By now, everyone has seen the catchy Vonage commercials with the song from “Kill Bill” advertising Voice Over IP services. But what exactly is VoIP? Voice Over IP, or VoIP for short, is a new form of telephone service, which converts the analog signal from a phone and converts it into digital data which is transmitted over the internet.
Standard phone systems use a system called circuit switching which is generally very reliable but inefficient. VoIP uses a technology called packet-switching which sends digital data over the information superhighway in a much more efficient manner. This efficiency translates into a lower cost for the consumer. However, there are a few downsides to VoIP technology.
VoIP is not as reliable as standard telephone systems. Internet connections regularly go down for an short intervals. It is a fact of life we have come to expect. If your DSL goes down for an hour, no one panics. However, if your phone line stops working for an hour, we start to fear that World War III has started.
Phone lines will operate during power failures. VoIP is reliant on AC power to drive modems, routers, and other devices it requires. So you would be able to use your phone (unless it is a fancy cordless phone which won’t work without power) during a power outage or similar emergency. In this era where everyone owns a cell phone though, this may not be that much of an issue.
Since the technology is still relatively new, VoIP is still somewhat buggy. Static, delays, and distortion are common complaints.
There are numerous advantages to VoIP though. Since it is far more efficient than standard telephone lines, the costs of maintaining a line are lower. This is particularly true if one makes a lot of long distance calls. In addition, with certain services, you can take your phone with you on trips, plug it into a broadband port, and recieve calls. Also, it is easier to take your phone number with you when you move.
It certainly seems that VoIP is the technology of the future. Once service providers are able to iron all the bugs out of the system, it seems inevitable that VoIP will become the dominant technology of voice communication.