The Network Within Yet another factor that is frequently overlooked in this discussion is the deficiencies present in the current packet networks. These two sub-networks are designed and deployed for different objectives. At present, the Internet lacks a similar control network capability. Or, alternatively, we can over-engineer the network with excess capacity, to minimize performance problems. While the strategy of replacing the circuit infrastructure with an over-designed packet infrastructure is advantageous for some, it is not a solution that adequately takes into consideration all of the design, service, and structural requirements for an effective public communications infrastructure.
Internet service is offered mostly on a fixed-price basis, whereas voice services are usage based.
But while the pricing discrepancy for voice and the Internet services offers a case for the implementation of Voice over IP on an individual case by case basis, it does not provide justification for the wholesale revamping of the voice network. The existing infrastructure imbalance and the underlying pricing models will continue to provide economic justification for Voice over IP, on a limited basis. In order to achieve its desired performance levels, the organization needs to oversubscribe bandwidth for network connections. Because of the mission critical nature of the communications needs, the organization oversubscribe for dedicated bandwidth is not always utilized fully. An organization that has such a dedicated network can enhance the bandwidth utilization by implementing Voice over IP for non-mission critical situations, and reduce the marginal cost for voice traffic without performance problems.