How Does VoIP Work

As the internet reaches more people and gets faster you will begin to hear the term VoIP an awful lot but the problem is that not many people really know what that means. There are a lot of questions about what VoIP is and how it works and why you need the internet for it to work and we attempt to clear some of that up right now. If you have questions about VoIP then go ahead and read on as we will take the time to explain in as much detail as possible what VoIP actually is and how the VoIP service works.

3Com VoIP Devices

The first step to understanding how VoIP works is to understand what VoIP actually stands for. The Vo in VoIP stands for the word “Voice over.” The IP stands for “Internet Protocol.” So in its entirety VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. Doesn’t really help much does it? If you break it down even further then you begin to understand what it really means. The most confusing part for people is the Internet Protocol part. Internet Protocol is simply referring to your high speed internet connection in your home or office. In order to benefit from a VoIP service you need high speed internet in your home.

Skype for iPhone

While many VoIP companies offer a less expensive alternative to the phone company they do not offer high speed internet service. This is where it can get a little confusing. You get your high speed internet access from your phone company, your cable television provider, or a satellite provider. So, in some cases, to save money from using the phone company you still have to use the phone company. However many cable television companies are using VoIP as a chance to get customers complete packages of cable television and telephone service all by using their cable connection. It is catching on all over the country.

Basically what happens in VoIP is that your voice is projected through an internet phone service provider and it winds up at whatever the destination for the call is. If you are dealing with a company that uses a VoIP router then you are able to use regular phones, just like you used with the phone company, to make calls over your internet connection. It is much cheaper than buying standard phone service but be careful. VoIP service’s reliability is tied to the strength of your high speed internet connection. If you have a service that does not allow you a lot of bandwidth, and more providers are starting to limit their customer’s bandwidth, then you can find your phones sounding horrible every time you try and use the internet and make a call at the same time. There are things your VoIP provider can do and there is a lot they can do if your VoIP provider also happens to be your cable television company that is providing your high speed internet connection as well. It all ties together.

Avaya 1692 IP Conference Phone

So you make your phone call over the internet and it winds up coming across someone’s regular phone line. Magic? Not exactly. The VoIP phone service provider is able to route calls through standard phone lines because of the VoIP router you are connected to. Basically your VoIP router becomes your wall connection for your phones and the VoIP provider has developed a service that allows calls to connect to any phone in the world. How they do it is complicated but it certainly is not magic.