VoIP: What You Need to Know

VoIP: What You Need to Know

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) may seem like a frightening topic beyond your grasp, but it is really not that complicated. Here are some small things that you need to know about VoIP if you're considering it for your home or office.

VoIP does just what the name suggests. It transmits voice data via IP packets over the Internet. This is done either through the computer alone (with special software and a microphone and earphones), or with a computer and extra hardware.

The extra VoIP hardware usually consists of a network adapter (that allows you to plug any phone into it to use over the VoIP network) or an entire phone built to make the most of VoIP technology. Price depends on the hardware, with the complete phones typically costing more than the simple adapters.

The whole process is rather simple when broken down. Your voice (through software on your computer or in the phone or network adapter) is translated into small digital packets. These packets containing small bits of your conversation and they traverse the Internet to their destination. There, they are decoded and turned back into your voice.

And all of this happens in real time, just like a normal dedicated voice line. Granted, Quality of Service (QoS) is still a worry with some providers, but as the technology matures and more and more people make the switch, these problems are becoming few and far between.

This is a simple technology, but it's caused changes to a lot of businesses, saving them money by consolidating their voice and data networks into one system. It's also brought down the price (considerably) of long distance calls for home consumers.

Old Vs. New

To better understand VoIP, you have to know a little bit about PSTN (the Public Switched Telephone Network.) With this method of phone communication (that has been around since the telephone was invented on a large scale), when someone calls another person, one continuous route is made between the two phones. Traditionally, the longer the route, the more expensive the cost of the call.

VoIP is different in that it sends out small packets of information rather than one long continuous string of information. Because of this, the Internet (also a packet based network) can be used to transmit phone calls. It doesn't sound like a big thing when you break it down like that, but it's actually quite a breakthrough in the 100 or so year history of the telephone. Internet telephony is still a relatively new thing. As such, we can expect a lot more innovation in the VoIP space over the next ten to twenty years. Hopefully this small peek at VoIP has whet your appetite for more information.