What is VOIP

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and uses the internet bandwidth to make and receive phone calls, as opposed to the traditional phone which goes through the PSTN (public switched telephone network) technology based fixed wiring that terminates at the point your phone is installed, whether office or home.

Business VoIP Service

The previously listed 10 companies specialize in VoIP services. However, you have one more option – telecommunications or broadband providers. These include major enterprises such as AT&T and Verizon. They also offer VoIP services and, just like many companies in this market, they may try to upsell their services along with their standard packages.

The reason why broadband providers may be a wise choice is the integration of VoIP services into the rest of their plans. Accordingly, you can get internet, cell phone, and VoIP plans in one place. Also, you can get all the equipment from the same provider, have an installer set up all the devices, and possibly avoid cumbersome pieces of hardware.

Another area where broadband providers don’t lag behind traditional VoIP companies is the range of services. Namely, most telecommunication enterprises come with settings for personal, residential, and business VoIP. Therefore, if you decide to change your VoIP features, you can easily do so by contacting your broadband company and upgrading to a higher plan.

How to Choose Your VoIP Provider

When deciding on your VoIP provider, the most important thing is to sort your priorities. You can start by asking yourself a series of questions pertinent to your line of business:

• What apps do you need to include in your business communication model?
• Is voice mail one of your requirements?
• Is extension forwarding crucial to your business?
• Are you better off with an automated or real-life attendant?

Once you’ve listed all the necessary components of your VoIP, you should start going through the content of plans from each of the abovementioned providers. See which plan has the most features you need and, thus, find the package that fits your business better than any other.

Finally, pricing is also a significant factor when choosing the best offer. But it shouldn’t top your list of priorities. The main thing on your mind should be purchasing the highest-quality plan for your needs. This is especially important if telephone communication is your principal way of conducting business. Even if you pay a higher price initially, it should pay off in the long run since higher quality usually means better features.

VOIP uses a session initiation protocol (SIP) that carries all the various forms of data, that includes voice, video and, well, data, through a common digital line.

If you are switching to VOIP, it may be possible to retain your existing number/s. Check with the provider or providers that you are considering.

How does it connect

A traditional phone line terminates at a physical location and can be accessed through the device that is attached to the termination point, either directly or through the PBX.

VoIP phones (also known as Internet phones and IP phones) turn your voice into data packets which are then transmitted over the internet like an email. If you’ve used providers like Skype or Zoom for business phone calls, you’ve used VoIP.

A VOIP phone, is flexible and can be accessed based on credentials. You can, thus, access your VOIP phone from any device connected to the internet, subject to supplying the right credentials. There is also no device limitation. You could use your smartphone or laptop to access your phone line. Of course, as a business, you may wish to instal additional layers of security of employees are using their own devices.

In a Covid-19 impacted world this has been a boon for many businesses using VOIP. Staff can continue to access their business phones from their home, or anywhere they are operating from, seamlessly. Customers calling in or being called by you will continue to see the business numbers, regardless of where you are. Call Centers have been able to operate remotely because most have been using VOIP telephony for long.

What functions does VOIP telephony offer

VOIP telephony offers all standard features you might expect with your traditional phones, with a lot more flexibility. Features possible (some operators may not offer all of them and some might have a charging mechanism for them):

• Automated attendant
• Hold music
• Call forwarding, waiting and blocking
• Web-based system administration
• Mobile management (iOS and Android)
• Conference bridging and calling
• Caller ID
• Call transferring
• Find Me/Follow Me
• Ring groups
• Videoconferencing
• Voicemail to Email (as audio file)
• Voicemail to Text
• Fax to Text (as PDF)

Will it offer PBX functionality

A PBX is a private branch exchange that allows a private network to be created, such as in your office, that enables sharing of telephone resources. For example, if there are 20 people in your office, you don’t need 20 lines. A few lines, say 4, might be adequate to service the requirement of all 20 since they are not on call all the time, unless you operate a Call Center.

PBX functionality, that is created through additional on-premise equipment in traditional telephony, is handled in the cloud in VOIP.

Limitations

Like everything else in the world, VOIP also has some limitations.

While traditional telephone lines work during power outages, VOIP telephony is at the mercy of your internet connection. If no internet, no VOIP. Also, some of the equipment, like routers, may be dependent on power supply and may go down in case of a power outage, interrupting your telephone network. For uninterrupted connectivity, ensure a reliable internet connection as well as backup power for critical equipment.

911 operators cannot trace the location where the call is being made from. That could put you at a disadvantage in times of an emergency. In order to override and make yourself attached to a location, you need to use the enhanced 911 (E911) functionality to manually input the location details which will attach the address to your number.

The Last Word

Landline connections are bound for an honorable mention in the history of telephony. Over the last few years landline users have been steadily going down even as internet phone connections have been on an increase. With all features of landline phones being available in VOIP, with greater flexibility, providers will soon find that manintaining and supporting landline networks is no longer worth their while. VOIP, thus, might soon be the only telephony choice available.

With increasingly flexible workforces, partly on account of the pandemic, and with a steady rise in internet bandwidth and its penetration into the far corners of the world, it would perhaps even be economic for the world to use that network as the backbone instead of multiple ones.

We already have intense competition in the VOIP space, providing options to buying customers, as we have just seen. This can only increase in the near future. We also know that 5G technology is there on the horizon. Once it is commercialized, more internet bandwidth at much faster speeds will be available than ever before. Who knows, a day might come when voice is a hygiene available for free.