Most of the VoIP services we've tested provide a baseline audio quality that comes close to that of a regular analog (landline) phone connection. (We refer to baseline quality as the audio quality of the VoIP service when the telephone adapter (TA) is the only device sending and receiving substantial amounts of data over the local network. During these tests, the only other devices permitted to transmit and receive network traffic are the broadband modem and the router.)
AOL Internet Phone Service joins the elite ranks of AT&T CallVantage and Vonage as the only services we've tested whose audio clarity equaled that of an analog call--both under baseline conditions and during data uploads. But as with every other VoIP service that has come through our doors, a noticeable background hiss was present on both ends of a call. This faint background noise did not affect our ability to make and receive calls, but it was a noticeable distraction, most evident when no one was speaking.
Some interesting anomalies that cropped up during testing were only evident during data downloads. Occasionally, when we initiated a data download during a call, the person on the non-VoIP side of the call complained that our audio dropped out for a moment. Additionally, sometimes during data downloads, the timbre of our voice sounded more artificial. As soon as the download completed, the caller reported that our voice returned to normal. These anomalies occurred only occasionally and did not show up every time we performed data downloads.
The majority of VoIP services we've looked at come with TAs designed to plug into an existing router. AOL Internet Phone Service, on the other hand, comes with the Linksys RT31P2, which is a TA and a three-port wired Ethernet router designed to connect directly to your broadband modem, with all other networked devices plugging into the Linksys device. From a VoIP-performance perspective, this is a very smart move. With the TA and the router integrated, the TA can give priority to the voice data packets, minimizing the loss of audio quality when the network bandwidth becomes saturated--a capability commonly referred to as Quality of Service (QoS). The Linksys RT31P2 TA/router is the same model we tested with the Vonage service.
Most small-business and home broadband connections do not have enough upstream throughput to support voice and data packets simultaneously. The unfortunate result is that most of the VoIP services we've tested suffer significant audio-quality degradation during calls that take place when the VoIP user is also generating significant upstream traffic from a PC, such as uploading photographs to an online photo-finishing service. AOL Internet Phone Service did not suffer from these problems because the Linksys device is designed specifically to avoid them. The trade-off is that your Internet data throughput speeds will significantly decrease during VoIP calls. We noticed an approximate 11 percent drop in downstream throughput from our Internet connection during VoIP calls. More notably, our upstream throughput dropped a whopping 64 percent, which means that you can expect your upload times to more than double during active VoIP calls. Depending on how frequently you upload files from your computer, this might not be a significant issue. If you would rather give priority to your data packets, and you're willing to live with subpar voice quality, you can manually change the QoS settings for the Linksys TA/router.
Performance analysis written by CNET Labs Manager, Daniel A. Begun.
Find out more about how we test VoIP.
Hand-holding is AOL's forte, so it follows that the company would offer top-notch support for its Internet Phone Service. AOL's support Web site provides plenty of informative FAQs about the service along with a link to initiate a real-time chat with a service rep. This chat capability is available 24/7, as is the toll-free telephone-support line. You can even access a Spanish-only support number or a TTY (text-telephone) line if you're hard of hearing. If time is not of the essence, you can send questions via e-mail and expect to get a response within 24 hours.- See more CNET content tagged:
- America Online Inc.
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