HOW DOES VOIP ACTUALLY WORK?

You may not be aware of it, but the world of telephony is undergoing a drastic transition: from classic telephone technology to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

At flexamedia.nl it is our duty as professionals working in this space to help you understand how this technology works and why it is better for your business as a whole. The underlying technology behind VoIP phone calls is technically complex, but if you can understand how it works at a high level, the benefits are easy to see.

BUSINESS TELEPHONY FOR VOIP

Phones are great because they pick up the human voice, convert it into electrical signals, transmit electrical signals over great distances at nearly light speed, and convert them back into an intelligible voice. It enables near-instantaneous communication despite remote locations and great distances.

But since 15 years ago, long distance calls were very expensive. That's because your voice traveled through a network of copper wires.

During these analog telephone conversations, your voice traveled through a switched telephone network. When you were on the phone, the wires that relayed your call were devoted solely to your conversation.

For example, when you called someone long-distance in New York from Los Angeles, you were essentially "renting" 2000 miles of wiring. Competition for these wires allows telephone companies to drive up the cost of long-distance calls.

BUT HOW DOES VOIP WORK?

VoIP uses the “anytime, anywhere” potential of internet protocol to achieve the same end result, albeit in a different way.

When you speak into your computer's microphone, your voice is detected as physical sound waves and converted into an electrical signal using a piece of hardware called a driver. Pieces of software called speech codecs (coder-decoders) then convert this electrical signal into binary data.

From here, your operating system separates binary data into smaller pieces of information called packages. These packets of audio information are sent…

from your computer
through the router
by copper or fiber optic cables
around the world to another computer

reversely processed through that computer's codec...

… back to what you recognize as words.

Why VoIP is better for your business

VOIP SOFTWARE IS MOBILE

Switching to VoIP also allows for much greater mobility in the workplace. The desk phone (as an anchor) is a thing of the past. In addition, Internet protocol technologies can be accessed from any Internet-connected device, so remote working is also possible.

VOIP INCREASES EMPLOYEE KNOWLEDGE AND PRODUCTIVITY

Finally, can VoIP telephony intricately connect to your other cloud-based technologies. Unified communication solutions – such as customer management, sales, chat and email tools – are just the beginning. This connectivity allows for better tracking, informed conversations and a more productive workforce.

Check out these other articles on flexamedia.nl for more information about VoIP phone software.