Living in this era and time, if you haven’t heard of VoIP yet, then you better adjust a bit. It stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and is a revolutionary technology in its own right, with the potential to rewrite the fate of phones. In short, the technology makes it possible to convert analog audio signals, which are produced when you talk on the phone, into digital data. As we all know, data in its digital form can be seamlessly transmitted over the virtual Internet.
VoIP practical usability
So, in other words, VoIP can easily convert or upgrade a standard Internet connection into a telephony device, from which you can make free phone calls. To make things even easier for you, a lot of free VoIP software is available on the web. Thus, one can easily bypass the phone companies and make free internet calls through their phone devices.
reinvention of the wheel
VoIP technology is nothing more than a clever reinvention of the wheel. These days, the technology has reached enough maturity and hence you can choose from three different flavors of this service.
- ATA: The most popular and certainly the easiest way is by using a device called an Analog Telephone Adapter or ATA. It allows users to connect a standard telephone device to an Internet connection to facilitate VoIP service. It should be noted here that ATA is an analog to digital converter. It accepts analog signals or data from traditional telephone devices and converts it into digital data, which is then transmitted over the Internet. In fact, these days many service providers offer free ATA service to customers in a plug-and-play box. All you have to do is take the ATA out of the given box and connect the cable coming from the phone to the ATA. Pop! You are done and now start making your VoIP calls using your Internet service.
- IP phone: These are specially designed telephone devices, although they look like regular phones and come with a handset, keypad or buttons, and a base. Unlike the RJ-11 connectors on standard telephones, these specially designed devices come with an RJ-45 Ethernet connector. Therefore, these devices plug into your router directly and are loaded with all the necessary hardware and software to handle IP calls.
- From computer to computer: This is one of the easiest options to take advantage of VoIP service. You will get the software at a reasonable market price that you need to make these types of VoIP calls. In addition to the software, you’ll need a microphone, sound card, speakers, and of course, an Internet connection to make use of this feature. The only charge you must pay when using this service is the cost of renting from your Internet service provider.
Reasons behind the popularity
There are basically two factors behind the popularity of VoIP.
- reasonable cost and
- impressive functionality
VoIP phone calls usually cost very little compared to traditional phone calls. There is also additional cost savings, since the technology uses a single network to carry voice and data. You can even make ISD calls on VoIP for free.
- The impressive functionality of VoIP mainly involves certain things that are almost impossible to achieve with conventional telephone networks. These can be summarized as follows:
- All your incoming phone calls are routed to your VoIP phone by default, regardless of where you are connected to the network. Just take the device with you on the go and simply connect it to an internet connection. You will not miss your incoming calls.
VoIP phones also allow call center executives to work from any geographic location, using a reliable Internet connection.
This is all about the basics related to VoIP. Considering all the pros and cons, it seems likely that the technology is here to stay.