atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Thread Like Summary - Is VoIP an attempt to steal phone tech work?

The more info I read and the more I learn about VoIP, I come back to the same thought, are the IT guys trying to take over telecom?

The equipment is computer based, the transport is the internet, and the techs are really geeks.

Since the folks in telecom, that have been in telecom for any length of time, know how reliable the internet's up-time is, we should not worry about VoIP replacing the PSTN. For years, the argument has been "Telephone is not allowed to have down time". This one statement is the entire argument of VoIP vs Telecom.

An office with a VoIP communications system that needs to be rebooted, as computers do now and again, will need to do without telecommmunications for the duration of the boot-up process. As the computer loads its operating system, then loads the software required to operate as a telephone system, there is no possibility of a call being received or originated, and this can be up to several minutes. What becomes of a caller, trying to reach you during the down-time? Is that caller provided a notice you are still in business, or does the carrier see no signal from the far end and play the "number not in service" recording? Will the call ring unanswered as currently happens with POTS?

VoIP is a good theory, but until QOS, reliability, guarantee of up-time, etc are improved, I would hesitate greatly before considering a VoIP system.

Old telephone guys/gals... I am one of you too. Do I feel like I am being edged out of the telephony business by computer and networking pro's? You bet. Yes, VoIP is the "buzz". Yes it makes sense in certain applications and no it is not for everyone. But here's the irony of the situation. In the face of adversity comes opportunity. So, the good news is that while some clients are rushing out to get the latest in "gotta have" VoIP gear they are discarding perfectly good, and in many cases, reliable, feature robust legacy telephony systems, many of which are available at unbelievably low prices. So, here is our challenge... to convince our clients that we can sufficiently meet their telecom needs with legacy gear and we can do so to their advantage. Obviously this has the potential to be a better value proposition for small to medium sized businesses. We have to become better consultants to our customers and more effective communicators of this value proposition. The ride is not over for legacy systems yet. It is up to us to leverage the pitfalls of VoIP solutions in circumstances where it makes sense to do so and to bow out where it doesn't. Finally, it is up to us as true solutions consultants to learn new technologies and know when it is appropriate to apply them. This is just my humble opinion. RFC phones@biz