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In my 30 + years in the telecommunication industry, one problem I have seen consistently are issues related to drop calls and voice quality.
So let’s take a look at the causes and some solutions.
In in the 2020’s by and large the most common cause of dropped calls that my company has seen are due to problems with older phone systems that still are using copper phone lines or similar. Such problems existed in 1920’s and still do in this decade of the 2020’s. In recent years problems with calls originating to or coming from cell phones have increasingly been contributing to problems with dropped calls.
One of the ironies of the dramatic improvement in cell phone service quality is that since one can rarely tell when another party is on cell phone or a landline or VOIP line resulting landline or VOIP carriers getting the blame for dropped calls that are in fact caused by cell phones. The slight upside to this is that folks these days are less likely to assume an abrupt end to a call is a deliberate act on the part of the caller.
Other causes of dropped calls include:
a) electrical power problems.
b) internet carrier problems — related to carrier provide modems.
c) user error, in which case it becomes an “accidental or deliberate disconnect” and not a dropped call.
d) on older non VOIP systems component issues.
e) user issues often related to persons new to the phone system.
f) problems related to a firewall. router or cabling issues or other IT issues.
On VOIP systems however.., these problems along with sound quality issues most times are not due to phone carrier carrier or issues with the phone carrier equipment ( including phones) but one of 3 things;
- Issues related the your internet service provider. These issues can usually be corrected pretty easily by contacting the customer or technical support department of your internet service provider. When contacting them, first get a ticket number. 2nd include asking them to make sure everything in your carrier provided modem is set to allow, give priority to and/or not bloc SIP signals. 3rd ask them to also make sure SIP ALG is turned off in the modem. In the rare times we have seen such internet carrier support calls not completely solve the problem, we have found that insisting the carrier replace their modem has solved the issue.
- Make sure your ethernet switch or ( if you have a private router) is upgraded to the latest gigabyte technology and speeds.
- Talk to an IT professional about providing a thorough check of your IT system for viruses. Viruses can infect a computer and/or computer network at any time. Many virus can take up massive amounts of bandwidth on even the fastest of internet circuits they can play havoc with your IP phones! If your office has a firewall, have your IT person make sure the setting are in compliance with the setting recommended by your VOIP carrier and the firewall software is up to date.
The best way to avoid dropped calls and sound quality issues is through the use of the modern business telephone system.
On older phone systems, if a component is about to go bad dropped calls would be one of the problems one could experience. If it is not a problem with the systems components things that will cause a call to drop on a modern “land-line” system include a loss of electrical power and carrier issues. Switching to a VOIP system improves greatly the chances of this not occurring – but does not eliminate completely the potential for this problem to occur
So, what to do when you experience a dropped call:
- Immediately make a note of the phone number dropped, the time and date of the dropped call and whether the call came from a cell phone or business phone line. Some phone carriers may request a list of 5 to 10 such calls. This helps them better guide you to what items in your IT or internet carrier infrastructure needs to be addressed.
- Call the dropped party back, apologize for the interruption and inform them that the drop was a technical problem, not a deliberate act.
- If you have internet based (VOIP) phone service contact your local internet service carrier and create a service ticket. In most cases your Internet provider can help especially if provided the above information. As noted in this article earlier in some cases you may need to insist they replace your/their modem.
If over a period of several months you continue to experience dropped calls on a regular basis, consider changing local phone or internet service carriers. Most often however today’s carriers are very good at identifying and fixing these issues. As bothersome as these things are be patient with your phone or internet carrier since it may take several reported incidents before they can clearly identify and get a handle why this is happening.
If ongoing issues with dropped call is getting especially frustrating – hang in there! A solution can almost always be found! In the meantime consider taking a break and firing up a Jimmy Buffett tune on your computer or smartphone until things finally get resolved!
Problems with dropped calls have been around the since the days of Alexander Bell. As good as our modern communications infrastructure is, I don’t expect them to go away anytime soon. Take the advice I’ve given you here, and you’ll find the problem to be less pervasive, and frustrating.
