VOIP: What Exactly Is This

Voice over Internet Protocol Phone service, more commonly known as voip phone service , is a communications service. The service makes use of technology that allows the user to make voice calls, exactly like telephone calls, but using a broadband internet connection instead of an analogue telephone connection.

The technology has caught on very quickly and a lot of service providers offer calls between VOIP to VOIP equipment and even between a VOIP Phone and a regular phone. VOIP Phones convert the user’s voice into digital data that can then be transmitted and carried over the internet. If the user is calling a regular phone number, then the digital data is converted back into an analogue signal.

The calls can be made either from the user’s computer directly, from a special VOIP Phone handset, or sometimes, regular phones can be connected to a special adaptor and used for VOIP calls. A Broadband internet connection is usually required for VOIP Phone services.

As with almost every modern technology, there is both an upside as well as a downside to using VOIP Phone services. While most VOIP phone services allow calls to regular phones, some still do not. VOIP Phone services might not work in case of power shortages, or offer additional facilities like telephone directories etc.

On the upside, VOIP Phones obviate the need for regular telephones by combining broadband internet and phone in one service.