VOIP.com - Internet Phone Service

VoIP is an exciting technology that lets you use your broadband connection to make telephone calls. When you use VoIP to make a call, your voice signal travels over the internet to the person you're calling, instead of over regular phone lines. VoIP is easy to use. You don't have to use complicated equipment or programs...you don't even have to use a computer.

Making and Receiving Calls with VoIP

There are two ways to make or receive calls using VoIP: using your regular touch-tone phone with a VoIP adapter, or using your computer.

Many people want to use their existing phones with VoIP service. All that's required is an adapter that plugs right into your phone. You make calls exactly the same as before, with no extra steps or software to learn.

If you choose a computer-based option, you'll connect a headset to your computer and use your provider's software to talk to people. There are a few extra steps but this option remains the cheapest way to make calls.

With your VoIP service, you can make calls to anyone: local and long distance, international, and of course mobile numbers. The person you're calling doesn't have to use VoIP and they won't be able to tell the difference. VoIP is digital, so your sound quality won't suffer over long distances, like with regular phones. Extra noise, generated during normal transmission of voice signals, is filtered out. All you hear is crystal clear audio.

The Nuts and Bolts of VoIP

VoIP converts analog voice traffic into compressed, digital packets. Packets are sent over the IP network, reassembled when they reach their final destination, and then converted back to an analog form that standard phones can use. Packets don't have to travel the same route and can easily bypass network congestion by switching to less busy circuits.

This is a big advantage over traditional phone technology, which opens a dedicated circuit for the analog signal to travel over. If the network is busy, your call can't be completed because the signal isn't able to switch to another line.