Many business owners have a love-hate relationship with the vendors and suppliers their company relies on to keep things running smoothly – count me as one of them.
On one hand, when I need one of these companies I want to them to:
- have a person answer the phone when I call them;
- respond immediately, and;
- do so at the lowest costs possible.
On the other hand when I feel I don’t need them, I really would rather not hear from them. Except, I also understand that many times while I may not feel I need to speak to them, they may have information that is in my company’s best interest to know about.
So as busy as we all are, here are several effective methods for managing unsolicited calls from vendors/suppliers in a way that keeps you properly informed while not becoming a drag on your time:
- Be upfront with your vendors and suppliers
Give them clear direction as what in your mind constitutes considerate and professional keeping in touch and what methods you find bothersome. Personally I like to get email first requesting a time to speak to me and then a phone call. However if you are person who easily gets overwhelmed by emails, other methods may work best. (Good old-fashioned US mail sometimes works for me too.)
- Once you have set those parameters hold up your end of the agreement
Return the emails, take the phone calls etc. Don’t ignore them. Doing so both sours the relationship and with some personality types, just encourages them not to hold up their end of the agreement – which is in neither party’s best interest - Appreciate that your vendors are keenly aware that they have competitors out there and they want to keep your business
Personally, I like doing business with companies hungry to keep my business. I am always a little concerned and even suspicious about organizations that take my company’s business for granted.
I am also big on having a proactive relationship with my vendors and suppliers, which helps my company keep costs down while taking preventive measures to avoid major problems and expenses.
Bottom line: The relationship between a company and its vendors is a bit of a dance, but when it works well everyone is happy; when it doesn’t work well, everyone loses.
What are your thoughts on this subject? Do you have tips, suggestions and comments to add? If so, I would love to hear from you.
Especially during hurricanes and tropical storms, many companies spend unnecessary amounts of money recovering from lightning and other storm related power surges, any of which can fry equipment beyond repair, rather than a much smaller amount to avoid equipment damage altogether.
To help ensure that your phones and other related equipment remain undamaged by hurricane-related surges, here are some tips that might help:
- Battery Backup/UPS everything.
This includes copiers, phones routers, internet modems, routers, switches; even the boxes provided by your internet and phone carriers need to be connected to a UPS battery backup unit. If you have TV’s in your office that go through the same cable equipment as your internet carrier, put UPS’s on those too. A POWER SURGE NEEDS ONLY TO FIND ONE WEAKNESS IN YOUR SURGE SUPPRESSION TO BLOW OUT ..,EVERYTHING. - Surge suppress your old style phone lines for not just phones, but also alarms & faxes.
And do this even if they are supplied by your internet carrier. There are fuse like devices that your phone lines can be routed through that – if they work properly – will take the power hit before the surge hits your phones, fax machines or alarm systems. - Don’t depend on surge strips.
Folks spend $10 – $15 each on 6 or 8 plug strips and think they are protected. Fact is in my 35+ years in this business, there was not one incident in which power surge strips actually stopped a surge.
Use a UPS battery backup instead. If you like you can plug the power strip into a UPS UPS unit and sue the power strip that way – depending on what your local fire code permits. - Use the resources provided by your electric/power company.
Many companies have some very affordable plans to put into place a system that will protect your whole office or building. Or…
- Consult a licensed electrician.
Although your phone vendor, IT company and others can do a lot to help you minimize the risk of power surges damaging your electronic office equipment, a highly qualified electrician is the best resource for you to protect your entire office at once – including your air conditioner & other appliances - Finally turn it off and unplug “everything from everything”…
…including disconnecting devices from internet power and phones lines. If you dont want to to lose it unplug it! Especially during weekends,
vacations or holidays. Sure it’s a pain in the neck to turn on and reconnect everything when you have returned but put simply, electric surges can’t hit and damage something to which there is no connection.