Despite holding a phone in your hands every day, you probably don’t dwell on the technology behind it.
20 years ago, we used to make calls over copper wires to landlines. Then came wireless calling with the mobile phone.
Now landline telephony is moving to the internet. This is called VoIP. But what exactly is VoIP calling? We explain it to you in this blog.
Dissecting the term VoIP telephony
VoIP stands for ‘Voice over Internet Protocol’. Freely translated, it means ‘Voice over the Internet’ or ‘Voice over the Internet. Obviously, this tells you a lot more. Other terms often used for VoIP telephony are ‘calling over the internet and ‘internet telephony. You also regularly come across cloud telephony and hosted telephony.
Your voice packaged in small packages
With VoIP telephony, your voice no longer runs through ISDN or copper wires. With VoIP, this process is different. When you call using VoIP, your voice is converted into small data packets. These packets are sent at lightning speed to the person you are calling. There, the packets are unpacked and the caller hears what you say. The transport of this data is so fast that there is hardly any measurable delay.
What do you need for VoIP calls?
A few things are essential for VoIP calls. We list them for you:
1. An internet connection, purely for VoIP telephony
To make VoIP calls, we recommend using a separate internet connection or a separate piece of bandwidth for this. Just for your VoIP telephony. This way, you are assured of high voice quality.
2. Telephone numbers, your fixed number is no longer fixed
With Internet calls, calls are basically made to your IP address. This is linked to your fixed telephone number. So you need phone numbers you can be reached and with which you can make calls. If you switch from ‘normal’ telephony to VoIP calling, you can keep your phone numbers. You can also easily register and activate all sorts of phone numbers locally, nationally, and even internationally, for example, buy german numbers online.
What is VoIP Telephony
The term ‘fixed telephone number’ originated because your telephone number was linked to a fixed location. The phone line entered your premises and only from here could you call your landline number. With VoIP telephony, you experience the freedom to call anywhere with your ‘landline number’. As long as you have access to the internet. So you can be reached almost anywhere.
1. SIP channels, the phone lines for VoIP telephony
A SIP channel is the part of VoIP calling that is the most difficult to explain. It is something software-based and it is not tangible. Simply put, it is your new phone line through your internet connection.
2. A telephone exchange in the cloud
With VoIP calling, your physical on-site phone system disappears. This becomes a VoIP telephone exchange in the cloud. With a separate VoIP connection, you are connected to your switchboard. Within this switchboard, we arrange your entire telephony solution.
Who can be reached on which number, the call queues, a link to your CRM package, call groups, and many other functionalities that can be applied as required? Because everything takes place in the cloud, you also have the choice between a public or a private cloud environment.
What are the advantages of VoIP calling?
There are many benefits of VoIP calling. The first one you come across everywhere is that it is cheaper. That’s right. On top of that, your monthly expenses are more predictable. After all, you pay a fixed amount per month per user.
1. All your communication tools come together
With VoIP telephony, you can bring all forms of communication together. On your phone, tablet or laptop. Besides calling, bundle all other communication tools together on one device. Think of fax, voicemail, e-mail, and video calls.
2. With VoIP telephony, you can be reached anywhere
As mentioned earlier, you can be reached anywhere on your fixed number. You keep full access to the functionalities you have at your workstations in the office. This includes call forwarding and seeing which colleague is on a call, whether they are using their landline or mobile.
3. VoIP telephony is future-proof
There are plenty more advantages of VoIP telephony that you can read about on our hosted telephony page. A final and very important advantage is that it is future-proof. The internet will continue to exist and telephony suppliers are focusing entirely on VoIP telephony. With VoIP calling, the possibilities also increase when it comes to developing functionalities that allow you to work faster and more efficiently. A link with your CRM package is an example of this.
The disadvantages of VoIP telephony
Actually, there are hardly any disadvantages to VoIP telephony. For instance, it is mentioned that your landline phones are dependent on power. In case of a power failure, you would no longer be reachable on these phones. Automatic forwarding to your mobile phone, for instance, is a solution to that problem.
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