What is VoIP?
Voice Over Internet Protocol, also called VoIP, is a technology converting your voice into digital data that can be transmitted over the Internet. Simply put, it’s a kind of phone service delivered over the internet. Whenever you have VoIP software installed on any of your devices, you can directly make a call from your phone, tablet, laptop, or others.
As 4G technology is widely used, VoIP has been increasingly applied in mobile devices for voice communications. With your cellular data or WiFi enabled, you can make or receive VoIP calls just like with regular calls, but without paying anything to your phone operators.
How Does VoIP Work?
When making a VoIP call, your voice is converted into digital data in the form of packets of information. These packets of data are then transmitted over the internet using a variety of protocols, including SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol). When the data packets arrive at their destination, they are received and reassembled back into voice data. Finally, the voice data is played back through speakers or a handset at the other end of the call.
VoIP can be used with a variety of devices, including computers, smartphones, and specialized VoIP phones. In addition to voice communication, VoIP can also support other forms of communication, such as video conferencing, instant messaging, and file sharing.
Why are VoIP Calls Cheaper Than Traditional Phone Service?
First off, VoIP calls are used based on an Internet connection without any need to establish a specialized system or extra hardware.
The traditional phone call system delivers voice communications based on a traditional analog simulative PBX system. To use landline calls, it’s first of all to have phone lines. It costs a high amount of fees for the telephone company to lay down lines and the fees have to be naturally shared by users. However, VoIP transmits voice communications through IP networks. Combining voice and data functions on a single network, there’s no need to provide extra lines for each line and service provider.
Second, not VoIP is cheaper but traditional phone serives are too expensive.
The traditional phone service provider is usually monopolized by the government. To quickly earn a profit, they should charge high fees for users so that the communication market can be captured in their hands. In addition, as hardware like distance lines, communication bases etc. needs to be prepared for users’ service, it’s understandable to accept the high cost of landline service.
Third, international calling fees are extraordinarily high for traditional phone services.
As international calling is needed by the world due to globalization and an increasing number of travelers, traditional phone call service providers fail to provide low-cost and convenient voice communication services. Although recent years have witnessed some cost-effective calling service plans published by landline companies, they can only be limited to one area alone, leading to much less convenient than what VoIP calling service provides.
Cheaper VoIP Calls Equal to Lower Sound Quality?
Not at all.
Compared with fixed telephone lines, VoIP tends to suffer from more interferences due to the Internet tunnel. Nevertheless, sound quality is also determined by the service provider’s technology. If a call is made from a fixed number, the sound quality is similar to that of a landline. If a call is made from a random virtual number, its sound quality may be worse due to many interferences. For example, Dingtone provides a US phone number to users and the same phone number can be constantly used until it is expired. Using the same number for each call, the sound quality can be guaranteed.
Nevertheless, will the landline keep the high sound quality always? Definitely not. Worse still, if issues occur to a telephone line, voice communications will possibly be directly cut off and it’s extremely difficult to fix. That’s also a catastrophe.
7 Best VoIP Service Providers
There are many VoIP service providers available, each with its own set of features and benefits.
RingCentral
RingCentral is a popular VoIP service provider that offers a wide range of features, including audio and video conferencing, team messaging, and screen sharing. It’s a great choice for businesses of all sizes.
Vonage
Vonage is another popular VoIP provider that offers a variety of calling plans, including international calling. It’s easy to set up and offers many useful features, such as voicemail, call forwarding, and caller ID.
Nextiva
Nextiva is a business-oriented VoIP provider that offers a full suite of communication tools, including voice and video calling, team messaging, and even faxing. It’s easy to use and offers a high level of reliability.
8×8
8×8 is a cloud-based VoIP service that offers a range of features, such as call recording, virtual meetings, and analytics. It’s a good choice for businesses that need a reliable and scalable phone system.
Zoom Phone
Zoom Phone is a cloud-based phone system that’s part of the popular video conferencing platform, Zoom. It offers a range of features, such as voicemail, call recording, and auto-attendants.
Google Voice
Google Voice is a free VoIP service that allows users to make and receive calls and text messages from their computer or mobile device. It’s a good option for individuals or small businesses that need a simple and affordable phone solution.
Dingtone
Dingtone is a VoIP app similar to Google Voice. Dingtone offers a variety of features, including virtual phone numbers, call forwarding and call recording. It allows users to make and receive free phone calls, texts, and group chats with other Dingtone users. It also offers low-cost international calling to non-Dingtone users. Dingtone is available for both Android and iOS devices.
In the Future, VoIP Calling Will be Even Cheaper Than It Is Now
Days ago, George, my nephew, came to my home and saw a piggy bank in the form of a telephone that is shown below.
George pointed at it, asking “What’s that?”. “A telephone.” I replied. He felt so surprised that a telephone can look like that. In his mind, a telephone equals to a cell phone.
Even though we can’t confirm telephones will surely get out of date in future, we believe that VoIP calls will be more used in numerous industries and cheaper prices can be also expected due to wide application of Internet.