Voice Over Internet Protocol

IP-Enabled Services


Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology that allows you to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. Some VoIP services may only allow you to call other people using the same service, but others may allow you to call anyone who has a telephone number - including local, long distance, mobile, and international numbers. Also, while some VoIP services only work over your computer or a special VoIP phone, other services allow you to use a traditional phone connected to a VoIP adapter.




Why Use VoIP ?


One of the most compelling reasons to use Voice Over IP is that calls are cheaper than those made using the conventional telephone system.
When you make a call using a traditional phone a dedicated connection is established and has to be maintained between the two ends of the line throughout the conversation. However with a VoIP connection the voice information is packetised and the individual packets can travel by independent routes across the internet. Consequently the resources needed during a VoIP conversation are significantly reduced and each call costs less.
Additionally it doesn't matter where you are - there is no significant additional cost.
Most VoIP providers don't charge anything for voice traffic that remains within the internet. They do charge for calls that are bridged to the traditional telephony networks. Usually the bridging takes place at a location near to the called party, so that the call path is mostly across the internet, and with any luck an international call ends up as a local or national call in the country being called. An immediate consequence is that calls made to ordinary subscribers throughout the developed world cost pence rather than pounds.
Typically SIP VoIP phones contain a powerful embedded processor which carries out speech processing and handling of the call. In a traditional phone environment much of this work is done by your own PBX and the exchange and network equipment. The transition to Voice Over IP means that the PBX can be more of a commodity item and the internet infrastructure supplants the POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) infrastructure. Again this should result in significant cost savings.
Another feature of VoIP telephony is that your phone can be anywhere geographically and still register across the internet with your server. In other words anywhere you can find an internet connection you can physically plug in your phone to an ethernet socket, or wirelessly connect with a wi-fi phone, and use it as though you were at your desk. Apart perhaps for the cost of local access there is no additional cost, and you can make calls out just as though you were at your desk. The end result is that when you are working away from base there is a dramatic cost reduction with VoIP.
So adding all these factors up the use of Voice Over IP can bring about a significant reduction in the cost of calls, which are free if both parties are connected to the internet, and are considerably reduced for international calls. Similar cost savings and flexibility of use can be achieved when working away from base or travelling.