VoIP Service

What is voice over IP?


Virtual telephone, also known as VoIP is short for “voice over Internet protocol", a technology which enables people to place telephone calls over their Internet connection.

A novel, 21st century alternative to the standard phone call (be it on a land line phone or a wireless cell phone), voice over IP calls are made and received over your regular telephone (or one much like it). Although a virtual telephone signal travels over your broadband Internet connection, you don’t have to even touch a computer in order to place or receive a VoIP call.

You may also hear such a service called:


But rest assured, all of these names refer to the same thing, best known as VoIP.

Virtual telephone can be used to make and receive all sorts of phone calls:


And in some cases, voice over IP can even facilitate conference calls, chats, and instant messaging.

Like ordinary telephone service, virtual telephone service these days usually comes with many features that consumers and business-people alike are accustomed to using in their telecommunications, such:


Unlike regular phone service, though, with voice over IP, you don’t have to pay extra for each of these features; they’re generally all included with your virtual telephone service (and if they’re not, you should be looking for another service).

As you are no doubt starting to see, the only differences between VoIP and standard telephone service are method of delivery (i.e. fiber-optic phone lines or copper wires versus wireless Internet signals) and cost.

 

 

How to use VoIP

Using VoIP is simple. You just pick up the phone, dial a phone number, and speak – just like you already do on your phone. Or you hear the phone ring, pick it up, and say, “Hello?” – just like you’ve always done!

You can do this regardless of whether or not the person on the other end has voice over IP; it doesn’t matter. Your VoIP provider handles all of those details for you.

That is the most common kind of virtual telephone service. There are, however, VoIP providers (Skype being one of the more famous ones) that let you place and receive VoIP calls over your personal computer, laptop, or other broadband-enabled device. For some people (such as avid BlackBerry users) this is an even more appealing type of voice over IP service.

Who uses VoIP?

Now, while VoIP may originally have been targeted at enterprise users, the voice over IP of today is increasingly being used by average consumers in their homes. VoIP is a great way, for example, to help your child away at college to stay in touch with you. And as more and more companies have recognized the consumer market for VoIP and started offering their own virtual telephone services, the prices have dropped and consumers have benefitted.

Because of the prevailing increase in competition among voice over IP providers and decrease in the cost to the end user (you and us), small businesses are able to afford to compete with their larger contemporaries, saving untold capital in telecommunications expenses.

The point is, whether you’re a big business or a grandparent of five, virtual telephone can help you stay connected to those you care about at far less cost than your telephone provider.

 

View our list of the best VoIP providers