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Introduction & Common Questions
What is VoIP

VoIP or put correctly "Voice over Internet Protocol" is quite simply your normal speech converted from analogue (as it's spoken) into digital. Then split up into small packages of data that can be sent over a computer network, then reassembled at the other end and ultimately converted back to analogue to the person you have called.

The network used will run IP which is "Internet Protocol" which is the same network that you use to browse your websites and collect your email.

By eliminating the need for separate networks you can both reduce costs and also increase the flexibility of your systems:-

Imagine wanting an extension at home from your traditional office telephone system

  • You run a rather long piece of wire to your home or
  • Rent a private circuit from your Telco (generally very expensive) or
  • Simply have another phone line and then re-route the calls out and you pay the phone call.

or with VoIP

  • Connect both your home and office to the Internet via an ISP / Telco and then put a VPN capable Firewall/Router (standard way to connect to the Internet securely nowadays) at both the office and home and your 2 sites are then linked to each other and you can simply take your phone home and your calls will route over you Internet connection.

And of course your home can be next door, down the road or in another country as the Internet is worldwide.

Do I need VoIP...

Right now today no you do not need VoIP but very shortly the networks are going to change and you calls will all be VoIP anyway, as this change happens it will become very quickly apparent that it would make sense to not be connecting via old methods but instead to directly connect and talk the same language which will be IP and a protocol called SIP.

Don't take our word for it find out for yourself when your existing phone lines, ISDN and Broadband services are due to migrate to the new network (21CN) by clicking here and finding out when you are being 'Switched on'.

VoIP is low quality cheap calls Right?...

WRONG! In the early days people had small connections to the Internet and so they found ways to compress your voice down and get up to 8 times the calls across the same lines to cut costs, the result was very bad call quality with a constant hiss in the background. The networks were also not ready for VoIP and you got 'jitter' that's wh-n y-u st-rt l--sing sp--ech (when you start loosing speech). This to most was what they expected from VoIP an inferior quality but cheaper .

Welcome to Enhanced Voice and High Definition Sound, now we can do something unheard of and actually increase the quality of calls as the limiting factor has always been the legacy PSTN network but remove this and send a call end to end in VoIP and you can actually select the calls to be in a higher quality (you can control it) and hear things like bass for a more natural sound.

And with the costs of high capacity connections constantly falling then yes you can still save money but this time improve quality in the process.

What is SIP?...

SIP or "Session Initiation Protocol" is a means of making your calls work.

It is the new standard being used in the 21st Century Networks (21CN) and it is core to it's function, any next generation telephony system should have this standard in order to work.

Brief Overview of it's functions

  • Open standards based system for greater interoperability between systems and suppliers
  • Set up calls and sessions for Voice, Video, Messaging Services including Instant Messaging and conferencing all using just one single identity (SIP URI or otherwise known as your email address)
  • It's an extensible architecture designed to support the rapid deployment of new services across a multitude of infrastructures including wired and wireless.
  • Use it to connect both phones to the system and also the system to other systems or telecommunications operators (SIP trunks).