over a router to resolve audio quality issues.

Overall, Quality of Service aims to minimize packet loss, latency, echo, and jitter to improve audio quality.

Why does Quality of Service matter?

Since VoIP calling relies heavily on the internet, it is prone to network issues like congestion, jitter, latency, and packet loss. These network issues can hamper communication with bad-quality audio, dropped calls, echoes, and jumbled audio, which results in frustration, misunderstandings, low brand trust, and low productivity.

So, to maintain a high-quality communication experience, Quality of service matters. QoS settings help important packets reach their destination first, delay the least important packets, and emphasize providing high traffic to ensure proper data flow and precise, high-quality communication over the internet.

Troubleshooting VoIP Call Quality with QoS

Checking the internet’s quality and speed is the first step in troubleshooting VoIP call quality issues. But it won’t necessarily fix all of the issues with call quality, so it is essential to deal with the root of the problem and offer quality service to fix them. 

Here are a few steps to troubleshoot VoIP call quality with quality of service.

1. Determine the root cause of call quality issues:

Try understanding the pattern and frequency of call quality issues by taking user feedback. Find out why users face call issues like low-quality audio, echoes, choppy audio, delays, distorted sounds, and drop calls.

2. Check network performance: 

Use different network monitoring tools to check the performance of the network. Look for metrics like packet loss, latency, and jitter and then utilize the gathered information to analyze the issues and areas for improvement.

3. Configure the QoS Setting:

Ensure that the network devices like routers and modems are appropriately configured. Check whether the QoS is enabled on the router and configured correctly to prioritize VoIP traffic over other data types. 

4. Allocate sufficient bandwidth:

Providing sufficient bandwidth to VoIp traffic helps in reliable voice transmission and prevents network congestion. So, it is always better to determine bandwidth allocation based on the expected traffic load and the number of concurrent calls.

5. Upgrade network infrastructure:

It’s not always the speed of the internet that’s causing VoIP call quality issues. Sometimes, it’s the outdated network infrastructure and hardware, like routers, firewalls, switches, headsets, microphones, etc. So, consider upgrading the infrastructure and hardware for better transmission of  VoIP traffic and minimize frequent call quality issues.

6. Regularly monitor and adjust:

Regularly monitoring the network performance helps to determine high-quality VoIP calls. You can use the user’s feedback and real-time performance data to adjust QoS settings. 

Recommended VoIP QoS settings

VoIP QOS setting is a network management tool that helps manage the data flow on a network, allowing precise and reliable voice transmission of data packets. 

Following are some recommended QoS settings and considerations:

1. Activate QoS: Activating QoS on network devices like router switches is the initial step of the QoS setting. Make sure the Quality of service is activated since it prioritizes VoIP traffic over other data traffic and minimizes call quality issues.
2. Prioritize VoIP traffic using QoS: Prioritize VoIP traffic using QoS, which allows voice packets to be transmitted to end users with better quality.
3. DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point): Use DSCP to prioritize VoIP traffic. The recommended DSCP value for VoIP traffic is AF31 (Assured Forwarding 31).
4. Jitter Buffer Configuration: To reduce the impact of jitter on call quality, configure jitter buffers on your VoIP equipment like smartphones and PCs.
5. Packet Loss Handling: Use Forward Error Correction(FEC)or redundant packet transmission to address packet loss issues. It will help you handle and recover lost data packets, improving call quality.
6. VoIP bandwidth allocation: Provide adequate bandwidth for VoIP traffic. Ensure enough bandwidth is allocated for voice calls without affecting other data activities.
7. Traffic Classification: Configure your QoS settings to classify VoIP traffic as real-time or voice. This way, routers and switches can identify and prioritize voice packets accurately.

How to Set Up VoIP QoS?

Setting up the quality of service for VoIP varies depending on your chosen service provider and specific needs. A typical process looks like this:

1. Assess your network.
2. Enable QoS on network devices.
3. Identify the VoIP traffic on your network.
4. Apply DSCP markings to VoIP packets.
5. Set up priority queuing or traffic prioritization.
6. Limit bandwidth for other types of traffic.
7. Configure jitter buffers on VoIP endpoints.
8. Test your VoIP QoS settings. 

