Quick & Easy to Understand VoIP Facts

What is VoIP?

Rather than loading your telephone line with airtime to make a voice or video call, you do it directly over the internet. In that case, you are eliminating the phone company and replacing it with the internet. Simply put, that’s what VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is all about.

With the development of high-speed internet access (broadband), body corporates and private homes are rapidly embracing VoIP. VoIP poses a serious threat to the traditional telephony companies in the telecommunication business because of its superior features and yes, its unbelievably cheaper 😃. VoIP industry is forecasted to rise from USD 20 billion in 2018 to around USD 55 billion by 2025.

VoIP can be difficult and mind-boggling to understand and dissect to anyone with less or no technical expertise. However, to acquire the best solution for your telephony problem, you got to understand how it works, and believe me, it isn’t that complex to comprehend.

Let’s jump in, guys!

Basic Definitions

VoIP (Voice over Internet protocols)

VoIP is a means of communication that converts analog Voice or video signals into digital packets, then relays them over Wide or Local Area Networks using internet protocols. Finally, the digital “packets” are transformed to sound at the receiving end heard through your handset or a speaker attached to your device.

So What are Protocols?

Protocols refer to sequences that guide how electronic devices communicate with each other. The two fundamental protocols are:-

1. Transmission Control Protocols (TCP) -For communication to occur, there has to be a message sent securely and consistently from one point to another. TCP protocol segments a message into smaller portions called data packets before transmitting them to the receiver over the internet.
2. Internet Protocols (IP) — It’s responsible for sending and receiving segmented digital data packets from one electronic device to another.

Other than TCP and IP there are other four crucial Voip protocols. They include;-

1. Session Initiation Protocols(SIP)

SIP Protocols are text-based (HTTP) protocols whose main task is to initiate, maintain, and terminate a real-time session among the participants. Such sessions may include; instant messaging, Voice or video calls, IP telephone calls, or gaming sessions. The advantage of SIP is that it’s expandable and can handle various media technologies without a hitch.

2. H.323

There is not much difference between SIP and H.323; they are largely similar. However, H.323, as developed by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), was primarily designed to handle VoIP and Video conferencing, unlike SIP, which is modular and largely flexible. It uses binary system protocols, 0s and 1s, unlike SIP, which uses text protocols. Primarily, H.323 handles vigorous and interoperable communications.

3. Real-Time Transport Protocols(RTP)

RTP defines the digital packets’ basic format with real-time properties, then it transmits them from one service point to another.

4. Real-Time Control Protocol (RTCP)

RTCP supervises the quality of service and transmits information of partakers in a real-time session.

Benefits of Using VoIP

• It’s cheaper. The principal investment is broadband. Calls made, either video or Voice, are locally free. International calls are relatively more affordable compared to traditional PSTN phone calls. Also, there is no demand for PBX since you only need broadband to connect telephones in the office or remotely.
• It’s readily accessible irrespective of your physical location.
• It’s easy to get in touch with the team. Administrators can quickly reach their team working away from the office since VoIP can automatically transfer calls to team members phones in the event your office line goes unanswered.
• It’s user-friendly and less technical. With easy-to-navigate VoIP software commercially available, it becomes easy to maintain, install and configure without much technical support.

Challenges of VoIP?

• Power and Internet outages. A power outage may lead to service disruptions. To avoid a power outage menace, back up your router and preserve at least a couple of traditional telephone lines in case of power outages and emergencies.
• VoIP can be prone to cyber-attacks exposing the business to security risks, and, hence, companies need to invest in reliable service providers with good standing.

VoIP statistics

According to Statistica, VoIP business line users increased by over 35 million in a period of eight years, i.e., from 2010 to 2018. VoIP home users also rose from 28 million to 77 million in the same period.

A Persistent Market research revealed that VoIP services market share is bound to hit $194.5 billion by 2024. The need for affordable features like video conferencing and VoIP’s unlimited calls has heightened the demand for VoIP-related services. The low cost of maintenance and simplicity in operating VoIP-enabled devices has skyrocketed the demand for VoIP services.

Source Financesonline

Basic VoIP System Requirements

To set up a VoIP technology system, you got to have these basic infrastructures in place;

1. VoIP software and hardware

VoIP Software refers to the dialer or softphone, similar to a phonebook, chat, or voicemail. With Softphone you can go through your:- contacts, call history, manage your contacts, e.t.c.

VoIP Hardware includes VoIP Phone adapter (ATA), IP phones, desktop computers or laptops, telephone ports, VoIP gateways, routers, etc. They vary based on the dimensions and work done.

2. Internet access

VoIP depends on internet to operate hence the need for a reliable internet connection. Surprisingly, VoIP doesn’t require much bandwidth to operate. For example, for ten lines, you only need 1000kbs,for the service to run smoothly.

To avoid poor quality of video and voice calls; aim at using up to 80% of your network capacity.

Wired ethernet connection is more reliable for quality service than WIFI connections because they have low latency. Ping of 70 mls will signify a steady connection with good quality and strong signals.

3. SIP trunk or VoIP service provider

A SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunk is similar to a local telecommunication service provider. They provide telecommunication services and solutions to their clients. They also offer the infrastructure to enable VoIP services like VoIP business, VoIP home-based phones, international phone calls, video conferencing, etc.

VoIP Case Study!

Sussex Timber Products, specialists designers, and producers of bespoke timber buildings decided to move their operation base outside their area code. They had to change their traditional phone line system to new ones. They also needed to be in contact with a production site left behind at the site. A VoIP service provider, HashKey Hosted PBX, helped the company keep their original telephone lines and made it easier for them to communicate with the production site left behind without a hitch. The solution came in handy for the company since they could make internal and external calls from any location they were.

To Wrap It Up

Certainly, VoIP is finding vast application due to its affordability and simplicity in maintenance and operation it offers businesses and private consumers. Though it has a few challenges on security, power, and internet outages, they can be quickly addressed by backing up power and investing in good service providers. Many companies are investing in VoIP, and soon it’s going to render traditional telecommunication companies redundant.