VoIP phones use voice over IP technology for placing and receiving telephone calls over a private IP network, including the Internet, rather than the public switched phone network. Voice over IP is an internet phone technology that allow you to place and receive calls from a computer with a voice card and internet connection, instead of a conventional telephone network. The VoIP service provider connects voice users via IP networks using bandwidth from the internet provider. VoIP service providers can provide a wide range of features and functionalities to businesses for reasonable prices.
VoIP phones are often called Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP service providers.
You may have heard the term before, when looking at different types of phone service. For instance, your regular phone company will offer some services for free, such as ring tones and voicemail. But, there may be a fee for additional features, such as HD Voice or caller ID.
What are the differences between traditional landline phone and VOIP phones?
There are quite a few. While both use the same technology for placing and receiving calls, there are key differences in how they work and what they provide. Let’s take a look.
Traditional telephony utilizes a telegraph system and is sent by a messenger system to the receiver, who then places the call. It’s much the same principle as regular telephone calls, although the quality of the sound is not nearly as good. With VoIP phones, you place the call on your computer and then transmit the information to your calling party or another IP address. It’s similar to the Internet phone and just about anyone can access it provided they have an internet connection.
In comparison to traditional telephone service (also known as copper line telephone service), voice over internet phone systems are less expensive because the copper wire system that carries telephone lines can be very expensive to operate. Additionally, a substantial portion of the cost comes from the expense of maintaining the system and the cost of running it. Because the copper wires used are already extremely delicate and expensive, a considerable portion of the profits from copper service providers have gone into maintenance costs and the cost of maintaining the existing network instead of into profits.
VoIP Phones has a number of different features, most notably, the ability to set up a voicemail function, which allows people with a VoIP phone system to place calls from their personal computer and receive faxed or emailed responses. In addition, VoIP Phones can also include features such as voice mail, auto attendant, call forwarding, caller ID, fax to email and other similar features. These features work very well in conjunction with other computer related equipment such as a VoIP server or virtual PBX. With this type of phone system you may be able to use your computer as a centralized call center, where you can hire employees who are available around the clock to answer calls. When these employees have been hired, they can actually work from their own offices, taking advantage of the low overhead associated with operating a call center.
One of the advantages of the VoIP Phones that can be found on the market today is the fact that they operate using the same basic principles as other phone systems. The VoIP Phones typically contains a series of hardware components including transmitters, receivers, and connectors along with a high-speed internet connection and the VoIP software. The transmitters, for example, will often be used to transmit audio information as well as data such as voice messages. On the other hand, the VoIP receiver uses its hardware capabilities to capture telephone conversations, process them and then convert them into data that can be used by the VoIP software.
Many businesses and organizations are discovering that they can save a substantial amount of money by using these IP phones to conduct their communications. Many of the VoIP Phones that is on the market today also include a feature known as a “virtual PBX.”
- With a virtual PBX, your phone company doesn’t have to buy or lease any hardware for this system.
- Instead, all of the phone company’s existing phone lines can be connected to your VoIP Phones, allowing you to conduct your business and handle your calls in virtually the same way as you would if you were using a traditional phone system.
- There are many more benefits to operating your business communications via a VoIP Phone, so make sure to consider all of your options before making a final decision on which type of phone system to use.