You may have heard of VoIP, but you don’t know what it is? How does it work? What are the advantages? We answer all of these questions in this article.
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Definition VoIP
VoIP is an acronym meaning “Voice Over Internet Protocol,” in other words, the transmission of voice via the Internet. It is a technology for delivering voice or multimedia communications – video, for example – via the Internet.
The solutions offered by the original Voice over IP operators are similar to the architecture of traditional telephone networks, but the offer has evolved with second or third-generation operators. The latter offers other closed networks dedicated to private users who benefit from free calls, or offers that are totally different from the architectures of traditional telephone networks.
VoIP solutions allow users to interact dynamically. To call over IP, the user needs a SIP phone software program or a hardware VoIP phone system. It is possible to make calls from anywhere and to any import, either to VoIP numbers or PSTN (Switched Telephone Network) network deployed in the 1980s by France Telecom at the time).
Companies that opt for a VoIP system instead of a traditional switchboard and use the cable network can take advantage of more benefits, including lower telephone bills, better mobility, and more productivity.
VoIP solutions for businesses also integrate unified communication functionalities such as web conferencing, presence information, fax, or even voicemail by e-mail. In addition, apps for smartphones give employees the possibility of using their professional extension anywhere. These applications also use voice over IP to make or receive calls from a user’s phone, as if they were using their own work extension.
VoIP: how does it work?
In practice, a VoIP telephone conversation does not use copper wires from the traditional analog telephone network. Its circulation is done on a digital data network. Which passes by Ethernet cables to the departure and the arrival. Thus, the communication channel used for a VoIP telephone conversation is the Internet.
The data which is transmitted in VoIP circulates in the packet. It is a term designating a batch of digital data. In other words, a series of 0 and 1 in the form of optical/electrical pulses.
You should know that the digitization of the initial information (the sound modulation produce by the voice) is done in real-time to be then compressed. Circulation is, therefore, not in continuous flow. The digital data is combine and sent regularly over the IP network in cars of successive digital information. On arrival, the opposite occurs with decompression and the conversion of packets containing voice data into a sound signal.
The packets consist of voice data as well as the network address of the two parties. Packet communication is advantageous because it allows the adoption of several routes at the same time. In other words, in the event of saturation of the electronic path, the following packets have the possibility of borrowing others. The management of the reconstitution of the message is done by means of buffer memory. So that the voice information can be broadcast correctly to the recipient. Moreover, the interlocutors almost never perceive the delays and possible disorders in the arrival of the packages.
What are the Advantages of VoIP?
Reduce Costs with IP Telephony
Adopting IP telephony is a very attractive investment for businesses. Since it allows them to make substantial savings related to the use of this new mode of communication. Thus, it is possible to save in terms of call pricing, costs of physical changes to the system, maintenance and repair costs, etc.
A real bargain when you know that traditional telephony can prove to be very costly for the company, in addition to becoming less and less practical compared to current uses.
Simpler Configuration
IP telephony rhymes with ease of handling and installation. Indeed, there is no need to wait for several weeks to see a technician available to install the telephone network since there is nothing to install!
A More Flexible and Scalable System
Today, most businesses have to keep pace with changing technologies and meet constant demand from customers. VoIP also meets these challenges, being a flexible technology that adapts to the specific needs of each business.
More Mobility for Employees
VoIP is an evolving and modern technology that simplifies the organization of workers who have to move. VoIP indeed associates the user with a set and not with a line. Which allows the worker to keep a fixed number even if he is on the move or if he has to change his place of work.
Many Features
With VoIP, users can benefit from numerous functions: call transfer, videoconferencing, the possibility of viewing incoming / outgoing call statistics, sending messages by voice mail, etc. still others.
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