What is Quality of Service (QoS)?

Quality of Service (QoS) is a network management technique used to prioritize specific types of data traffic to ensure a consistent and reliable performance for critical applications. In the world of telecommunications, its most important role is to protect the quality of real-time voice and video streams.

A data network is like a shared highway, with different types of traffic—emails, file downloads, web browsing, and voice calls—all competing for the same bandwidth. Non-essential traffic like an email can tolerate a slight delay without any issue. However, a real-time voice call is extremely sensitive to delays and data loss.

QoS works by creating a "fast lane" for this sensitive traffic. It instructs network devices, like routers and switches, to prioritize voice (VoIP) and video packets, ensuring they are processed and transmitted ahead of less time-sensitive data.

By implementing QoS, a business can effectively prevent common issues that degrade call quality, such as:

• Packet Loss: When voice data packets are dropped, causing gaps or cut-outs in the audio.
• Latency: A noticeable delay in the conversation, making it difficult to interact naturally.
• Jitter: When voice packets arrive out of order, resulting in garbled or choppy sound.

The ultimate benefit of QoS is a significant improvement in the clarity and reliability of your calls, reducing the chances of poor audio quality or dropped connections, even when your network is busy.