Call Quality Is More Than Voice Quality
by Gary Audin and Dr. Fiona Lodge
Published August 2006; Posted December 2006

Abstract:

Users also care about time to dial tone, service accessibility and other factors that make up the calling experience.

We can no longer presume the reliability, stability or predictability of our telephony voice services. The performance we took for granted in traditional telephony can only be achieved in voice over IP (VOIP)/IP-telephony deployments through monitoring, measurement and management. And what to monitor, measure and manage is now the responsibility of both the voice and the data technicians.

A caller’s dialing experience and perception of voice quality are the biggest factors contributing to his or her satisfaction. The dialing experience can be measured, while the caller’s judgment of voice quality is subjective.

A common misunderstanding centers around what constitutes call quality. It’s essential that enterprises understand that voice quality and call quality are two very different beasts—each tamed and measured in different ways.

Enterprises can’t afford the risk of providing poor service levels or failure to meet compliance standards. Obviously, voice quality is a big piece of the puzzle, but if you only monitor and manage this small piece, you’re missing the bigger picture-and may in fact have a system that provides unacceptable “experience” levels—even though voice quality is fine.
 

About the authors:

Gary Audin is president of Delphi, Inc. consultancy. He is a member of the VoiceCon Program Committee, a frequent BCR author, and a teacher for several BCR seminars. Dr. Fiona Lodge is product manager for Prognosis.

v