Mobile Devices: The Benefits of Voice over IP Phones

A Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP phone is any phone that uses an internet connection to make and receive calls instead of a traditional landline phone.

• By Mensah Alkebu-Lan
• 19 June 2023

Features like intelligent proximity simplify integrating #mobile devices with Cisco IP phone solutions. #voip https://t.co/pKezFuiFR9 pic.twitter.com/Ig3PKQpsOC

— Pedro Zevallos (@pezevall) February 14, 2017

Table of Contents

• Overview
• How do VOIP Phones Compare to Traditional Phones
• References
  
  

Overview

A Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP phone is any phone that uses an internet connection to make and receive calls instead of a traditional landline phone. Because of this, VOIP phones work in any location where there is an internet connection.

VOIP phones associate themselves with a VOIP phone service provider. This VOIP provider sets up and manages incoming and outgoing calls. When a call is placed from a VOIP phone, the provider sets the call up over the public switch telephone network (PSTN).

VOIP technology involves a set of different protocols working together to replicate telephony functions. These protocols include Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Real-Time Transfer Protocol (RTP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

The way VOIP phones interact with regular analog phones depends on your VOIP service. Some services will limit you to other subscribers of the same service. Other services will allow you to call anyone with a phone number. For the latter type of service, the person with a regular analog phone will not need any special equipment to talk to you.

How do VOIP Phones Compare to Traditional Phones

Between the two types of phones, VOIP phones offer greater mobility, interoperability, and connectivity. They also provide HD audio quality. There are a range of these types of phones available, including desktop and conference phones.

One distinction VOIP phones has compared to other types of phones is a physical phone is not required to utilize the technology. For example, a user can also opt to go with a softphone, where he can download a phone as an app to his mobile device or desktop.

These are some of the reasons VOIP phone systems have become the new industry standard for business phone systems evolving from the older PBX phone systems. Some of the popular business VOIP features include Microsoft Teams integrations. You can also get advanced features like visual voicemail and voicemail transcriptions sent to your email. When you compare VOIP phones to other types of phones, you may notice many of the VOIP phone features that come included may be additional features you often have to pay extra for with other types of phones.

Contact us for more information on IP phones.

References

1. Johnson, Cameron. “What Is a VoIP Phone & How Does It Work?” Nextiva. Accessed 9 May 2023.
2. “Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP).” Federal Communications Commission. Accessed 9 May 2023.
3. “What is a VoIP Phone & How Does It Work?” RingCentral. Accessed 9 May 2023.