An Introduction to VoIP

VoIP or Voice-over IP refers to the communication of people between IP addresses over the Internet. It was first utilized in the year 1995 as a substitute for the telephone. It works by converting a voice signal into a digital signal. Then, it travels over the Internet as data.

Afterwards, it converts back into a voice signal to the other end. There are different ways to use VoIP.  The first is to make use of a microphone plugged into the computer. You can also use a phone adapter or VoIP phone (the phone adapter refers to a device that converts your telephone signal so that it can be useful for VoIP calls). VoIP phones are the same with telephones, but they are mainly for VoIP calls. You can also use a regular telephone with VoIP.

VoIP is less costly compared to a regular telephone. This is because you use computers and the IP addresses, so there’s no longer a need for a telephone line to be installed. This will spare you time and money. The cost is the leverage of VoIP over regular telephones. You can save a lot on long distance calls. Because of the technology used, a long distance call costs the same as a local call. Businesses are also able to save a sizeable amount of money by using VoIP.

Because VoIP calls have to be converted into a digital signal and then back into a voice signal, there could be a slight time delay. Another disadvantage is that the voice quality may not be as clear as a regular telephone. But the technology is continually improving, and both these drawbacks are being enhanced.

The future is looking good for VoIP. More and more people seem to be taking interest in it (both personal and businesses) and this trend is not going to stop anytime soon. It may not have the same quality with a regular telephone, but it never ceases to improve.

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