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.
