Understanding VoIP

It’s very easy to simply think of VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) as a relatively inexpensive way to make long distance phone calls. The proliferation of VoIP phone services that are nearly transparent to the user and essentially replace traditional telephone service make it easy to believe that VoIP is, in essence, a product.

While it is true that VoIP telephony can be an alternative to traditional phone service, there’s more to it that should be understood. VoIP is not a product. It is a protocol, or more understandably, VoIP is a way for transmitting the voice over the internet. For consumers, there are two typical ways of using a VoIP service. One is to use a traditional telephone with an adapter and the other is by using a computer. Each has its advantages and disadvantages and understanding the differences will help in deciding which type of service will best meet your needs.

VoIP Using a Traditional Telephone

Using VoIP, whether with a standard telephone or with a computer, requires a broadband internet connection, normally cable or DSL. Though we usually think of a broadband connection as something to connect to the internet with a computer, the computer isn’t a requirement for using VoIP telephone service. It does, however, require an adapter, known as an Analog Telephone Adapter, or ATA, which hooks your phone line to the internet connection. This adapter is the piece of hardware that converts your voice into the digital signal that the internet can transmit. The VoIP telephone provider can furnish the ATA or you can supply your own. The provider may sell, rent, or give you the ATA but there is often a discount or credit available if you have your own.

Once service is established with a provider and the phone is connected via the adapter, phone service is essentially the same as it’s always been except that long distance is generally much less expensive. The more you use long distance, the more advantageous VoIP becomes. The most popular service packages generally include unlimited long distance calling within the U.S. and often Canada, for a rather low, fixed price. Some also feature unlimited calling to Puerto Rico and a some select foreign countries. Your personal calling needs will determine which service provider gives you the biggest bang for the buck because, as is so often the case, the devil’s in the details. For example, though many services offer unlimited long distance throughout the U.S., some offer only the unlimited service within the continental U.S., so if you’re calling pattern involves a lot of calls to Alaska or Hawaii, that’s not going to be a good option.

VoIP Using a Computer

An alternative to using VoIP like traditional phone service is to use it in making calls from one computer to another. As you might expect, there are tradeoffs but the advantages can be substantial. The chief disadvantage of computer-to-computer calling is that both parties to the conversation must be online at the same time. There are, however, two tremendous advantages. The first is price. Computer-to-computer calls on the same service are typically free anywhere in the world. From a hardware standpoint, you do have to have a headset and microphone or use the computer’s speakers and a microphone. Perfectly acceptable microphones are very inexpensive. Alternatively, you can use a USB phone which is simply a telephone that plugs into a USB port on your computer.

The other huge selling point of using a VoIP connection on a computer is the ability to make video calls. The video phones of science fiction movies are here and are as near as your computer. You’ll need a webcam in addition to the microphone and speakers/headset requirement, above, but more and more computers, particularly laptops, come with built-in webcams, microphones, and speakers. Like voice calling, computer-to-computer video calls are generally free anywhere in the world.

Among our top rated services, only Skype falls into this category of VoIP service.