VOIP
What Is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and is essentially the name for the process of communicating by voice over a network such as the internet. VoIP is sometimes referred to as IP Telephony, Internet Telephony and VoBB (Voice over Broadband).
VoIP Advantages
VoIP has lots of advantages over a traditional phone system, the main one being the fact that VoIP technology can be ridiculously cheap or even free!
It is also very easy to utilise VoIP technology by simply installing software on your computer or mobile phone.
VoIP Disadvantages
Because VoIP is still a relatively new technology it does have a few faults and many people use a combination of VoIP and traditional telephony. Just as mobile phones still do, the majority of VoIP services have a slight delay in what you say and what the 3rd party hears. The extent of the delay is determined by the speed of both users internet connection and by the capacity of the VoIP service providers network. The other occasional issue is the actual quality of the call, which is also affected by internet connection speed and network capacity.
VoIP Providers
As VoIP technology becomes easier and cheaper more and more companies are starting to offer VoIP services. Some of the well known and popular providers include;
- Skype
- Vonage
- Sipgate
Many Internet Service Providers offer some form of VoIP service, simply by plugging a phone into a connection on the companies own modem or router.
This article is part of our knowledge base which is still under construction and will be added to and go into more detail over time, so please keep coming back. If you have a question about VoIP that you would like us to answer please let us know!
