What is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)?

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls are made using the internet. Calls such as these are even less frequently known as Voice over Broadband (VoB) Voice over Networks (VoN), or Internet Telephony; I wonder why none of those stuck?

VoIP basically lets you make ‘free’, or very low cost, mobile and landline calls via the Web.

Yes, any telephone in the world can call you and you can do likewise, irrespective of the kind of apparatus, tech or network being used.

Because internet telephony, utilises Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) technology, this means that many new elements and services, such as voicemail, voicemails sent to email, music on hold, or call divert, that used to be impossible, or just incredibly expensive using the old-fashioned land-line, are now available.

So How Does VoIP Work?

Basically, your voice is converted from an analogue signal into a digital one.  Digital data is then sent over the internet just like any other digital data, images or documents for example.

The best way to think about this is that your internet connection uses the same wires as your normal landline which is already used to transmit all kinds of things such as ordinary calls, faxes, e-mail, IM, or web pages, the difference is simply what is attached to the wires.

All of this can be a little confusing and sometimes you don’t actually need to know the specifics, I’ll bet you didn’t know the technology you regularly use is called TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) because you don’t need to, and your phone still works.

Free Calls

People incline toward the belief that VoIP is about free calls, and while to a large degree, that is true, calls are ‘free’, they’re not truly free; you’ve already paid for them through a broadband or data subscription.

How Can I Make a VoIP Call?

The variability of your VoIP system means it could be:

  • a phone and a VoIP adapter (a special adapter which lets you use VoIP from a standard landline, plugged into either a phone socket or your router).
  • a computer program, including Messenger (by Facebook) WhatsApp, Skype (which can be used to call landline as well as mobile numbers) or Apple’s FaceTime. Phoning someone who has the app is free, but calling a land-line will often incur a small cost.
  • or a smartphone, calling certain apps.

Linix offers the latest in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system technology and can save you money on your phone systems, regardless of organisation size.

You can continue to use your current number, so there is no lost business due to change over.

Linix’s VoIP systems are completely flexible and have a wide range of features including;

  • digital displays for caller ID
  • call forwarding
  • call holding
  • recorded calls
  • conference calls
  • and much more.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) uses your Wi-Fi to convert analogue sound waves into digital code, meaning you don’t have call disruptions or poor line quality, a call through VoIP is indistinguishable from an ordinary phone call and if two people are using VoIP phones, the call quality has better clarity than a telephone call, because radio quality sound is transmitted end to end at digitally at 64kbs.

The basic form of VoIP uses your computer as a phone and you can get a software telephone, a softphone, to utilise this, clicking on-screen and typing the number you want to dial or open a directory, using the speakers and microphone, or a basic headset to talk and listen.

For business users, better organisations use VoIP telephones or telephone adapters, built specifically for this purpose. The obvious benefits are; ease of use, convenience and call quality, your traditional telephone system is then still operative and PCs can be used for their primary function with no disruption to staff.

If you would like to learn more about how VoIP can benefit your business, check out our VoIP options or contact a member of our team today.