Seamless internal and external communication is one of the cornerstones of daily business operations. Today, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is becoming the golden rule of modern corporate communications. Simply put, it is a proven technology that allows people to make phone calls over an Internet connection. Developed in 1995, with the development of broadband, it has become more stable and reliable, and has become the solution that more and more enterprises resort to when upgrading their phone systems. This guide will basically walk you through what is VoIP and everything related to VoIP and help you get the most out of it.
What is VoIP?
Traditionally, legacy telephone systems carry audio signals using analog telephone lines, so they require circuit wiring to be installed to make and receive calls. In this case, special hardware equipment called a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) is used to connect the intercom extensions to the public telephone network.
Rather than sending data packets over a traditional circuit-switched network, VoIP, short for Voice over Internet Protocol, and sometimes referred to as IP telephony, is a technology that converts voice to digital signals that can be transmitted over the internet via digital data packets. VoIP uses RTP (real-time protocol) to ensure these packets are delivered on time. You can use ethernet cable or high speed WiFi connection for VoIP.
How Does the VoIP System Work?
As mentioned above, VoIP basically works by converting analog phone signals to digital signals to facilitate phone calling over the Internet. Now let's dig a little deeper into the details of the process.
SIP Protocol and SIP Trunking
Voice over IP works using protocol technologies and SIP is a protocol enabling VoIP. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a communication protocol for VoIP calls and other text and multimedia sessions such as instant messaging and video. Based on the SIP protocol, the SIP channel is basically a service that is virtually established over your internet connections and provided by Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSP), eliminating the physical connection to a telephone company.
Equipment You May Need to Use VoIP
VoIP Phone System (PBX)
VoIP PBX (Private Branch Exchange) is a business phone system that facilitates phone calls over a company's LAN or WAN data network instead of circuit switched networks.
VoIP PBX is available in two deployment options, on-premises and cloud-based. With an on-premises audio solution, the hardware is installed and operated on-site in your office or data center, while a cloud PBX system is delivered entirely over the Internet and managed entirely off-site by a service provider.
VoIP Phones or IP Phones
VoIP phone or IP phones are legacy office phones that you can use with a VoIP phone system. Visually, they're not much different from the landline phones you find at home or at your desk. You can do more to accommodate VoIP phones. One fundamental difference is that it can be open to the internet, whether it's WiFi or Ethernet status. Your network can be listed by user IP address for searches.
Mobile Phones, Computers, Network Ready Devices
In addition to IP phones, you can access VoIP phone systems using your own mobile device, computer, and other network-ready devices with VoIP applications or softphone applications installed. Today, you can make and receive business phone calls anytime, anywhere using your own Internet-connected devices without worrying about losing VoIP call quality. Employees are no longer tied to a desk phone and can use any device they want.
VoIP Gateways
A VoIP gateway is a hardware device that converts traditional telephone traffic (analog or digital) into data packets, allowing connections between legacy telephony infrastructure and IP-based communication, acting as a bridge between an IP network, PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).