Have you ever taken a call over VoIP and thought that you are speaking to a creature in the moon? You say something... and then they wait and wait and reply.

That is not bad luck, that is latency and delay in action.

Like it or not VoIP is here to stay, so when it comes to business communication, or (quite simply) effective conversation, it pays to find out how these two silent gremlins can disrupt what otherwise would have been a seamlessly clear and easy communication.

Let us simplify it down, in laymen terms!

What is Latency VoIP?

Latency means the amount of time that your voice takes before reaching the ear of the other person.

The VoIP converts your voice to digital information and transmits it over the internet. When it is too long, people overlap and they wait embarrassingly.

What it Feels Like:

Echoes

Long pauses before replies

“Hello? Can you hear me now?” moments

What is Delay?

Delay is closely linked to latency - it is the total duration, taken by your audio data to arrive at the point and be heard.

Latency, then, does slow things down. Delay, however, is made up of buffering, routing time and processing. Latency is just a piece of the delay pie.

Delay = latency + network processing time

In case either of these goes high, your VoIP-call will become sounding like a jammed walkie-talkie.

Why Does Latency & Delay occur?

Some of these villains include:

Low speed network

Poor Wi-Fi signal

Too many apps hogging your bandwidth

Long distance between callers (international calls)

Overloaded VoIP servers

Even a few hundred milliseconds can ruin the flow of conversation.

How to Fix It Like a Pro

Good news: latency and delay can be reduced (sometimes even eliminated). Here’s how:

Quick Tips:

Use internet wires rather than Wi-Fi

Close unnecessary apps or tabs during calls

Upgrade to high-speed internet

Choose a reliable VoIP provider with low ping servers

Consider the WebRTC softphones to communicate in actual time

Maintain good quality software and equipments

Bonus Tip: Jitter Matters Too!

While we’re at it — don’t ignore jitter, which is when voice packets arrive out of order, making your voice sound robotic or choppy.

Latency = Delay
Delay + Jitter = Total VoIP headache 

Final Thoughts: Don’t Let Delay Delay You

Delay and latency are two ends of the same coin and that coin can turn your voiceover IP quality within a few seconds.

When you have a business that is determined by the ease of real time communication, then it would be best to ensure that the latency and delay is minimized as much as possible.

The next time a call does not seem right, its not always your mic to blame, so make sure to check your connection and your tools as well.

Want crystal-clear VoIP calls?

Try Voizcall, a smarter VoIP platform built to reduce latency, cut delay, and make every conversation count — in real-time.

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