VoIPintheUK - What is VoIP?

	Voice over IP? What is VoIP?
	So what is Voice over IP (VoIP)? A basic explanation of what happens now follows........ When you make a conventional telephone call (analogue connection) via the PSTN (public switched telephone network) then essentially there is a wire connecting your phone with the person you are calling. This is true regardless where the two phones are located, even if they are on opposite sides of the world. A slightly more sophisticated than the two cans joined by a piece of waxed string.
		Now that we understand the principle of analogue PSTN telephony what is different with VoIP? With VoIP calls there is no direct wire connection between the phones, the phone signals are digitised and encoded into TCP/IP data packets (exactly the same as your office network). These packets are treated like any other network traffic and can be routed around the internet or over private circuits. When they reach their destination they are then decode back into original speech.
	So that's simple enough really. Why go to all that trouble? There are a number of reasons, not the least of which is reduced cost for you. Low cost and essentially ubiquitous broadband connections make it easy to benefit from VoIP. ADSDL Max has recently made increases in both upload and download speeds available for most of us. Your existing broadband connection can be used with VoIP to provide multiple calls on the single line (removes the one call per phone line limitation), you can have free calls between anyone, anywhere on your network, free VoIP calls between any of your sites, provide homeworkers with a straightforward extension of your office phone system, low call costs to conventional telephone lines, geographic independent numbers and much more....
	Increased functionality, softphones, PC based telephony can all be implemented. An IP PBX can still handle conventional phone lines, usually provide functions such as voice mail, auto attendant, "follow me" phone services, user configurability via easy-to-use web based interface.
	It is even possible to provide all of these benefits, and functionality without having to install lots of kit on your premises. A way of implementing all of these benefits generally known as IP Centrex means that you can pay a monthly charge for each station on your premises. All of the equipment, service provision, and management is located off-site and all you pay is the monthly rental and low cost calls charges.
	So what are you waiting for? You can contact us to find out more and to find out how you can benefit from using Voice over IP.