An overview of VoIP technology.

Internet Telephony

In this post I am going to discuss all you need to know about Internet telephony or phone over Internet.

Net telephony is also called IP telephony (Internet Protocol telephony). IP telephony allows you to use your Internet connection as a communication channel for sending and receiving telephone calls using a technology called VoIP technology. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP phone system is now a widely-used communication option which may eventually replace the existing telephony infrastructure.

What is Internet telephony?

Network telephony is a service that provides the capability to establish, answer, route, and terminate telephone calls under the control of applications on either desktop computers or servers resident in the network.

Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and applications. This rapidly developing technology can convert analog voice input to digital data, send it over available networked channels, and then convert it back to voice output. This communication technology allows transmission of all real-time data, voice and video calls and other telephony services like fax, SMS over the Internet, to anywhere in the world. This can be done from a computer to a traditional telephone set or from a computer to another computer or even from telephone devices to another telephone device.

Because of low service charge and other value-added services Internet phone is a promising system for long-distance calls.

What is VoIP?

Net telephony is often used synonymously with VoIP. VOIP stands for – Voice Over Internet Protocol. Now, what does VoIP mean?

VoIP is a technology that makes it possible to make calls on phone over Internet instead of using a regular telephone connection that uses analogue signals. VoIP technology allows a caller to phone over Internet directly from a computer, a VoIP phone or any other data-driven devices by converting the caller’s analogue voice signals into digital signals and transmitting the same as data packets over the internet.

Some examples of apps which use VoIP technology to make calls are WhatsApp, Google Phone, Google Group Chat, Skype, FaceBook Video and Voice Chat.

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What is the difference between Internet telephony and VoIP phone system?

Although in essence, both phone over Internet and VoIP are the same thing, function-wise they are different from one another.

Internet telephony or IP telephony is the infrastructure that is needed to make VoIP calls. When you want to make VoIP calls, the hardware required to do so is called IP telephony. Infrastructure for Internet telephony comprises IP phones, IP-private branch exchange, routers and switches etc. Simply put, VoIP technology may be considered as a subcategory of IP telephony.

In order to make VoIP calls on a business level a special type of adapter is needed. IP phones have been created specifically for this purpose which uses a VoIP adapter which converts analogue voice signals into digital packets for sending over an Internet network. It can, therefore, be said that the IP telephony simply just completes the VoIP phone system.

How does VoIP work?

Internet telephony uses VoIP technology to make calls on phone over Internet. The VoIP phone system works by converting the analogue voice signals into digital signals and then transmitting the same as data packets over the internet.

When a caller makes a phone call over Internet directly from a computer or a VoIP phone or any other data-driven devices, his voice signals from the microphone are digitized, compressed and converted into data that a computer can read. This data is then broken into small packets which are routed over the Internet to the user at the other end, just like any other data that is sent over the internet.

At the receiving end, each data packet is reassembled into data compatible with the receiving device which demodulates the data and converts the data packets back into voice signals which can be heard through the speakers or headphones.

Advantages and disadvantages of VoIP

Although several benefits of VoIP make it a great communication option for just about everyone, this phone system is not without its own set of drawbacks. Let’s therefore, take a look at both advantages and disadvantages of VoIP to enable you to make the right decision regarding using this Internet phone system based on your own needs.

Advantages of VoIP

Low cost: IP telephony or VoIP service is most cost efficient. It offers considerable cost savings on long-distance and international telephone calls which are generally free except for the charges for your internet access. The service providers of IP telephony generally charge a flat rate which is well below the charges of traditional telephone services;

Additional features at no extra cost:

Unlike regular phone services which usually charge more for additional features, VoIP allows users to avail several advanced features without any extra charge. For example, conference calling, video conferencing, call transfer, caller ID are some of the many services included with VoIP telephone service at no additional fee;

Portability:

A VoIP phone system is completely portable. Unlike traditional telephone services which are distance or location dependent, IP telephony services work everywhere for which all you need is an Internet connection. Many VoIP service providers even allow access to your VoIP phone system via the internet using a mobile app. Unlike your regular phone number you can take your VoIP phone number with you anywhere you go and you don’t have to change your phone number.

Disadvantages of VoIP

Reliability issue:

As functionality of Internet telephony depends on the internet connection it uses, the VoIP service is totally dependent on the quality and reliability of your broadband Internet service. Poor Internet connections and congestion can lead to problems like dropped calls and voice distortion. If your internet system doesn’t have sufficient bandwidth it may be difficult to maintain a connection or connecting to the server of your VoIP service provider.

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Limitation in emergency call support:

Emergency calling can be a major problem for VoIP users. Since the call do not originate at physical location, with Internet telephony there is currently no way to determine where the VoIP phone call is originating from. In case of emergency the traditional phone can trace the location of the caller and the call is diverted to the nearest call center where the operator can see the caller’s location. Thus the very nature of Internet telephony limits the effectiveness of using it to make emergency calls.

Security:

Compared to traditional phone systems phone over Internet is more prone to security breach. The VoIP devices must, therefore, be secured with firewalls and advanced security features to reduce the risk of any security infringement for Internet telephony, which can turn out to be very costly for a company.

Conclusion

On going through the post which explains what does VoIP mean and how does VoIP work it is apparent that changing over to Internet Telephony for sending and receiving telephone calls is not at all a difficult task. To make phone over Internet using VoIP technology all you need is an Internet connection with sufficient bandwidth, appropriate hardware and a VoIP service provider. The rapid propagation of Internet and its ease of use as communication channel have given rise to a strong interest in carrying out communication via the Internet.

Because the Internet supports data communications, IP telephony has the potential to integrate with a wide range of applications and can be adapted and tailored to suit the specific needs of businesses. As communication via the Internet offers private clients and businesses numerous advantages, a lot of businesses have already switched over to using VoIP phone system.

However, a number of technical challenges are still to be addressed to bring the quality of Internet phone call to a level comparable to traditional telephone services. New protocols and techniques need to be incorporated in the current Internet to provide true quality of service to the end users.