What is a VoIP phone?
If you have never heard of VoIP, get ready to change your opinion about long distance calls. VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol is a way of receiving analogue audio signals, like those you hear in a phone call, and converting them into digital data that can be transmitted over the Internet.
But what is the benefit of this?
VoIP can turn a standard Internet connection into a way of making free phone calls. As a result, if you use a special phone you can make free phone calls anywhere over the Internet, thus avoiding the phone companies and their bills. VoIP is a revolutionary technology that has the potential to completely change the telephone systems globally.
Last but not least, the VoIP service is practically reinventing the wheel. Now we will review the functioning principles of VoIP, its applications and the potential in this emerging technology, which is very likely to completely replace the standard telephony someday.
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol (transmission of voice data through Internet protocols). VoIP also applies to IP telephony or Internet telephony. This is another way of making phone calls, with the difference that they are cheaper or even free. The "telephone" part is not always present anymore, because it is entirely possible to communicate without the phone itself.
There are different ways to use VoIP technology. It all depends on where and how you want to make phone calls. You can call from home, from the office, from your corporate network, while traveling or even from the beach. The way you make calls depends on the VoIP service you use.
VoIP most often is free.
The best thing about VoIP is that it uses the already existing infrastructures without additional costs. VoIP transmits the sounds that you produce through standard Internet infrastructure, by using IP protocol. Thus, you can communicate and pay nothing else but your monthly Internet bill. Skype is the most popular example of services which allows you to make free calls from your computer. There are so many computer-based VoIP services that your choice will not be easy. You can call for free using either your home/landline phone or your mobile phone. Check out the different features of the VoIP service which allow you to do this.
If VoIP is a free-of-charge service, then what is cheap?
VoIP can be used for free on a computer or, in some cases, on mobile and landline phones. However, if you want it to substitute your telephone exchange completely, then it has a price. Nevertheless, this price is many times lower than the price you would pay for traditional phone calls. This is especially appealing if you make a lot of international calls. Some people save up to 90% of their phone bill expenses for international calls thanks to VoIP.
What makes the calls free or paid depends on many factors, including the nature of the call and the offered services. You should choose according to your communication needs.
