VoIP: How It Works and How This Technology Can Help You

If you're making a long distance call today, there's a high likelihood that you do so using VoIP technology. Many of the companies offering phone services today already utilize VoIP in order to simplify their networks. By doing so, they could reduce their bandwidth requirement significantly. So what exactly is VoIP and how does this technology work?

VoIP explained

VoIP is Voice Over Internet Protocol. It's actually an umbrella term used to refer to several transmission technologies that use the Internet to deliver voice communications over the Web. It is also sometimes referred to as IP telephony or broadband telephony.

Unlike traditional phone services, VoIP works by changing the user's voice to digital audio. The technology then uses data compression methods in order to reduce data rate. The file is then transmitted as a packet stream over the existing Internet Protocol.

Conventional phone systems are analog devices and are incapable of changing the user's voice into digital data.

How VoIP works

Once a user picks up a VoIP phone to make a call, the tone of the phone number he dials will be temporarily stored as digital data. If the format is judged as valid by the call processor, the phone number is then mapped – that is, its IP address is located. A soft switch will then connect the caller's device to the recipient's device. The call is treated by the Internet in the same way as a Web page loading or an e-mail being sent.

The real magic of VoIP happens during the time the user's voice is changed into digital data. It will travel in its compressed state to be received by a gateway at the receiving end of the call. Once it arrives, it is then decompressed and reassembled in order for the user at the receiving end to understand the message. The data is then routed to pass through a circuit switch located locally. All of these activities occur in just a few milliseconds.

VoIP makes it possible for a telephony service company to rout multiple (we're speaking of thousands here) phone calls using a single circuit switch and transmit it to an IP gateway. Over the long term, the requirement for bandwidth is greatly reduced. This is also the reason why VoIP services may be offered at highly reduced charges.

In terms of infrastructure, VoIP isn't restrictive. In fact, it offers far more flexibility than even a mobile phone. As long as there is broadband connectivity available, it is quite possible to make and receive a call from virtually anywhere.