Voice Over IP VoIP FAQ's

What is Voice Over IP VoIP? How does Voice Over IP Work?
Voice Over IP VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the technology of transmitting voice and fax over data networks using the Internet Protocol (IP). This technology offers new capabilities and enormous cost savings by taking advantage of the Internet and more efficient use of the network. VoIP involves the transmission of voice using the Internet Protocol that is already common in data transmission and on the Internet. VoIP is different from regular telephone service because it does not use dedicated circuits; multiple users share networks. Information is transmitted over the network in packets and the network is often referred to as a packet-switched network. This is extremely efficient because the network is only used when it is transporting packets of information.

What is a Voice Over IP VoIP Gateway?
An Internet Gateway allows Internet telephone calls to be sent onto the Public Switched Telephone Network by taking voice and converting circuit-switched calls onto the packet-switched network and back again. This allows a Voice over Internet phone to call any telephone number served by the gateway. VoIP gateways take voice (or even a fax transmission) from the circuit-switched Public Switched Telephone Network and place it on the packet-switched Internet and vice versa. The cost elements in VoIP-to-phone calls are the cost of connecting from the Broadband connection to the local Internet service provider and the cost of connecting from the Internet Gateway at the endpoint to the phone at the final destination. In most cases, the connections from the gateways to the calling party’s are local phone calls. Since the charge for the long distance transmission is going out over the Internet the cost of the call is minimal.

How stable is Voice Over IP VoIP technology?
Almost all data communications networks are based on Internet Protocol or IP. It is a broadly supported and accepted protocol for moving packets of data in a network.

I've heard VoIP works for large companies and individuals, can small and medium size companies use VoIP?
There are a variety of VoIP products that are aimed at helping small and medium size companies that start at 2 ports (two phone line capabilities) and up. Data equipment comes in expandable, stackable modules.

What do I need to Use VoIP at home?
The answer is simple, a quality, high speed Broadband Internet connection with decent upload speed will do the trick. If you need to know if your current upload is sufficient please contact one of our VoIP Experts.

What kind of quality can I expect from Voice Over IP VoIP?
It depends on two primary factors, the amount of bandwidth available and the IP Endpoints connected (whether there are additional components that are providing processing power to improve the connection). Coupled with the appropriate interface devices, these calls are indistinguishable from a traditional telephone call. DSL-Experts does not recommend VoIP through dial-up or other Internet accounts that offer “narrow” bandwidth. This causes severe loss of quality depending upon the amount of traffic on the net, and bandwidth limitations that can lead to packet loss, latency and jitter. This shows up as a clipped effect with gaps of speech or garbled sound.