Quality of Service or QoS is the latest in widely used and misunderstood acronyms. To simplify QoS it is the ability to prioritise and queue different IP packets depending on their application type. Its recent popularity is due to the rising interest in using broadband to carry voice as well as email and web traffic. When networks slow down due to congestion, voice packets need to be prioritized so that the parties can understand what each other is saying.
BT has the largest xDSL footprint and they, understandably, do not allow an ISP to prioritise their traffic over another ISP’s traffic however this would only matter if the BT broadband network or the local exchange were congested. BT’s main network is uncongested and local exchanges are usually upgraded within days of reaching capacity. Therefore the ‘pinch points’ in the network, where congestion can occur, tend to be the subscribers own network or individual ISPs’ interconnect into the BT network.
If the ISP you are using guarantees that their network runs uncongested, then the only time you will need to think about QoS is if you want to simultaneously run voice and data on the same broadband line. If you are using your broadband circuit only for voice, your ISP’s network and LAN are not congested and you are not trying to squeeze too many simultaneous conversations down it, you will be fine.
However, if you do want to practice true convergence, partner with an ISP that can offer the ability to prioritise and queue packets on a per subscriber basis.
Source: Comms Dealer Magazine March 2007.
Andrew Dickinson
Sales and Marketing Director
