hat is VoIP?
In general non-technical speak, VoIP it is the ability to make phone calls via your internet connection instead of going through or paying your regular phone company.
VoIP stands for “Voice over Internet Protocol”. – it just means “internet phone”.
Internet Phone; Internet Telephone; Voip – all mean the same thing – making cheap calls over the internet to anywhere. The calls can even be FREE.
VoIP might also be referred to as:-
- Voice over Broadband
- Internet telephony
- IP Telephony
- Broadband Phone
- Broadband telephony
Next time someone asks “What is VoIP?” …. you can tell them cheap (or free) phone calls.
The Bad News
Using VoIP can dramatically reduce your phone bill, you may even be able to get free calls.
But, don’t go throwing out your old phone connection just yet.
The main disadvantage of VoIP is for emergency calls.
When you call the fire, police, ambulance from a fixed line, the operator can tell where you are calling from. So, if for some reason you are unable to speak or don’t have time they can find you. BUT if you call emergency services using a VoIP connection, there is no way of tracing the call.
So it is important to maintain a traditional phone and connection in case of emergency. At this stage this applies to 000 in Australia, 911 in the US, 999 in the UK and 112 in the EU – however you need to verify this information before taking action.
And, if you use ADSL broadband you will need to continue to maintain your phone line.
Another disadvantage of VoIP is that for the moment the internet is not always reliable and if it fails, you don’t want to be without a phone.
What Equipment Do you need?
What voip phone hardware you will require will depend on whether you are using a computer based internet phone provider or a phone based internet phone service.
Internet Phone Hardware for a Computer Based Service.
To get started making free internet phone calls you will need a few items:-
- VoIP Audio Headset
- A headset with built-in microphone and headphones. These can cost anywhere from £5 for a cheap set upwards – bearing in mind that the quality of your internet phone headset will ultimately have an effect on the quality of your calls.
Internet Phone Hardware for a Phone Based VoIP Service.
This is the phone hardware you will need to start making calls:-
- Analog Phone Adapter (ATA)
- If you intend on using your regular phone than you will need a analog phone adapter. It in effect is a bridge between your phone and the internet. Some paid VoIP services will provide you with an ATA.
Then there is some optional phone hardware that may be beneficial:-
- VoIP Telephone
- Instead of using your ‘normal’ phone you can buy a voip phone and therefore not require the ATA. Today’s models have buttons for VoIP features such as conference calls, PDA integration and phone number directory. Prices of VoIP phones are coming down and worth a look.
- VoIP Router
- While this is not necessary, if you use the internet and phone a lot then a VoIP router is worth a look. A VoIP router is probably worth the investment for a business phone. You use it instead of your standard broadband router.
What the VoIP router does is prioritize data packets that contain voice, this means that browsing the web or using email will not interfere with your phone calls. You can also now get Wireless VoIP Routers which take the signal from your broadband modem and broadcasts the wireless signal over a short distance to your other devices.
Internet Phone Hardware for ALL VoIP Services.
No matter which VoIP service you choose you will need:-
- Personal Computer
- Because internet phone continuously uses the central processing unit (CPU) of your computer, you need a modern computer that is fast enough to handle VoIP – something no older than 3 years old should be ok.
- Broadband Internet Connection
- At a minimum your broadband connection should be 512 / 256 kbps (512 relates to the “downstream”, internet to you pc and the 256 relates to “upstream”, your computer to internet). Cable, ADSL and high-speed wireless internet will all integrate with VoIP.
