Apparently there is more than one way to skin a cat, although whether or not this is true I do not know. But I do know that there is definitely more than one type of Voip phone that you can use to make calls through your Voip internet telephone system, and im going to tell you about them, the whole gang. Voip phones, Internet Phones, SIP phones and Softphones.
Firstly, Voip phones. Voip, which stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol, are digital phones which have the ability to transmit voice and audio data through the IP layer. Although their function is similar to analogue phones, the technology is a long way off.
A Voip phone can be several things. It can be dedicated device - similar to a traditional analogue phone handset - utilising an IP connection, it can be a standard analogue phone connected to the network via an Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA), or it can be a softphone.
Internet Phones are Voip phones that send audio and voice data over the internet via a standard broadband internet connection. Generally an internet phone uses the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). A Voip phone based on SIP is known as a SIP phone.
Hopefully you're still with me. We're halfway there now. Next, Softphones. Softphones are actually not phones at all but software that is able to work on a normal computer system without a dedicated device. All Softphones require to operate are a headset through which you are able to communicate.
The equipment required for a Voip phone is only marginally greater than that for a Softphone. You need an internet connection and service provider (obviously) and then simply a specialised Voip phone or an analogue phone and an ATA and you're good to go.
So all things considered, as scary as the world of Voip phones may look from a distance, it all boils down to pretty basic stuff which, once you can get your head around, opens up a whole world of possibilities and opportunities aside from just saving a lot of money and never having to worry about a bad line again.
In the not too distant future, analogue phones will be long since forgotten and the whole world will be using internet telephony, whether Hosted Voip or IP PBX. So until that day, make the most of your trusted analogue phone system, for its time on this earth is short.
Firstly, Voip phones. Voip, which stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol, are digital phones which have the ability to transmit voice and audio data through the IP layer. Although their function is similar to analogue phones, the technology is a long way off.
A Voip phone can be several things. It can be dedicated device - similar to a traditional analogue phone handset - utilising an IP connection, it can be a standard analogue phone connected to the network via an Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA), or it can be a softphone.
Internet Phones are Voip phones that send audio and voice data over the internet via a standard broadband internet connection. Generally an internet phone uses the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). A Voip phone based on SIP is known as a SIP phone.
Hopefully you're still with me. We're halfway there now. Next, Softphones. Softphones are actually not phones at all but software that is able to work on a normal computer system without a dedicated device. All Softphones require to operate are a headset through which you are able to communicate.
The equipment required for a Voip phone is only marginally greater than that for a Softphone. You need an internet connection and service provider (obviously) and then simply a specialised Voip phone or an analogue phone and an ATA and you're good to go.
So all things considered, as scary as the world of Voip phones may look from a distance, it all boils down to pretty basic stuff which, once you can get your head around, opens up a whole world of possibilities and opportunities aside from just saving a lot of money and never having to worry about a bad line again.
In the not too distant future, analogue phones will be long since forgotten and the whole world will be using internet telephony, whether Hosted Voip or IP PBX. So until that day, make the most of your trusted analogue phone system, for its time on this earth is short.
About the Author:
Saul Saresi researches and writes regular articles regarding the world of Voip hardware and tehcnology business voip systems more examples of his work can be found on his website internet telephony