VoIP Call Quality Best Practices

For making the best quality VoIP calls, here are some practices:

1. Allocate Sufficient Internet Bandwidth

For high-quality VoIP calls, you must have a stable and high-speed internet connection, which provides sufficient bandwidth for data packet transmission. According to industry standards, users should have a minimum of 1 Mbps upload and download data to perform a call without any issues.

2. Use wired Ethernet connections

A slow or unstable WIFI connection decreases the quality of your call, so you should use an Ethernet cable instead. With ethernet cable, you can avoid the risk of a bad termination.

3. Prioritize VoIP Traffic

Using  Quality of Service (QoS) settings on routers to prioritize VoIP traffic over other internet activities is the best practice for VoIP call quality. By prioritizing VoIP traffic, it provides the necessary bandwidth to perform high-quality calls.

4. Select a Reliable VoIP Service Provider

Many VoIP service providers are in the market, so look out for a reputable VoIP service provider providing quality and reliable service. Also, check out the provider’s network infrastructure and research reviews of the user.

5. Use High-Quality Equipment

Investing in high-quality VoIP phones like headphones, microphones, and routers is also a best practice to provide better call quality. Ensure that the equipment you use with your VoIP service is up-to-date and compatible.

6. Monitor network connection Regularly

Monitor the network connection, and make sure your service provider provides internet speed as promised. Monitor your ping, jitter, and latency to avoid all the connectivity issues and enjoy better call quality. 

What Are The Limitations Of QoS?

Quality of Service (QoS) is an excellent tool for optimizing network performance and prioritizing VoIP traffic for a smooth and reliable calling experience. However, QoS doesn’t magically fix all the calling issues; there are some limitations, and they are:

1. Dependent on the Internet

Quality of service total depends upon stable and high-speed internet. So, during peak usage hours, implementing end-to-end QoS can be challenging over public networks, which can cause call quality issues like jitter and latency, resulting in a poor call experience.

2. Fully Dependent on Network Congestion

The quality of service can only be prioritized within the available bandwidth. So, if your network is constantly congested, you may experience call quality issues even with QoS enabled, which can hamper the calling experience of the users.

3. Complex Configuration

To configure the QoS setting, you need in-depth knowledge about networks, protocols, and traffic patterns, which is very complex. So, you need an expert to guide you because misconfiguring the QoS system will negatively impact network performance.

4. Depending on the network equipment

Qos highly depends upon network equipment. You must ensure your routers, switches, and firewalls are compatible with QoS. Misconfigured or unsupported hardware can make QoS fail. 

Get VoIP for Business With Dialaxy

Businesses must invest in a VoIP service provider that guarantees high-quality services, improved call experience, and personalized customer service. Utilizing VoIP for Business with Dialaxy has proven very effective because it provides customized service with top-notch audio quality and calling features. 

Whether you are a small business or a remote company, Dialaxy helps you create a reliable, high-quality phone system. Get in touch with us today to find out more about our solutions!

Conclusion

To conclude, maintaining call quality and delivering excellent customer service have been the primary goals of many businesses. Poor call quality hampers a business’s reputation and dissatisfies customers. So, If your business also wants to enhance communication, contact us at Dialaxy for VoIP phone services and Quality of service.

With Dialaxy, you will enjoy seamless connectivity without any communication issues, deliver excellent customer experience, and take your business communication to the next level.

FAQS

How can I improve my VoIP call quality?

To improve VoIP call quality:

• Use a wired connection or internet with high speed.
• Give priority to VoIP traffic.
• Select a reliable VoIP service provider.
• Use high-quality equipment.
• Check the network for congestion.

What is QoS, and how can it improve network performance?

QoS (Quality of Service) is a set of protocols and technologies used in computer networks to enhance the performance and reliability of VoIP calls. It helps deliver high-quality audio to end users by prioritizing VoIP data packets to routers. Network performance can be improved by managing bandwidth and prioritizing VoIP data packets, allowing quick transmission and minimizing call quality issues.

How does QoS improve the quality of voice traffic?

Quality of service improves the quality of voice traffic in the following ways:

• Prioritizing VoIP traffic
• Reduction of latency
• Proper allocation of bandwidth 
• Reducing packet loss
• Traffic shaping 
• Jitter buffer management

What are common causes of VoIP Quality of Service disruptions?

The common causes of VoIP Quality of service disruptions are:

• Inadequate bandwidth 
• Packet loss
• Jitter 
• Latency 
• Network congestion 
• Outdated equipment