WHAT IS VoIP?

More and more businesses are looking to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as a cheaper and more effective alternative to traditional analog telephone service. VoIP allows users to place calls via the internet, rather than through a telephone line. In addition, VoIP technology can also transmit data and video content.

VoIP systems can be either hosted or premise-based, depending on the business’s needs and priorities. With a hosted system, the private branch exchange (PBX) is managed off-site by a VoIP provider for a monthly fee. This gives the user a simple way to access VoIP technology with a minimal upfront investment just in VoIP phones or analog telephone adapters. A premise-based approach provides the user with greater ability to control and customize the system.

WHAT ARE VoIP’S ADVANTAGES?

• Less expensive to deploy than traditional phone service
• Easy to add and remove lines
• Faster and more reliable than analog
• Offers the most straightforward way to operate a PBX
• Operates online

HOW DOES VoIP WORK?

A VoIP call can be placed using any of the following equipment:

• VoIP phone
• cell phone
• analog phone plus adapter
• computer

VoIP calling also requires a codec, which is a device that functions as a coder and decoder. Codecs are used to encode a voice signal into digital data for transmission through the internet, and then convert the encoding back for replay.