Since
1997, Telephone Bridge Services has provided our
community of friends and businesses with the
highest quality bridges available. Quality is
the essence of our business. Quality is the
touchstone of our decision making.
Over the
years, we have grown accustomed to experiencing
the high quality connection of analog telephones
on an analog-based conference bridge. However,
since 2006 we have wrestled with the issues
presented by the rise in popularity of
Internet-based "phones" such as Skype, VoIP,
cable and digital voice
communication.
At first we
hoped the Internet phone was a fad that would
run out of steam and go away. That hasn't
happened. Instead, companies which were once
noted for their high-quality products, are now
offering an inferior product to their customers
without full disclosure of the problems they
will encounter. Here are two real-life
examples:
Example #
1:
Recently we
received an email from a potential customer
telling us:
"I tried about
six times to participate in the conference call
held at 5 pm today. Consistenly I was told that
the pin number was invalid. That I was pressing
the correct pin code, so I gave up."
When asked if
she was using an Internet-based phone, she
replied: "No, I use Time Warner."
A quick glance
at the Time Warner website reveals they are
offering "cable, internet, digital
phones."
We wrote back
to this customer, "This is an internet-based
phone. The signals sent through the internet
were incompatible with the conference call
bridge."
Example
#2:
Even a
one-to-one conversation with a person using an
Internet-based phone can present
challenges.
During a
recent conversation with a potential customer,
we noticed their words were being truncated.
Syllables were being dropped or interrupted.
Suspecting an Internet-based connection on their
end, we asked the customer if they were standing
close to their computer.
"Why, yes, I
am," he replied. "How did you know?"
Once I
explained the difference between my "land-line"
phone and his digital phone, he shut down his
computer, thus allowing more "bandwidth" for the
phone and we were able to complete our
conversation with relative ease.
Why are the
Internet-based phones incompatible with analog
phones on the conference call bridge? The
methods of delivering signals (voice) are
entirely different:
An analog
telephone delivers a steady narrow bandwidth
electrical signal.
The
Internet-based phone delivers electrical signals
over a broad bandwidth in packets or bursts of
energy (mini-explosions.)
Click
here
for more detail about the difference between
analog and digital phones.
When holding a
conference call for 25 people you may have only
one or two people dialling in on an
Internet-based phone, but the signals
(electrical explosions) sent from their phone to
the bridge are disruptive to the quality of the
bridge experience.
Everyone in
the conference call industry is faced with the
issue of how to provide the best quality bridge
experience while accommodating BOTH analog and
Internet-based phone customer. Makers of
conference call bridges are experimenting with
various filters, routers and electrical
modifiers in the hope of delivering a more
continuous flow to the bridge.
The bottom
line is that today we can offer our
Internet-based phone customers the opportunity
to access the conference call bridge, but we
must manage the disruption their phones cause by
placing the entire audience on "mute" and
delivering a less interactive call.
Click
here
for detailed instructions for managing the
"Skype-VoIP Friendly Bridge."
Our commitment
to excellence motivates us to continuously seek
even better solutions, so you may continue to
enjoy the freedom and convenience of
conferencing via the bridge!
We can be
reached through email at: info@telephonebridgeservices.com
or by directly by phone at:
Toll
Free: 866.472.1949 (from N. America)
Local and
international:
250.472.1947
