Which network issue causes a delay in VoIP response?

N10-008 By islever Editorial Last updated

Short answer

B Latency

Question

When a user makes a VoIP phone call and finishes speaking, the user experiences a delay in hearing a response. Which of the following should the network engineer check?
  1. Jitter
  2. Latency Correct Answer
  3. Bandwidth
  4. CRC errors

Key Takeaways

This question tests the difference between latency and jitter; the trap is mistaking a fixed delay for jitter, which would be inconsistent delay.

When a VoIP call has a consistent delay in hearing responses, the network engineer should check latency. The community votes for latency (B) but many confuse it with jitter, which is delay variation.

Common mistake: Choosing Jitter (A) is common because VoIP is often associated with jitter, but jitter is variation in delay, not a constant delay as described in the question.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

The scenario describes a "delay" after speaking before hearing a response, which is a fixed time lag. Latency measures the time it takes for a packet to travel from source to destination, so a constant delay indicates high latency. The top-voted comment (5 likes) correctly distinguishes: "latency because it's a consistent delay in voip. if it was all over the place/inconsistent it would be jitter."

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Jitter (A) is the variation in packet arrival times, not a steady delay; it would cause choppy audio rather than a single pause. Bandwidth (C) affects throughput but not necessarily one-way delay. CRC errors (D) indicate data corruption, which would cause garbled audio, not a response delay.

Community Comment Notes

Community votes strongly favor B (78 vs 22). One comment (2 likes) asks if jitter is correct, reflecting common confusion. Another comment (1 like) explains that latency can be caused by jitter, but the direct issue to check when experiencing a fixed delay is latency. These comments highlight the need to distinguish between delay and delay variation.

Official Reference

https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5481.html

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

Read the wording carefully: 'delay' means latency, while 'jitter' would be described as inconsistent or varying delay. On the exam, look for keywords like 'consistent' or 'fixed' to choose latency.

Community Votes

B
78%
A
22%

78% of anonymous learners picked answer B. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 5 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 5

  1. priestb3 👍 5 Answered B
    latency because it's a consistent delay in voip. if it was all over the place/inconsistent it would be jitter
  2. Sgthud 👍 2 Answered A
    Someone help me out on this one but, shouldn't the answer here be jitter.
  3. bdemps98 👍 1 Answered B
    Latency is caused by Jitter. If they're asking what was causing the latency you'd respond with Jitter.
  4. extrarefe 👍 2
    Jitter
  5. Mage10 👍 1 Answered B
    comment

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