Category Archives for "IT solutions"

What Is Network Jitter, and What Can You Do About It?

Have you ever been on a phone call using your VoIP phone service and had the voice on the other line become garbled and impossible to hear? Or have you been on a video chat and watched people on the screen “freeze” or the audio or video become fuzzy? These are symptoms of an Internet malady known as “network jitter,” a common and frequently frustrating problem for Orange County small business owners and other businesses across the world. Fortunately, there are solutions to combat it. Let’s talk a bit about network jitter—what it is, what causes it, and most importantly, what you can do to fix it. 

Network Jitter Explained 

To understand network jitter, we need to understand a little about how the Internet handles information. All of the information that we send to each other is broken up into what are called packets. These packets travel from one computer to another through cables in a network (or across wireless networks)—millions of them at any given time. When you’re on a VoIP call or video chat, you’re basically looking at/listening to millions of packets of data that have been broken down and reassembled. 

But router and data connection are subject to some form of network latency that affects the reliability of any data that travels through it. As a result, sometimes these packets get delayed or reordered along the way, so they don’t all arrive at their destination at the same time. This creates what we call “network jitter,” which comes across to us as garbled, stuttering audio, glitchy video, missed words, frozen images, etc. 

Common Causes of Network Jitter  

Now that we understand what network jitter is, let’s look at a few of the common ways it happens: 

• Network congestion and overuse. If too many employees are accessing the Internet at once–or if you’re on a shared network at a busy time of day–your bandwidth may be insufficient for the amount of Internet traffic. Just like too many cars on a highway, your network can be congested with too many data packets to be processed at once. This frequently leads to jitter. 

• No prioritization of VoIP packets. Your network has features that prioritize audio packets over other types of data. If this feature isn’t active, your VoIP may be jittery.

• Uneven routing. Data packets travel between points along a network path. If some of the hardware on the path (i.e., routers, cables) is old or outdated, data packets can be slowed or even dropped as they try to keep up.

• Weak wireless signal. If you’re using wi-fi and the coverage is weak, it can easily affect the integrity of the audio/video data you’re receiving, causing jitter.

Troubleshooting Network Jitter 

Now that you know what network jitter is and how it can happen, here are a few troubleshooting tips that may help make your VoIP use more consistent. 

• Upgrade your hardware. Make sure you’re using up-to-date equipment and that all firmware is updated.  

• Set your network settings to prioritize VoIP packets. This setting prioritizes audio and video streaming and can do a lot to clear up network jitter. 

• Increase your VoIP bandwidth. “Widen the highways,” so to speak, to give your network the capacity to handle more Internet traffic at once. 

• Boost your wi-fi signal. If there’s just too much interference for wi-fi to be consistent, try using VoIP over a wired connection instead. 

NetServ can help your Orange County business make the most of VoIP services, including helpful tips and updates to avoid network jitter. Call 1-877-NetServ to learn more. 

How Enterprise Companies Use VoIP Service Differently than Your Small Business

These days, more and more businesses are seeing the advantage of switching out their traditional phone systems for Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems. In fact, nearly one-third of all companies now use VoIP phone service for business. While the majority of these are small businesses, the fact is that VoIP is a great tool for businesses of any size. As more enterprise companies discover VoIP, they’re figuring out how to use it more efficiently and profitably than their small-business counterparts. Let’s talk about what your larger competitors are doing with VoIP that you probably aren’t—and what you can do to become more competitive. 

Large Businesses Make the Most of VoIP Features 

Perhaps the most important way enterprise companies use VoIP better is that they utilize many features that you probably do not. Features like call forwarding, call park, auto-attendant, call screening, on-hold music, queue callback, and many other VoIP features are affordable and easy to use once you learn them. Chances are your larger competitors are making the most of these services, making themselves more productive and profitable. 

Large Businesses Integrate VoIP with Other Applications 

Another huge benefit of VoIP systems is how well they integrate with other applications. Your larger competition has most likely integrated their VoIP with their CRM and other applications, allowing them to take and process calls without ever leaving their CRM interface. They probably have also utilized a Unified Communications system which allows them to combine their phone, videoconferencing, and messaging seamlessly–all of which saves time and money and helps boost revenues. 

Large Companies Have a Full-Time IT Staff 

Whether they’re using cloud computing services or on-site servers, large enterprise companies take their IT networks seriously, including their VoIP service. Many of them keep a full-time IT staff on hand to maintain, troubleshoot, and scale their network as they grow. This should come as no surprise to smaller businesses who can’t necessarily afford full-time IT, but the end result is that large companies experience very little downtime–and therefore can be more present for their customers. 

How You Can Use VoIP to Be More Competitive 

If you feel overwhelmed and demoralized by the advantages we’ve described above, take heart. Even if your business is small, you can use VoIP in many of the same ways as your larger counterparts to give yourself a more competitive edge. Here’s how: 

• Utilize more features. Even VoIP systems for small businesses offer extensive features at an affordable price, and these systems are easily scalable. Start learning and taking advantage of these features, and you’ll be able to function with the same level of professionality as your larger competitors. 

• Integrate VoIP with your other business systems. You can develop an elegant integration between VoIP and CRM, accounting programs like QuickBooks, email platforms like Gmail, and more. Integrations are easy to create–especially with cloud computing services that don’t require any programming skills at all. 

