Answer:   Depending on whose metrics and prophecies you give credence to, VoIP systems sales are either outpacing “legacy” phone system technologies, or will be in the near future. Either way, as you make decisions today about network cabling, be aware of the demands these systems have. Even if you have no short term plans to move to VoIP, it is likely that in the future you or your organization will be asking your network wiring to support these new technologies. Most enterprise VoIP models call for building the new system on a certified cable environment capable of running 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet (as a minimum) to minimize cable-induced uncertainty. Network switches supporting VoIP are usually a far cry from the 10/100 plain-Jane network switches that dominated the landscape until the last couple of years. VoIP-ready switches tend to have VLAN capabilities, Quality of Service aspects, Gigabit uplinks and in many cases the ability to deliver electrical power to the phone sets. Such sophistication in physical layer helps assure the desired reliability of VoIP, but also adds new complexities that demand better strategic and tactical solutions. Because voice traffic is far less tolerant of transient network anomalies than is data traffic, factors like delay, jitter and latency are becoming more common. When the inevitable happens and VoIP is part of your operating environment avoid dropped or odd sounding calls by installing a high quality system when you make you next network cabling decision.