What is VoIP and How Does VoIP Work?
p>You may have heard about it already… small business and home based business owners are getting hyped up about the next revolution in telecommunications technology.Everywhere you go, for the next 5 years or so, you’re going to hear people mention “VoIP” and “Internet Telephony” almost as if it’s the only thing they want to talk about 
But, what is VoIP, really? And how does VoIP work? Is it really going to impact the way you do business in the future, or is it just a passing fad that will soon die away?
What is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. For all purposes, VoIP is also referred to by many similar (but not exact) variations such as:
- Voice over IP
- Voice over Internet
- Voice over broadband
- Broadband voice
Although there are many variations, the basic of voip is still the same. It involves sending your phone conversation over the Internet, instead of using directly connected copper wires.
The usage of copper wires as the “transport” for your phone calls has been in existance ever since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone on March 10, 1876.
Here’s how an ordinary telephone connection looks like:
When you pick up the phone and dial Jack’s number, your call will be carried on copper wires until the nearest exchange (the squares) and it will then enter your phone service provider’s telephone network.
This network is a complicated maze of thousands or millions of copper wires interconnected with each other, forming the PSTN or Public Switched Telephone Network. You call will then emerge at the exchange nearest to Jack, right up to his phone.
This type of technology has been around for over 50 years, and forms the backbone infrastructure of all countries.
How Does VoIP Work?
Voip on the other hand, uses the Internet instead of the traditional PSTN network. Voip converts your phone calls into IP (Internet Protocol), which is the language of the World Wide Web, and the simplest picture of VoIP would look like this:
Instead of the regular PSTN network, how Voip works is that it uses the IP network already present in most countries that have any form of Internet access and broadband.
Due to the Internet revolution that started in the 1990’s, huge networks of Internet backbones consisting of fibre-optic cables have been set-up all over the world. The best part is that these vast networks is that it is completely digital, which means that it can be used for more than just your regular telephone. In fact, VoIP Internet telephony allows people to communicate by:
- PC to PC
- PC to Phone
- Phone to Phone
VoIP even allows both PC and phone to work together as an integrated communications tool. This is what is commonly know as the convergence of technology.
For more information on what is VoIP and how does VoIP work, try reading further on these topics.
Basics of VoIP
History of VoIP and Internet Telephony
Did you know that Voice over IP has been around for many years?
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