Voice over IP, short for Voice over Internet Protocol, is also known as VoIP.
Voice over IP refers to the broadcasting of the voice stream over Internet networks, instead of traditional PSTN telephone networks. The Internet Protocol (IP) was originally designed for the management of data networks then after its success, the protocol was adapted to voice management, by transforming and transmitting information into an IP data packet. VoIP is now available on many smartphones, computers and tablets.
Voice over IP (VoIP) can facilitate tasks and provide services that would be difficult or expensive to implement using the traditional PSTN network:
- More than one phone call can be transmitted on the same broadband phone line. In this way, VoIP can make it easier to add phone lines to the business, without the need for additional hardware phone lines.
- Features that are usually charged for by telecom companies, such as call forwarding, caller ID or auto dialing, are simple with VoIP technology.
- Unified communications are secure with VoIP technology because it allows integration with other services available on the Internet such as video chat, instant messaging, etc.
This and many other benefits of VoIP have businesses adopting VoIP-based phone systems at a staggering pace.
