VoIP has revolutionized the way we communicate with one another. If you’ve never heard of it, then get ready to change the way you think about long distance phone calls. Simply put, VoIP (Otherwise known as voice over Internet Protocol) is a technology that allows one to make a voice call using a broadband internet connection instead of a regular phone line. It is a method of taking analog audio signals similar to the ones heard when communicating via phone and transforming them into digital data that can be transmitted via the internet.

VoIP Phones

A VoIP phone is a phone that uses voice over technologies that allows telephone calls to be made over an IP network. The calls can either traverse the internet or a private IP network similar to those used by companies.

Why VoIP Systems

There are numerous advantages associated with VoIP over circuit switched technology. For starters, the same lines can be used to transport voice and data transmissions. Two, with the aid of compression technology more calls can be made using these lines than using circuit switched systems. Three, the flexibility of VoIP allows different devices to talk to each other and so on.

VoIP phone systems

Gone are the days when sophisticated telecommunication systems were only for the fortune 500 companies. Today, if you have a broadband connection, you can take advantage of several hosted IP VoIP phone systems and save more than 50% on your calling expenses in comparison to the traditional calling system.

The systems that utilize Voice over Internet protocol tend to use a combination of computers and specialized phones to complete the calls.  They are:

PC- to- PC

This VoIP phone system basically makes a call from one computer to another. One of the requirements of this system is that both computers have the same software installed. In most cases, such software is usually free and so are the calls. It goes without saying that a microphone is required to speak into and a speaker to be able to hear the conversation.

PC-to-Phone

In this phone system, the call is placed from one computer to a traditional phone. One thing about these systems is that they require a download of software and a calling plan. The plan may include users being provided with different phone numbers for long distance and short distance call services.

IP-phone-to-phone

In this phone system, a broadband phone (commonly called an IP phone) is able to complete all the functions of a traditional phone e.g. hold, transfer calls, e.t.c through a broadband connection. This system is commonly used by businesses to connect workers across a given state into a virtual office.