VoIP telephones are a new generation telephone system that uses voice over internet protocol for making telephone calls over the internet. A VoIP telephone or virtual phone uses digital voice over internet protocol for placing and receiving telephone calls over an analog internet network, including the Internet. The voice is transferred via the internet connection instead of over regular phone lines. VoIP can include both analog audio transmissions and data transmissions. The data portion can be converted into text format.
Many businesses use VoIP telephones for business and other communication needs. Some large corporations, like AT&T, have been using voice (voice over internet protocol) to dramatically reduce operating costs. Large companies like AT&T are able to reduce their investments in additional infrastructure and wiring because of the low capital costs of implementing VoIP phone systems.
One reason that companies have adopted this technology sooner than competitors is the fact that there are few or no long-distance charges associated with using voice technology. Traditional telephone service plans include long distance charges, even to international locations. The only way to avoid these charges when using VoIP is to purchase international minutes with your long-distance plan. Most consumers make local calls using their home phone number, so long-distance charges are unnecessary. Most people today use cell phones and internet lines for most of their communication needs. Many homes now have two or more cell phones.
There are some situations where it may make more sense to use traditional telephone service instead of relying on VoIP telephones. For instance, if you use an answering machine for your voicemail, then you should not have to pay extra for a VoIP telephone. You can use your home phone number and password to access your voicemail. In addition, you should not have to pay to forward phone calls to your home phone. Many long-distance carriers make free phone calls to landlines.
There are other reasons to choose VOIP telephones over traditional telephone services.
Because they do not include any hardware or software, there is no need for routers or additional connections to the internet. This means that you can use a regular telephone anywhere that has an internet connection, even without a wireless broadband connection. Traditional telephones usually include a router and need to be connected to a phone line to make phone calls. Because of this requirement, and the fact that VOIP telephones have similar sound quality to regular telephone lines, many businesses and individuals choose to use VOIP rather than regular phones.
In addition, most VOIP systems also have the ability to connect to a remote network using an ethernet cable. This feature is referred to as the SIP. An IP address uniquely identifies each IP client, giving them access to VoIP services (which, in turn, give them access to the internet). SIP allows a caller to send voice data to another IP address through an ethernet cable and then receive the response from the remote system. SIP uses an open service level agreement (SLA) which guarantees excellent quality of service and reasonable price. SIP is also a form of advanced connectivity, since it is often possible for users to browse the Internet while talking on the telephone at the same time.
One of the benefits of SIP is the transport protocols used in it. All good VoIP systems support at least three transport protocols. The transport protocols are used to enable audio packets to be sent and received over the same network (usually the internet) and to allow voice data to be transmitted and received over that same network (usually a private local area network (LAN)). The three transport protocols are BGP, IP packets, and TCP/IP. The importance of TCP/IP is that it provides an efficient method for sending large amounts of data over a network without much additional overhead cost.
VoIP telephones work by using digital information that transmitting in digital format.
- This digital information is called IP packets and is sent over the internet or a private LAN.
- IP packets contain audio information along with various other information such as the time and date, telephone numbers, fax numbers, and the name of the caller.
- The process of making and receiving phone calls via VoIP technology is referred to as IP Telephony.
