If your office phone calls sound choppy, cut out mid-conversation, or drop entirely, the problem is almost never the phone system itself. VoIP call quality issues for Edmonton businesses almost always come from the network the calls are running on — specifically, a network that wasn’t designed to handle voice traffic properly.
VoIP for Edmonton businesses has replaced traditional desk phone systems across most industries, and for good reason — it’s significantly cheaper, more flexible, and integrates directly with platforms like Microsoft Teams. However, VoIP is far more sensitive to network conditions than regular internet traffic. A slow webpage load is an inconvenience. A choppy phone call with a client is a problem. This post explains what causes VoIP quality issues, what QoS actually does, and how Edmonton businesses can get reliable call quality from their phone system.
Why VoIP Calls Are Different from Regular Internet Traffic
When you load a webpage or download a file, the data arrives in packets. If some packets are delayed or arrive out of order, your device reassembles them and you never notice. The process is forgiving of network imperfections because the end result — a fully loaded page — doesn’t change regardless of whether the data arrived in two seconds or four.
Voice calls work completely differently. VoIP sends audio as a continuous stream of small packets in real time. Consequently, if packets are delayed, arrive out of order, or get dropped, you hear it immediately — as choppy audio, echo, one-sided conversations, or dropped calls. There’s no opportunity to reassemble or buffer the way a webpage download can.
This sensitivity means VoIP requires specific network conditions to perform well, and it competes poorly with other traffic on an unmanaged network — particularly bandwidth-heavy activities like file transfers, video streaming, and software updates.
What Is QoS and Why Does VoIP Need It?
QoS (Quality of Service) is a set of network configurations that prioritize certain types of traffic over others. Specifically for VoIP, QoS tells your network equipment to always process voice packets first — before file downloads, web browsing, or any other traffic — regardless of how busy the network is.
Without QoS, all traffic on your network competes equally for bandwidth. During a busy period — a large file upload, a software update running in the background, several employees watching video simultaneously — VoIP packets get caught in the same queue as everything else. The result is delayed and dropped packets, which you hear as poor call quality.
With QoS properly configured, voice traffic gets to the front of the queue every time. Even when your network is heavily loaded, calls remain clear because the packets carrying voice data always get priority processing.
QoS configuration is done at the router and switch level and is a standard part of any properly designed network installation that includes a VoIP phone system.
The Main VoIP Quality Problems Edmonton Businesses Experience
Choppy or Robotic-Sounding Audio
This is the most common VoIP complaint and almost always indicates packet loss or jitter — packets arriving irregularly rather than in a smooth, consistent stream. The primary causes are network congestion (too much competing traffic), poor WiFi signal causing wireless packet loss, or insufficient bandwidth for the number of concurrent calls.
Echo on Calls
Echo — hearing your own voice repeated back — usually results from acoustic echo (sound from the speaker being picked up by the microphone, common with speaker phones in reflective rooms) or from network-related echo caused by packet timing issues. Network-related echo points to QoS configuration problems or insufficient bandwidth.
One-Sided Audio
Only one party can hear the other. This typically indicates a firewall configuration issue where VoIP traffic is being partially blocked, or a NAT traversal problem — the network isn’t properly handling the two-way communication VoIP requires.
Calls Dropping After a Few Minutes
Calls that connect normally but drop after a specific time interval — often exactly 30, 60, or 90 seconds — almost always indicate a firewall or session timeout issue. The firewall is terminating what it considers an inactive session. This requires specific VoIP-aware firewall configuration to resolve.
Teams Calls Keep Freezing
Microsoft Teams uses VoIP for audio and video calls. Freezing during Teams calls indicates the same underlying network issues — packet loss, jitter, or insufficient bandwidth — that affect traditional VoIP systems. Proper QoS configuration that includes Teams traffic is essential for reliable Teams calling. We covered Teams setup in more detail in our Microsoft Teams guide.
How to Set Up VoIP Properly for an Edmonton Business
Getting VoIP right requires addressing several components together. Fixing one in isolation rarely resolves the full problem.
