Packet loss is when data packets that are supposed to make their way across a network just vanish into thin air – never getting to their destination. This isn’t a problem in itself, until you consider that voice and data are broken up into tiny little packets just so they can be transmitted across the network. Lose some of those packets and – well, you’d better sit down, it’s not pretty. In a phone call, what you get is a jumbled mess of gaps, dropouts and garbled audio that makes it hard to make out what the other person is saying.
How does Packet Loss Work
Here’s the little game that packet loss plays: data gets split up into packets that just bounce around the network, waiting to be reassembled at the other end. But all too often, some of those packets just get dropped – either because the network is clogged up, or the hardware is dodgy, or the connection is a bit wonky. And when that happens, those packets don’t turn up, leaving big fat holes in the audio stream. That means that if you’re in the middle of a phone call, you’ll start to notice words being chopped out of sentences, and the sound will start to break up. Some systems will try to fill in the gaps a bit, but at the end of the day, if you’re losing too many packets, the quality is just going to suffer – and it’s not just a matter of aesthetics, either. It’s one of the key things you want to watch out for, alongside jitter and latency, when you’re trying to work out if your network or your call quality is up to scratch.
How Onextel helps with Packet Loss
We built Onextel’s cloud voice infrastructure with a focus on keeping packet loss to a minimum, and making sure our users get to enjoy top-notch call quality. And what that means for businesses that rely on voice services – well, it means that when you make a call, the person on the other end of the phone sounds clear as a bell, without you having to worry about doing an engineer’s job to get the network up to scratch.
Why it Matters
The truth is, packet loss is a total wrecking ball for voice quality. When you’re in the middle of a phone call, and you start to get dropped words and choppy audio, it’s just about impossible to follow what the other person is saying. For any business that relies on voice to get the job done, keeping packet loss down to a minimum is just about essential – it’s what makes a conversation sound credible and professional, rather than just a load of mumbled jargon. And let’s be honest, alongside jitter and latency, it’s one of the key things that marks out a top-notch voice service from one that’s just plain frustrating.