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What is VOIP?

In the coming years, voice over internet protocol (VOIP) is going to dominate the communication world with its technological advantages. In fact, many communication companies have started using VOIP technology for their long distance calls. You may have used this service unknowingly since many companies use VOIP to route long distance calls through a circuit switch into an IP phone, and another IP phone at the other end receives calls for another local circuit switch.

For a novice it is must to know what VOIP is and how it works. A device converts large amount of analogue signals to be compressed and transmitted, then uncompressed and delivered into digital data. It is cheaper then a traditional land phone, especially if you want extra facilities such as call forwarding and caller ID.

How it works?

VoIP is a unifying stand for treatment and supporting modified, intelligent, and strategic uses of voice communications. What makes it so effective is that it turns speech into digital data that can be stored, browsed, copied, combined with other data, and distributed to any device that connects to the Internet. VOIP has a few features that provide different technical modes such as Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Transfer, Repeat Dialing and Return Call. These features enable you to give the caller a busy signal, send the call directly to voicemail, and forward the call to a particular number. Soft phone is another distinguishing feature of VOIP service. It is specially developed software that installs the VOIP service into your computer.

Others majors are:

Analogue telephone adaptor: It is also called gateway and works with your already existing phone. You have to attach your phone to this device then this is connected to computer. Computer carries VOIP calls over internet. This system changes analogue signals of your phone into digital signals. Some time software is required to be installed on your computer before it is ready to be used.
IP phone- this type of phone is different from traditional phone in a manner that it has an Ethernet connector instead of Jack connector. It allows you not to install any software as is required in ATA.

Computer to computer: Easiest and cheapest way to use VOIP service. Usually even for long distance calls the only charge you pay is the monthly charge for your internet service. It only requires microphone, speakers, a sound card and a software.
With VOIP's technical advantages now, let us see a few problems that are still at its way.
The biggest problem is VOIP exist in the form of digital phone and if your power goes out, you service get disconnected. Second, right now you cannot have an access to emergency service. Voice over IP calls often have a buzzing tone in the background and it has delay up to 400 milliseconds, means that users cannot hear each other with normal conversation flow. For better use of VoIP, you need to have a high-speed Internet connection; otherwise, you have to pay quite more than what you are currently paying.