What is VoIP?
I often get the question, “What is VoIP”?
Pronounced ‘voip’. VoIP stands for ‘voice over IP’, IP standing for Internet Protocol. Still scratching your head? Most do. In laymen, VoIP is simply telephone through your broadband internet connection.
So what’s the big deal? Well, the big deal about this technology is the already interconnectedness of everybody via the internet. The internet infrastructure is established and handles data traffic very efficiantly. What VoIP does is exploit the efficiency of the internet by converting your analog signal (voice) into digital “packets” that travel through the internet and are decoded back into analog at the destination phone (or nearby).
This technology makes it easier and extremely more affordable to communicate with people worldwide!
Some popular VoIP providers are Skype and Vonage. I’m sure you’ve heard these names, if only in passing.
Skype is a free VoIP application. Yes, free! The only limitation is that you are tethered to your computer. Also, the person that you are calling has to have Skype as well, unless you make a monthly payment of around $2. Still, this is really affordable. There are hardware devices that can use skype and even the new iPhone enables users to use Skype!
Vonage is a pay-for service. For a low monthly fee, last I checked it was $10 for 500 minutes monthly or $24 for unlimited calling. Long distance, caller ID, call forwarding etc. is all included for free. No nickle and diming! I have used Vonage for the last 5 years and have no problems whatsoever. I still don’t understand how phone companies can charge so much when there is Vonage raising the bar by offering more for less?
The only drawback to VoIP is that you do need broadband internet service. DSL can work, although it would not be as good. Most of the time, if you have DSL you already have phone service anyways because phone service providers are typically the only DSL providers.
There are other VoIP providers out there but these are the big two, free and pay-for.
Most big businesses, colleges and corporations all have switched over to, or are switching over to, VoIP. This technology increases profit margin and increases hardware productivity.
This article is certainly not all-inclusive as there is much more that goes into VoIP than what is written here. This is simply a starter’s guide to understanding voice over IP. I hope you found the information useful! For even more information on VoIP, click here for a Wikipedia article.
