What is VoIP and How Can it Be Useful?

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and uses the same technology as the Internet. The technology is used to transmit voice and related calls over a data network and allows users to make telephone calls using their broadband connection, and yes, VoIP is indeed changing the shape of the telecommunications industry. It is a relatively new technology that allows real-time audio (that is, voice) to be transmitted and received in a digital format, through the use of IP data packet transmission. VoIP allows a person to call anyone who has a computer or telephone number (local, long distance, mobile and international) and is accessible anywhere an Internet connection is available.

VoIP use TCP/IP to go from the origination across the network to the destination, digitalizing voice in data packets, sending and reconverting them in voice.

VoIP has the potential to enable cheaper long distance and International telephone voice calls than the normal public switched telephone network (PSTN). Some of the VoIP companies offer call waiting, conference calls and user billing plans. This technology may in due time eliminate the telephone as we know it.

VoIP has been around for less than 10 years and does not necessarily need broadband capacity, but it will not work if the Internet connection is down. The VoIP user is digitally sending his or her voice to a recipient over an Internet connection, no connection, no calls in or out. This is one of the down sides to this technology.

Another down side is one I deal with. I live in the Northern Calif Coast and my VoIP is dependant on wall power. No Electricity no VoIP phone. So in my case I need to have a traditional phone along with my VoIp phone. Those winter Pacific storms bring down trees which bring down power lines.

Most VoIP service providers use the public Internet to transmit your calls. A subscriber to VoIP service receives a handset that resembles and works like a normal telephone, but the service uses Internet Protocol (IP) technology over the data cable so as to provide more flexible phone calls.

Users face the upfront costs of obtaining a handset as well as the ongoing Internet service subscription charges. There are also service variations available, such as using normal telephones at each end with calls routed via Internet or broadband service providers. This was great, but not everyone spends every waking hour on their computer; so came the idea to let people use their telephones with the Internet to make calls. I use the third method, in which one or both parties use a standard telephone set to make and receive calls, with the Internet being the go-between.

Harnessing the power of the Internet, VoIP is powerful, scalable and most importantly, affordable. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the technology that effectively solves many of the problems of a convergent world. As products are commoditized and public services mature, new voice-data applications will be offered, encouraging even broader adoption. Old telephony can be converted to take advantage of the new systems or new technology can be installed providing advanced integrated voice and data systems. I love my VoIP phone system and I am able to call people in over 40 countries at no extra cost. I find this amazing and the only fly in the ointment is that I need a traditional phone at all. My VoIP phone system is less expensive than the traditional phone that I must keep as a backup and I can only call locally. Amazing!