Wireless VOIP

You are already familiar with the terms Wireless Networking and Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) but how do you know if these are technologies which can benefit your business?

Managers are familiar with the concept of “payback;” an investment in any technology should create income for your organization in excess of its cost within a specific amount of time—the “payback period.” This article will provide a brief overview of the features and benefits of Wireless and VoIP technologies in the workplace with the goal of helping the reader decide if these technologies could benefit their own organizations.

Nowadays there are two types of wireless networks: Local Access and Backhaul. Local Access wireless is the type with which most of us are familiar; these are the wireless networks we connect to from laptop computers either in our homes, in our workplaces, or in establishments featuring “wireless hot spots” which enable patrons to access the Internet while they are inside. Local Access wireless networks offer the convenience of being able to connect to a network without a cable, but in relatively few cases can a wireless network of this type produce “payback.”

Wireless Backhaul networks take the place of either copper or fiber optic cable. Wireless Backhaul networks cannot be accessed from a wireless card in a PC or laptop. Wireless Backhaul networks are used to interconnect two or more locations which are too distant to be interconnected using cable, but not so far apart that one location cannot be seen from another. In other words, if two buildings that need to be connected are more than 100 meters apart, and it is possible to see each building from the other then a Wireless Backhaul solution usually costs thousands less than traditional telephone company services or fiber optic cabling.

Organizations which can benefit from Wireless Backhaul networks can also benefit from VoIP telephone solutions. The goal of any VoIP telephone solution should be to save the organization money by providing the same level of traditional dial-up telephone services at a lower cost. This is accomplished by leveraging the data network to carry telephone company signals between buildings rather than having traditional telephone lines and phone company services brought to every physical location. Your organization can keep the dial-tone provider it has now along with the services of a telephone company you know and trust; the savings come from paying for fewer lines than before.

Beyond the savings your organization will realize by reducing the number of dial-up lines needed, VoIP systems offer additional benefits that compound the savings: A single cable plant for telephones and computers— there is no need to keep them separated anymore; Calls between any two company locations are free, regardless of the physical distance between the locations; Overhead paging is possible between company buildings anywhere; Company extension phones can be put anywhere there’s a connection to the Internet, including employee homes or on the road, and it is even possible for a laptop computer to function as a system phone.