VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol which is a technology that allows telephone calls to be made using the Internet rather that a traditional telephone line. VoIP has been around for many years and is used extensively by the Telecommunications Industry to transmit International calls on a wholesale basis. It is quite probable that International calls that you make are transmitted by VoIP at some stage in the call routing. Wholesale VoIP predominantly uses dedicated bandwidth where the route and quality of service is guaranteed.

VoIP has also been used extensively by end users in the last few years. In the early days of VoIP users only had a dial up internet connection, limited to a maximum bandwidth of 56K if they were lucky.  As a result, the VoIP providers were limited in the amount of bandwidth they could use, having a major impact on call quality. VoIP would allow the call to be routed free to the providers own switch from anywhere in the world where they could then route the calls over the normal telephone network to the final destination. By using least cost routing the VoIP provider was then able to significantly undercut the incumbent operator in high cost countries. This has resulted in the major VoIP use to be in regions such as the Middle East and Latin America through callshops or internet cafes using pre-paid calling cards. The lower call quality and ability to connect to the final destination (ASR)  was offset by the much lower call charges and many migrant workers were prepared to accept the call quality and poor connections (ASR) in exchange for the ability to make regular calls home. 

 

Most VoIP calls are made using a PC loaded with software from one or more VoIP providers (PC to Phone) with either a handset or a USB phone plugged into the PC. For most home users this is an acceptable way of operating but in an office environment it is often ineffective. This is changing with the advent of VoIP Gateways and particularly IP-PBX software than can transform a business communications methods and are a world apart from the PC to Phone.

Remember, VoIP is not a substitute for a traditional  telephone line. Emergency calls cannot determine your location and if there is a power failure you may be unable to make a telephone call.

How VoIP works?

VoIP - what do you need?

VoIP for your business

For more information about how your business can benefit from VoIP contact sales@ewcoms  or visit www.voip4business.biz. To understand more about your hardware requirement click below

VoIP Gateways