On the Internet and in other networks, QoS (Quality of Service) is the idea that transmission rates, error rates, and other characteristics can be measured, improved, and, to some extent, guaranteed in advance. QoS is of particular concern for the continuous transmission of voice information. Transmitting this kind of content dependably is difficult in public networks using ordinary “best effort” protocols.

End-to-End QoS – Means your voice traffic is prioritised as the most important traffic so you enjoy “Toll Quality” Calls.
Some providers claim to offer QoS over the public Internet. These claims are simply not true. Without a QoS enabled network it’s simply not possible to control quality. The public Internet is NOT a QoS enabled network. Claiming to have QoS on the public Internet is like claiming to never be affected by traffic jams simply because you have a fast car.

What are you prepared to pay?
Although bandwidth is as cheap as it has ever been, commercial-grade bandwidth still carries a significant cost. Prices range from as low as $50 per month all the way into thousands of dollars per month, and the number of users and speeds that the services support vary widely. It is also important to look at installation and/or startup costs, as well as whether the vendor includes any equipment and if that equipment is leased or purchased. Can you roll an existing service (VoIP for example) into the bandwidth offering to save overall costs? A small business (one with less than 10 users) should not be paying more than a couple of hundred dollars per month. But a lot depends on usage. If you are hosting your own servers for public and/or private access, then you need bandwidth to handle the expected traffic.

Now onto the ’Here’s how to understand Bandwidth…’ I’ve been able to piece all of this together because for the better part of my career I’ve installed, maintained and sold Telephone Systems. This has also allowed me to provide sound advice from ‘Feet on the Street and Hands on Technical Experience’ so that my clients get the best solution and value for money.