If you find it difficult to understand how VoIP works, that’s okay. We’ll walk you through it.

At initial glance, VoIP may seem similar to a regular phone line. After all, you can still use VoIP on your existing phones, or even on your mobile phone. However, VoIP works like any data which is sent over the Internet, such as email or WhatsApp messages.

VoIP uses an IP network to convert voice communications into data packets also known as SIP Trunks, and then these are transferred over the Internet to the intended receiver. This eliminates the need to maintain a traditional phone line altogether—only your internet line is used to make calls and transfer data online. This is one of the main features of VoIP, saving your time and money over a phone line contract.

In addition, VoIP uses the cloud to transfer and store all your data. This means that all your settings and data are recorded in an online hub that can be accessed through a centralized application, from anywhere, using any device. It can be made accessible from any office, desktop or mobile which has an internet connection. Therefore, it makes viewing and changing data like phone numbers, client information, contacts and admin settings easy and on-the-go.

You can use VoIP to make calls on any SIP-enabled device. This could be your office desktop, your personal computer, your mobile phone, or any gadget with an internet connection.

These devices use the VoIP network to connect to SIP trunks, or the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) that transfer your calls and help you connect with people.

With traditional phone lines, you have to deal with a lot of hardware. First, your handset is connected to a copper line, which is then routed through a server that is physically present and takes up place in your offices. VoIP, on the other hand, uses an internet connection through your router. This entails that everything happens via the cloud, and you need not clutter your desk space with any hardware at all. The router directly uses your internet connection and accesses your IP network to make the attended call.

Many companies today use this feature to access their VoIP from anywhere to allow mobility to their employees, so they can enjoy remote working, or to entertainthe opportunities of being in more than one places at a time. It doesn’t matter where you are; with VoIP, you can make or receive calls as you normally would at your work station. This is the future of the business world and you can be part of it.

Many businesses use Internet to manage their phone systems rather than the traditional phone line. This is known as SIP Trunking.

VoIP providers use a business’s local area network(LAN) to connect it to VoIP. Due to this, thebusiness’s voice messages are transferred through the same line as any other data, such as emails. This is done simply by installing a SIP ‘Trunk’ to a business’s existing internet connection which helps switch the phone calls from regular phone lines to VoIP.

Now that you have an overview of what VoIP is, here are some technical terms:

Codecs: Devices responsible for decoding and encoding data. A Codecconverts your voice into a stream of digital data, so it can be sent over the internet. It can be either built directly into your modem or accessed through a router.

A Codec is really fast at its job; it’s able to convert your voice signals to digital signals and then back to voice signals to be received on the other end in record time. If there’s any disruption or lagging in the transfer, it is due to a bad internet connection not the Codec’s fault.

Packet Switching: After the Codec changes your voice into data signals, these signals are then split into thousands of smaller bits. These are called data packets. It takes barely a millisecond to transfer these data packets to the end receiver which are then reassembled into coherent audio. The process of switching of data packetshelps your data to be channeled across networks without any delay or traffic holdups.

Bandwidth: This is the measure of the amount of data that can be transmitted across your networks in a certain amount of time. To have a successful VoIP network, your business requires a higher than usual bandwidth. Although the standard VoIP connection can run on 0.1 MBPS per device, to avail features like conference and video calls, you might have to go higher.

Now that you’ve figured out how VoIP works, you must consider your VoIP provider and their functionality before you make your next call.

There are many VoIP providers that offervaried functionality, have more reliable or affordable packages, and excel at elements such as customer service or speed of installation. Go through all these factors and then make your final decision.

To help you decide, here is a list of extensive reviews for business giants that run on VoIP.Good luck!