Blog

mVoice Blog

Expert VoIP advice and information for Aussie businesses

looking to upgrade to something better.

VOIP vs PTSN

April 10, 2013 By The mVoice Team No Comment

You might be surprised that you know a lot about PSTN. In fact, you’ve been using it for decades. Even back in the days when you needed serious finger muscles to drag a telephone number around your now-retro antique, you were using PSTN.

That’s right: sorry to disappoint, but it’s just our normal telephone system, commonly referred to as the Public Switched Telephone Network.

So you might think then that PSTN does just fine and who are we to argue with the old ad age: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? But let’s just say this was a high school football match: which team would win?

Let’s take a look

Features	PSTN	VOIP
Reliability	Most reliable	Can be affected under certain circumstances like power cuts, loss of internet connection
Audio quality	Most reliable	Subject to internet stability and speed. Can be less reliable
Competitive suppliers	Limited: Must be supplied by local telco	Expansive: a large number of suppliers offering competitive costs
Extra features	Caller ID, call waiting and other features at an extra cost	Caller ID, call waiting and other features for free
Upgrades	Complex: costly and requires installation of additional lines	Easy: simply download software updates, add remote extensions or increase bandwidth
Free calls	No free calls	Free calls are part of the deal
Integration	No integration with existing computer networks	Full integration with existing computer networks, including email contacts
Capacity	Audio only	Audio visual data such as videos, presentations and faxes can also be transferred

We have a winner.

OK, that’s a pretty simplistic experiment, but you can see why VOIP is fast becoming the most popular choice for businesses and users across the world.

According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority home VOIP users jumped from 2.9 million to 3.8 million (a 31 percent increase) between 2010 and 2011. By contrast, fixed line services declined 0.5 percent in Australia during the same period.

This trend is likely to continue as traditional PTSN services are discarded in favour of VOIP’s optimal features. Today’s consumers are much more tech savvy than their predecessors and, through their daily use of smartphones and the internet, have come to expect the additional features VOIP offers: voicemail, including email notification of voicemails, call blocking, instant messaging, video calls, conference calls and, perhaps most importantly, geographical mobility.

Australian research company, Market Clarity, estimates there are currently 212 VOIP service providers to choose from. This is good news for customers: not only do they get greater control over their telecommunications solutions, but prices are better than ever.

But choose carefully!

Unlike some VOIP providers, mVoice walks you through the process step-by-step to ensure you get the most out of our service. We also offer the proper training to make the transition as smooth as possible.