Voice over IP
IP Phones are here to stay for the very long term
In layperson terms, an IP phone is very similar to a regular phone with the exception it has in-built IP technology, which is linked to the Internet and thus, enables a richer set of features and functionalities. The manner in which it delivers our audio conversations differs in that it uses internet-like digital transmissions as oppose to analog, circuit-switched transmissions by the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
IP: which stands for Internet Protocol — a standardized format for transmitting data over the internet between devices.
VoIP, on the other hand is Voice over IP or transmission of sound over the Internet. And although VOIP has been around since the mid 1990’s, the limited network bandwidth then could only deliver sub-standard voice quality, with silent spots and delayed message bits in the audio stream. Nevertheless, over the last 5 years, with the network hardware and infrastructure exponential improvements, which translated into increased bandwidth or broadband, audio and video content are now delivered with great ease. If you are a regular Web user, you would have noticed a stark contrast to the quality, clarity and speed of streaming podcasts or videos from YouTube you are better able to enjoy.
The popularity of IP calls
IP calls are gaining in popularity especially with the availability of broadband in many countries across the world. They are considerably cheaper because the route taken by these calls are the same as that used by your Internet connection. So, in effect, by just paying your Internet service provider (ISP), you have taken care of the bulk of your connection costs. The calls you subsequently make can either be free or at much cheaper per minute rates, depending on if it needs to piggyback the local PSTN lines for parts of the call connections.
According to the US nonprofit research centre, Pew Internet, there was a significant climb from 8% to 24% of the nation’s Internet users making online calls since April 2007 to 2010. The reasons given are many, such as:
- calls are free or cheaper
- calls are enabled on handheld devices i.e. smartphones and tablet computers
- with these devices, meetings, discussions and social activities are video-enabled
The benefits of IP phones
IP phones are gaining in popularity because they are affordable, simple to connect, adaptable, flexible, feature-rich and intuitively designed. Some will even allow you to direct your calls to email while you are unable to pick up a call. These phones are typically used for VOIP applications, of which there are many. Among the more well-known ones are Skype, Gizmo, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk.
For the small business owner, there are also options that are scalable, with combined voice and data features as well as available encryption for security. They are available in the wired and wireless versions too. Communications technology giant Cisco makes these, for which they also offer communication services that deliver voice, video, and presence to the IP phones.
As the aforementioned internet calls’ 16% hike in 3 years and the keen interest displayed by industry leaders like Microsoft into IP telephony shows, there is a strong likelihood IP phones are going to be around for a very long time.