What Is VoIP & How Does It Work?
Many businesses wanting to upgrade their interoffice communications and better their business phone system look into VoIP phone systems to see if it’s a better fit for their needs. To help business owners decide if VoIP is what they’re looking for we will cover how VoIP works, what it is, and some of the advantages of having business VoIP phones for your company.
What are VoIP and VoIP Phone Systems
VoIP stands for “Voice Over Internet Protocol” and is a phone Technology that allows for calls to use the internet instead of the traditional phone system lines. With traditional phones in the office that’s all you get, one phone per desk with, maybe, some additional lines per phone. With VoIP phone systems you’re able to take calls on a tablet, smartphone or app, laptops, and VoIP phone systems.
It’s a cost-effective option considering that if your office has a VoIP phone service then you no longer need to use a telephone company and most providers offer unlimited minutes. They also come with a range of features such as caller tones, auto-attendants, multiple phone numbers, call routing, and call waiting. For these features and the savings a business has, it’s becoming the new standard of communications regarding business phones.
How Do VoIP Phones Work?
On the tech end, VoIP phones work by having a VoIP adapter take the analog audio signal and change it into a digital one. From there, the digital voice data is sent to your business phone service provider via the internet and routed to the other end of the call. It’s a nearly instant process that gives VoIP phones a better sound quality than traditional phones.
Beyond using the internet instead of phone lines, VoIP works differently for several reasons. One difference is the lack of a circuit-switching method to connect calls while VoIP uses the packet-switching method. This way of connecting calls means that only data is sent and isn’t required to go both ways while using different paths through the internet making the connection more efficient. The data is also compressed to allow for more quick sending, which is why the delay is never noticed.
As an example of VoIP calls, think of Skype.
The Benefits of Using VoIP
Beyond the two advantages listed before, VoIP phones being cheaper and faster, there is a wide range of benefits that your company can stand to be helped by:
Portability
One perk of using VoIP to make calls is that you’re no longer tethered to the premises or desk to make business calls. Wherever you are using the app, tablet, or laptop you’re able to access the business line and connect. This is a great advantage if working remotely or traveling for the company.
Scalable and Flexible
With traditional business phones, whenever you hire more People or are opening a new office you have to get more phones with wires. With VoIP phones, you can simply add new team members via an account dashboard as well as just have people install the right app on their personal phones. These days, smartphones can be split into two profiles so as to not mix personal use with business.
Advanced Features
As mentioned earlier, there are a host of features to use for VoIP calls including:
- Conference calls
- Virtual receptionist
- Hold music
- Call waiting
- Autodialer
- Voicemail to email or text
- Video conferencing
There are many other features you can use with your VoIP company phones depending on the provider and is cheaper than traditional telephone service providers because they often have recurring charges for add-ons.
Explore VoIP with F2F Telecommunications
We at F2F Telecommunications do more than give small to medium-range businesses the VoIP phone service they need to compete without a technological handicap, we make sure they have all the data equipment too. Working with the company that is empowering Cincinnati businesses with unified communications means having your business phone systems complete and ready to go without being bogged down in updates and digital management.
Explore why F2F Telecommunications leads in providing VoIP phone systems to businesses below.