A modern VOIP enabled telephone on a desk.

What is VoIP and how does it work?

Voice over IP (VoIP), or IP telephony, is a technology that enables voice calls to be made using your existing internet connection rather than the traditional method of using a dedicated phone line. One of the biggest benefits is that you don’t have to be confined to the building, property, or even city where you may have originally had a dedicated phone line installed. VoIP allows you to access your phone number from almost anywhere in the world with an internet connection. 

VoIP specifically refers to voice communication services over the internet as opposed to the more traditional dedicated phone line, also known as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).

There are many VoIP providers on the Internet that will replace your existing land line, and they offer a wide variety of features and calling plans to suit your specific requirements and budget.

There are a number of benefits to using VoIP services instead of dedicated lines:

  • Your VoIP phone system can handle an almost unlimited number of calls simultaneously without needing to pay for additional phone lines for each incoming or outgoing call.
  • You aren’t tied to a specific location because you can simply take your phone almost anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
  • Costs are much cheaper because the calls travel over the internet rather than the more expensive public telephone system.
  • You can easily scale up to add new phones to your system without the need for any changes to your physical installation. For example, the new phones could be at a new office/branch or at the home of a home worker, or Director working from home.

Making and receiving calls using a VoIP solution

VoIP provides you with two main ways to make & receive calls – you can either have a physical hardware phone, or you can use a software-based phone on your computer or mobile phone. 

The main disadvantage to using VoIP phones is that they are completely dependent on your broadband, and if your internet goes down, unfortunately, so do your phones. Also, if your Internet supply is very heavily loaded, this can affect your telephone experience if your router is of low quality or not setup correctly. In some cases it may be necessary to install a second broadband line dedicated to your VoIP phone system

Bean IT offer a variety of VoIP solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our range of experience allows us to tailor a solution specific to your organisations’ individual requirements. 

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