Sufficient internet bandwidth — A single VoIP call uses approximately 100kbps in each direction. For a business with 10 concurrent calls, that’s 1Mbps dedicated to voice — modest by modern internet standards, but it needs to be reliably available even when the rest of the network is busy. For businesses using HD voice codecs or video calling, bandwidth requirements are higher.
Dedicated VoIP VLAN — Separating voice traffic onto its own network segment keeps it isolated from general business traffic and allows QoS to be applied cleanly. This builds on the same segmentation principles we covered in our VLANs guide. Without VLAN separation, applying QoS to voice traffic specifically becomes significantly more difficult.
QoS configuration on the router — The router needs to be configured to recognize and prioritize voice traffic. This involves marking VoIP packets with DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) tags that tell all network devices to treat them as high priority, then configuring queue management so those packets always process first.
Business-grade router and switches — Consumer routers typically have limited or non-existent QoS capabilities. Proper VoIP deployment requires business-grade equipment — FortiGate, Cisco, or similar — that supports the QoS configuration VoIP needs.
WiFi considerations — If any VoIP devices connect via WiFi rather than ethernet, the wireless network needs sufficient signal quality and capacity to support voice traffic. Poor WiFi signal is a common cause of VoIP quality issues for mobile handsets and softphones. Our office WiFi setup guide covers the wireless requirements in detail.
Firewall VoIP settings — The firewall needs to be configured to handle VoIP protocols correctly — specifically SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) — without interfering with call signalling or dropping active sessions.
VoIP Options for Edmonton Businesses
Traditional on-premises VoIP (IP PBX) — A VoIP server hosted on-site manages call routing, voicemail, and phone features. Requires on-site hardware maintenance but gives full control over the system. Less common for new deployments in 2026 as cloud options have matured.
Cloud-hosted VoIP — The phone system is hosted by a third-party provider. Your phones or softphone apps connect to their servers over the internet. Lower hardware overhead, but call quality depends heavily on your internet connection and QoS configuration — a problem on your network affects every call.
Microsoft Teams Phone — Uses your existing Microsoft 365 subscription as the phone system. Employees make and receive calls directly through Teams on any device. Eliminates the need for a separate phone system entirely for businesses already on Microsoft 365, and integrates directly with Teams meetings, calendar, and contacts.
For most Edmonton SMBs already on Microsoft 365, Teams Phone is worth serious consideration before deploying a separate VoIP system. The licensing cost is relatively modest and the integration with existing workflows is difficult to match.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my VoIP calls sound choppy? Choppy audio almost always indicates packet loss or jitter on your network. The most common causes are network congestion from competing traffic without QoS configured, poor WiFi signal for wireless VoIP devices, or insufficient bandwidth during peak usage periods.
Why do my office calls keep dropping? Calls that drop consistently after a fixed time interval point to a firewall session timeout issue. Calls that drop randomly during heavy network usage suggest a QoS or bandwidth problem. Both require network-level configuration changes to resolve.
Is VoIP reliable enough for business use? Yes, when properly implemented on a network designed to support it. VoIP deployed on an unmanaged network without QoS will have quality problems. VoIP deployed on a properly configured business network with dedicated VLANs and QoS is highly reliable.
How much bandwidth does VoIP use? A standard VoIP call uses approximately 100kbps per call in each direction. HD voice codecs use more — typically 200-300kbps. For a business with 10 concurrent calls on HD voice, budget approximately 3Mbps dedicated to voice traffic.
Should we use Microsoft Teams Phone instead of a traditional VoIP system? For businesses already on Microsoft 365, Teams Phone is often the most cost-effective and operationally simple option. It eliminates a separate vendor, separate billing, and separate system to manage. The main consideration is ensuring your network — specifically QoS and bandwidth — is configured to support Teams voice traffic properly.
GuidePost Can Help
GuidePost Technologies configures VoIP systems, QoS settings, and the network infrastructure supporting them for Edmonton and Sherwood Park businesses — including dedicated VoIP VLANs, firewall configuration, and Teams Phone deployment as part of our network installation services.
Explore our Network Installation Services →
Call us at 780-851-5000 to book a free network assessment for your Edmonton business.
GuidePost Technologies — Managed IT Services, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, and Network Support for Edmonton and Alberta Businesses.