VoIP telephony is all the rage now. Articles detailing the various benefits of switching to VoIP are becoming increasingly common, and many individuals and businesses are transitioning to an IP telephone system. Yet, despite all the buzz surrounding this new method of communication, it may be hard to see why VoIP is so important without really knowing how VoIP works. To help you understand the inner workings of VoIP, let’s first explore the workings of a traditional phone system.
POTS (Plain Old Telephone System)
The word “POTS” refers to any phone system which uses analog signal transmission, which includes standard phone systems like most landlines one would find today. A simplified explanation of how a POTS works is that it has “physical” telephone lines. In other words, a dedicated, physical phone line connects your phones to the phone network, and this phone network carries out the transmission of all phone-related information. The result is the phone system we know today, along with some required physical components such as phone lines and PBX systems in businesses.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
VoIP, on the other hand, transmits information through the Internet. This results in the first difference between the standard phone and the VoIP phone: while POTS phones are “physical”, VoIP phones are digital. This means your voice is transmitted through the more global Internet network, rather than a phone network. This allows VoIP phones to function wirelessly by connecting to your router, eliminating the need for dedicated phone lines or physical PBXs (virtual ones are available with VoIP).
Implications
So, why exactly are these changes so important? The following are only a few of the many advantages that occur as a result of the differences between VoIP and POTS:
- Reduces cost: a second, dedicated network is no longer required for VoIP phones
- Convergence: by converging all your services onto one network, you can reduce the amount of maintenance required
- Freedom and flexibility: since the Internet is far more flexible than a traditional network, VoIP telephony is more flexible too, which gives you more freedom with phone usages and services.
And the list goes on. Telephony is one of many technologies to have converted to the Internet recently, and like all those other technologies, for a good reason. The Internet allows VoIP to push telephony forward like we haven’t seen in a long time.
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