How VoIP and IP Telephony Works



Posted: Monday, December 13, 2010

by Melissa Langley

Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP is a technology that allows you to make voice calls over the Internet. With the supporting power of the internet, several users that are within the network can simultaneously join the voice calls and conduct conferences. IP Telephony is able to do this task by converting the analogue speech into digital data, which means the speech can be sent along a network to the receiving VoIP address.

A phone system with VOIP poses numerous conveniences and advantages, especially for institutions with a large number of staff that are located in more than one area, anywhere in the world. An IP Telephone System is not really a new concept but upgrades on its new features are now at a fast-paced speed in reaching the consumers. Manufacturers and developers are now under the process of providing mobile IP telephony for people who work off-site and are always on the go.

REQUIREMENTS

There is minimal requirement for having a digital phone system. A high-speed internet connection would be first of the prerequisites before gaining the perks of having a VoIP Phone system. Despite the need for an internet connection, computers are not necessarily required since modems are used to wire all the users together; however, the most common type of VoIP connection is computer-to-computer.

A headset with microphone or a telephone unit with IP telephony-catering features are the second requirements. Some of the popular phone system brands in the market are NEC phone systems and Norstar.

The third and last requirement would be a VoIP software that has the capacity to connect to landline phones and PC. Most VoIP phone system software packages are free and allow you to connect to any computer running the same software. There is no charge for this type of connection and calls can be made to anywhere in the world. The only time that both parties need a particular VoIP software package is when they are making PC-to-PC calls. Parties receiving landline or mobile phone calls do not need any add-on equipment or software in order to receive and make voice calls.

CONNECTING AND TRANSMITTING

This digital phone system uses data transmission. Voice calls are initially in analog data format and what VoIP telephone systems do is convert it to digital data. Converted data are then compressed and sent over the internet. It then goes through several other processes of conversion through protocols and as it reaches the receiver, the digital data will turn back to analog, allowing you to hear voice calls and view video calls.

Protocols like SIP VoIP or Session Initiation Protocol provides your phone system with features such as call transfers, call and video conference, and call holding. The ISDN PRI T1 is a service which is ideal for medium to large scale enterprises that allows for more channels, therefore, more simultaneous connections can be made over the phone system.

DISADVANTAGE

Traditional analogue phone units work even without power. VoIP phone systems, however, only uses power from the in-house source, i.e. your own source of power. VoIP will not work without a steady supply of electricity.

Digital South Communications
www.digitalsouth.com
(813) 877-7733
(727) 441-2700
2030 Weaver Park Drive
Clearwater, FL 33765
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