What Is VOIP

More likely than not, you’re familiar with the term VoIP. Having hogged the headlines and plastered everywhere from online to TV advertisements, it’s hard not to be. But hearing the term and understanding what it’s all about isn’t quite the same thing.

VoIP or voice over Internet protocol are related technologies that enable IP networks to support voice applications including telephony, voice instant messaging and teleconference. The technology makes it possible for you to make phone calls through your broadband Internet connection instead of the normal phone. Other terms used to refer to it are voice over IP, Internet phone service and broadband phone.

Operating it is easy enough. Say suppose, you get a modem from the company or a kit from a store. All you need to do is plug the modem from your cable/DSL modem to your computer or attach the out from the cable modem to the new box and the out from it to the computer. There is also a phone jack for the regular phone.

All you need to use the technology is a high speed Internet connection like DSL or cable due to the service being based on broadband Internet connection. For VoIP, the speed needs to be up to 90 kbps, according to the particular voice compression algorithm used by the service provider. As this requires more speed than dial-up Internet provides, it requires a broadband Internet connection.

VoIP is superior to the traditional phone line in a number of ways. Lower cost is the most significant advantage. With a fast Internet connection like DSL or cable PC-to-PC calls can be made anywhere in the world for absolutely free. There may be charges for PC-to-phone connections but even that is a lot less than the conventional phone.

VoIP also offers another major benefit in terms of portability. This means making and receiving phone calls is possible from anywhere as long as there is a broadband connection. You only need to log in to your VoIP account. Incoming calls to your VoIP phone can also be taken from anywhere in the world. Whether you happen to be in Paris, Montreal or Timbuktu, the caller simply has to dial the same number.

Provided you have a broadband connection with your VoIP phone connected to the Internet or with the VoIP software on your computer, calls can be made and received. In addition, a majority of VoIP services come with a host of attractive features that would otherwise cost extra for normal telephones, like call forwarding, voice mail, call waiting, call transfer, and three-way calling.

Neither are there any unexpected or regulatory charges. Bills from your local provider are full of unexplained charges. Internet based phone calls don’t incur taxes either making the service incredibly affordable.

Skeptics may counter the argument with the prospect of power failure or disruption of the broadband Internet connection. As VoIP works on a broadband connection alone, disruption means a break in the Internet phone service as well. But living in an age when cell phones are a must, even the pay-as-you-go types, this hardly counts as an issue.

VoIP is also subject to sound reliability and quality vulnerability. Voice data is delivered scrambled but in a more complex form due to VoIP being real-time. At times data packets may be dropped if not delivered on time to ensure voice connections with minimum delay. This may create brief interruptions in the audio stream.

However with tremendous efforts underway on VoIP, it is only a matter of time, maybe 2 or 3 years that these shortcomings are overcome. The expectation is that by then VoIP will be widespread in consumer acceptance. Once you choose to go for VoIP, you can be sure of never looking back.