• Hire a managed IT service. You can’t afford a full-time IT staff, but the fact is you don’t need one to be competitive. A managed IT service can be your own 24-7 help desk, monitoring, troubleshooting, and maintaining your network in the background at very affordable rates. 

If you’re an Orange County small business looking for ways to utilize business VoIP to become more competitive, NetServ can help. To learn more about our VoIP service for business and managed IT services, call 1-877-NetServ today. 

Top Mobile/Telecom News Stories of the 2020s So Far (Part 2)

Telecommunications technologies are a moving target—always evolving, expanding, improving. Even the numerous “black swan” events we’ve seen since the new decade began have done relatively little to harm market growth or the development of newer, faster devices and systems that can help Orange County business owners. Let’s continue our look at some of the most important headlines from the past couple of years concerning telecom, VoIP, and mobile technologies.

Wi-fi 6 Quietly Moves to the Forefront

Amid all of the upheaval and global crises of the past couple of years, you might have missed the fact that a newer, faster wi-fi protocol has quietly been infiltrating the market. Wi-fi 6, as it is called, is replacing the older standards of 802.11n and 802.11ac that have been in use for several years. Wi-fi 6 also marks the dawn of a new naming system for wi-fi standards (using the old system, it would be named 802.11ax) in hopes that the public will be able to understand better what version they’re using.

Wi-fi 6 is not only faster, but it also performs better in times of higher congestion, so users have fewer slowdowns. It was first introduced in 2019, and compatible devices began hitting the market starting in 2020. If you’ve bought a new smartphone, computer, tablet, or router in the past two years, chances are you’re already using wi-fi 6 without realizing it.

Are We Headed for 6G Networks?

Much of America is just now getting acquainted with 5G broadband cellular networks, with 5G phones just now starting to become more mainstream. So why are we already talking about 6G when most of us don’t even have 5G yet? (That’s technology for you.)

It’s true. While we probably won’t see it for years, reports say that 6G technology is already in the research stage. As much as 5G users report an increase in speed and reliability with their cellular networks, early estimates say that 6G will operate at about 100 times the speed of 5G. Don’t get too excited, though. If it indeed comes to market, experts believe we won’t see 6G introduced until around 2030.

If you’re looking for the best Los Angeles VoIP service for your growing business, look no further. NetServ can help you get hooked up with reliable business VoIP phone service and other network solutions perfectly tailored to your needs. Call 1-877-NetServ to learn more.

Training Your Team on Best VoIP/Telecom Practices for Your Orange County Business (Part 2)

Modern communications technologies like VoIP have given Orange County small businesses like yours the ability to compete alongside much larger companies in the digital age. The best way to make the most of these technologies is to set up a “best practices” policy and get your team on board with it—but that’s just the first piece of the puzzle. Your next objective is to create some safeguards around your VoIP/telecom system to ensure it meets the demands of your business consistently and seamlessly. Your team needs to be familiar with these safeguards, as well, so in the event that you can’t be at the helm (due to emergency, vacation, or whatever), the system won’t break down at the first sign of trouble.

Troubleshooting the Most Common Small Business VoIP Issues (part 2)

When they work correctly, VoIP systems can greatly enhance your Orange County small business’s productivity and communication. But when they start producing inconsistent quality calls or simply don’t work right, they can be downright distracting. Most of the common VoIP issues can be easily remedied, though. Let’s continue discussing some of the typical VoIP problems you may encounter and how to troubleshoot them.

Troubleshooting the Most Common Small Business VoIP Issues (part 1)

VoIP phone service is a marvel of modern technology that allows small businesses to enjoy a wide scope of features and connectivity that only large companies could once afford. That said, VoIP is not a “perfect” technology (if there ever was such a thing), and sometimes things go wrong. Fortunately, most of these problems are fairly easy to troubleshoot and fix on your own. Let’s take a look at some of the most common VoIP issues faced by Orange County small businesses and discuss some steps to address them.

Troubleshooting Pandemic-Related IT Issues (Part 1)

If there’s a silver lining to the global pandemic for small business owners, it might be that being forced to work from home has shown many of us just how effective it can be. Even as lockdown restrictions ease across the state, many Orange County small businesses are choosing to continue partially or completely teleworking, at least for a while. Some have discovered the added advantages of using previously untapped VoIP features while working from home. Some have even chosen to take advantage of the reduced costs of remote working by closing their offices permanently.

Pandemic-Proofing Your Small Business IT (Part 2-Security)

Guaranteed during a pandemic, Coronavirus isn’t the only type of “virus” being spread around. Don’t assume for a moment that hackers and cybercriminals are taking a break during a global health crisis. If anything, they’re counting on small businesses like yours to drop their guard due to the distraction. For that reason, Orange County small businesses need to be all the more diligent with cybersecurity during this time, especially with more people working from home. Let’s continue our discussion of pandemic-proofing your business IT by talking about ways to shore up your security measures.

Biggest IT Challenges for Orange Country Small Businesses and What to Do About Them

Technology is supposed to help our businesses run more smoothly—but for some Orange County small businesses, sometimes it feels like it does the opposite. When things don’t work right, when a computer fails, when cybercrooks infiltrate—or when you simply don’t know how to use your technology to your best advantage—your IT can seem like a big headache. Fortunately, for every issue, there is a solution. Let’s discuss some of the biggest IT challenges Orange County business owners face—and what to do about them.