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What is VoIP?

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Whether or not you’re aware of it, at some point over the last year you’ve probably received some exposure to VoIP technology. Television commercials for Vonage phones, for example, preach the power of VoIP and promise consumers that they’ll experience lower phone bills if they switch to VoIP. VoIP isn’t as new as it might seem, but initial marketing attempts failed due to consistent quality control issues. VoIP is an acronym for Voice over Internet Protocol. The premise of VoIP – and its potential for lowering phone costs – stems from the basic concepts of internet communication in general. Regardless of the type of VoIP application in use, the pattern is quite similar. VoIP technology changes original voice information into packets of data. Those data packets are then shuttled along internet lines until they reach their destination, and the VoIP system on that end changes the data packets back into voice information.

Initially, at least, VoIP’s popularity seemed driven by the interest of the general consumer. In fact, consumer applications still receive far more publicity than their business counterparts. Theoretically, VoIP technology offers consumers the opportunity to save money on their long-distance bills, so phone providers continue to offer those types of services. Additionally, computer-to-computer phone systems, such as Skype, provide customers with the opportunity to make global calls free of charge, provided they possess a computer and internet access. However, VoIP systems are rapidly gaining popularity within the business world as well. Whether or not you’re currently interested in a VoIP phone system for your business, it seems likely that VoIP will dominate business communication in the not too distant future, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with the basic concepts.

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