Voice Over Internet Protocol, known in the telecommunications industry as VoIP, is a relatively new technology for using a broadband internet connection in lieu of conventional, land line phone service. Business VoIP service can eliminate up to 50 percent of phone costs. Making a call with a VoIP broadband phone is handled the same as with a land line phone. The user picks up the receiver, dials, and talks, irrespective of whether the one being called uses VoIP or not.
VoIP service providers incorporate the necessary technology to allow calls to be placed. The caller, however, must have a high speed connection to the Internet, with a minimum bandwidth of 90 Kbps, which is beyond the capabilities of dial-up service.
There are several main reasons to choose business VoIP service. Large businesses have large call volumes and numerous extensions to cover each of the employees. To handle the telephone circuit switching necessary to route the calls, companies usually have to buy Private Branch Exchange equipment, also known as PBX. This is expensive and can take up quite a bit of room.
For businesses that use VoIP broadband phone service instead, the only purchase necessary to channel calls in and out is a broadband connection and router to direct information packets. The VoIP service providers then move the calls from the internet to the intended party, a solution referred to as hosted VoIP or IP PBX solution. The service provider generally has a secure website that allows telephone feature selection, including call forwarding. Because the calls are made by the transmission of digital data packets, numerous calls can be placed simultaneously over the in-house Local Area Network, or LAN, already in place for the company's computer operations.
Additionally, phone service over the internet is not regulated, as is phone service over land lines, allowing VoIP service providers to charge flat monthly fees that do not calculate in long distance charges. WANs, or Wide Area Networks, are telecommunication installations used to connect business locations that may be thousands of miles apart, but part of the same corporation or business entity. By using business VoIP service, long distance calling is not a factor because the internet is used to transmit each call via digital information packets. It is simpler and less expensive, as well as offering a wide selection of calling features.
With VoIP, voicemail and faxes are accessible via email or browsing the web. Caller ID, away messaging, and conference calling are all possible and portable features. Either an IP phone or an Analog telephone adapter, called an ATA, is all that is necessary to travel, with your number assigned to the phone versus a hardwired location. The umbrella of the company Information Technology department can include the company's VoIP broadband phone needs. If the company is small, however, VoIP service providers can host the service to make up for a small or nonexistent IT department. Overall, using business VoIP service can simplify accounting and benefit a company's bottom line.
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