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2007-07-09 - How to VoIP
How to VoIP
Want to know what VoIP is and how it can save you money? PC World.ca Editor, Lee Rickwood explains all.
You've probably heard of VoIP, and you've probably heard it's the future of telephone service, and that you can save a lot of money with it.
But what exactly is it? Very simply, VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is the technology that allows you to make phone calls over the internet. VoIP technology and services are driven by the ever-increasing power of today's computers, and their ability to run multiple applications with speed and confidence.
VoIP technology isn't new. The telephone companies have been using VoIP for years. Yet only now is VoIP becoming a viable solution for mainstream consumers-both businesses and individuals.
So why would you want it? The most obvious answer is to save money.
VoIP acts as a bridge between your internet connection and the public switched telephone network (PSTN), letting you have phone service without requiring an account with the phone company. That, coupled with the often unique pricing model associated with VoIP services, means you can often cut your long-distance calling expenses dramatically.
So saving money is one good reason to use VoIP, but there are others.
VoIP has many of the same features you're used to with traditional phone service, plus many others that can both increase productivity and create a more flexible work environment. It allows for real-time collaboration-you can use it to set up instant conference calls with clients, customers or co-workers. It can also help you improve customer service by allowing you to stay connected, even when you are away from the office and working on the road.
VoIP is an emerging technology, and that means that unlike your standard phone service, it's not exactly plug-and-play. Getting the most out of VoIP requires a little bit of homework, and in some cases some real technical help. This guide will cover the basics of VoIP and help you decide if and how it could fit into your home or workplace.
How does VoIP work?
VoIP works by taking analog signals and converting them to digital data that can be sent over a network-the internet in most cases, but also any private network. It requires that you have a broadband network connection, the necessary items to create that broadband connection-a broadband modem, your computer, a router, etc.-and a device to convert the data.
VoIP technology uses what's called packet-switching capabilities to provide phone service. Packet switching is a particular type of data transmission, in which small blocks of data are sent very rapidly over a dedicated channel. A channel connection is required only for the duration of the actual packet transmission, and only one-way, so it can support other uses in between those packets, saving time and space. Traditional telephony uses a transmission method known as circuit switching; again, a dedicated channel is used, but it is by nature two-way. As a result, it's unavailable to other uses or users, even if no actual communication or data transfer is taking place at the time.
VoIP has several advantages over circuit switching. For example, packet switching allows several telephone calls to occupy the amount of space occupied by only one in a circuit-switched network. Three or four calls could easily fit into the space used by a single call - and this doesn't take into account data compression, which reduces the size and transmission overhead of each call even further.
Basically, there are two ways to talk using VoIP: through a web interface, or using a VoIP phone or headset.
A web interface lets you to make calls from your computer (assuming you have a sound card); using a VoIP phone or headset, you could bypass your computer entirely and link directly to your internet connection.
Either way, the VoIP experience of using your computer to talk may feel a bit strange at first, but it will eventually feel quite similar to using a standard telephone, while giving you some unique added features not normally available on your phone.
With VoIP, you can check your voicemail on your computer and attach these messages to e-mails. You can have your calls forwarded to you no matter where you are (you need have access to a computer and the internet to retrieve the messages). VoIP also offers very comprehensive call handling options. Based on caller ID, you can decide, in advance, to send calls from specific numbers to voicemail, to another line, etc. In short, VoIP offers the kind of features that only the internet can supply.
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