What is the impact of incorrect bandwidth provisioning on voice and video services?

• A. Increased CPU usage on endpoints.
• B. Faster call setup times.
• C. Better security posture.
• D. Poor call quality, failed CAC expectations, and dropped voice/video.

Answer: (D)

Voice and video rely on real-time, predictable bandwidth to keep audio clean and video smooth. When bandwidth provisioning is incorrect, the network can't properly reserve or allocate the resources those media streams need. Call Admission Control depends on accurate bandwidth numbers to decide whether a new call can be supported without harming existing ones. If provisioning underestimates what’s actually available, CAC may admit more calls than the network can sustain, leading to congestion. That congestion shows up as jitter, latency, and packet loss, which translates to poor call quality for voice and choppy, stalled video. If CAC expectations aren’t met because resources aren’t truly available, ongoing sessions can be dropped or rerouted, causing dropped voice/video. In short, misprovisioned bandwidth directly undermines QoS guarantees for real-time media, producing degraded quality, failed admission decisions, and dropped streams.