What is VoIP?

Ask ten different people this question, and you might get ten different answers.

The transformation from the old landline telephone to today’s high-tech methods is complex.

PBX and VoIP

One thing to know about VoIP phone transmission is that it evolved from earlier methods, including the earlier PBX systems.

Here, people found new ways to tie together multiple business lines and send them to a telephone landline destination or split them from the main telephone line according to who’s working in a building or department.

Over time, these systems evolved more. The cloud brought a lot of capability to the Internet, and modern VoIP was born. Now, cloud-native systems are common, and voice is built directly into the mix. That lowers the need for hardware and other costs.

VoIP Transmission Method

Essentially, VoIP, which stands for “voice over Internet protocol,” means that instead of using a fiber-optic telephone line, the telephone signal is conducted through the Internet using data packets.

Think of VoIP as “telephone through the Internet,” which would’ve been a more intuitive name if techs didn’t name it.

Nowadays, VoIP and cellular phone systems have greatly phased out the traditional landline. So the two main methods of telephone transmission are cellular, through a network of cell towers and satellites, and VoIP, over the Internet.

VoIP and Soft Phones

As VoIP emerged, people made different softphones to make and receive these calls. Some were built right into a computer’s hard drive, in software, hence, “softphone,” and dependent on the computer’s sound card.

Others, though, were standalone sets with receivers that reminded people of traditional telephone hardware. Some even had small video windows where you could display information related to the call.

VoIP has taken over. Cloud services, in general, are widely considered the standard for business functionality!

Ask CrafTech about what we do in terms of helping to outfit companies with the best modern services. For example, part of managed IT services utilizes VoIP to build the proper infrastructure and custom-make it to work for your business.