A Short Intro to the VoIP Technology

March 18, 2013 By The mVoice Team No Comment

Who doesn’t love a good acronym like VOIP or SaaS?  One of the most interesting things about rapid changes in technology is that the industry is always seeking to make things simpler, despite the complicated coded names they give things.

VoIP uses an ATA in conjunction with an IAD to override the need to use the traditional PSTN.  Pretty simple right? Not so much for anyone who isn’t an communications infrastructure expert. Over the last decade Cyberspace experts and the wizards of the telecommunications industry have generally made life confusing for the wider public in being able to understand how things actually work or what they are.

At mVoice, we’re about simplicity for everyone, not just specific infrastructure people. We decided to develop a short intro to VOIP so that everyone can understand the benefit of the technology and why it has been transforming the communication landscape throughout Australia. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a fairly straightforward system of converting a human voice from its initial analog signal into a digital signal, allowing it to be sent over an internet connection instead of through the traditional phone line network.  Each time you make a phone call using VOIP your voice is converted into a stream of data. Then, rather than being sent over the phone network, this data stream travels over your broadband internet connection. The system operates to allow for the transmission and reception of audio over the internet and is slowly becoming a mainstream product of use – although it has been in existence since the mid 1990s.

The majority of industry pundits have forecast that this new(ish) technology will make the analog telephone system a historical relic sooner rather than later as VoIP communication allows for the conversion of analog input into digital output through an internet network that is already established.  Essentially, it doesn’t need new network infrastructure to be possible, speeding up the process of decommissioning analog phone lines and copper wire networks. To give you an example of usage – if the person you’re calling is also using a VoIP service, your call will remain on the internet for its entire journey. However, if you’re dialling a conventional phone, the call will be carried as far as possible over the internet before being handed back to the relevant phone network. The real winner is phone numbers. Most VoIP services also come with an allocated landline phone number which allows other people to call you. In these cases, the call will be routed to the nearest handover point (called a POP or point of presence) and then travel over the internet to your VoIP phone or computer.

So what does that mean for the average person? VoIP technology will create easier, cheaper and more reliable communications systems for businesses, and it will do so through the use of the internet.  The intention of VoIP providers such as mVoice is to align businesses with technological advancements and offer a replacement for the traditional phone system.  Business owners can break free from exorbitant monthly phone plans and analogue signals and embrace an all-digital world. For those still trying to decode those pesky acronyms, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) uses an analog telephone adaptor (ATA) in conjunction with an Integrated Access Device (IAD) to override the need to use the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) – just in case you’re still wondering!