Northern Colorado Voip, Denver and Fort Collins

In a world where public are only just starting to become aware of VoIP, the term ‘IP phones’ may be a ambiguity to most. Actually, they’re an calculation to existing technology that uses standard operating hardware to access a new way of making phone calls – Voice over Internet Protocol.

An IP phone is an Internet Protocol phone. It consents to the user to communicate over IP networks such as Internet or Intranet connections, rather than using the more traditional phone system. A conventional phone transfers the communicators’ voices through a ‘circuit switching’ process. In this scenario, the caller and receiver are connected through a continual electrical circuit. Voice transfer using this method is relatively slow as the data is transferred in large amounts in one going, often resulting in a slight sensation of a ‘delay’ or even an echo consequence. With long distance calls, there is also the problem of call interruption or even disconnection, particularly if the circuit cannot cope with the volume of data being transferred.

The IP phone is different. This system uses a ‘packet switching’ system where an analogue voice signal is converted into digital data packets, which are much smaller in size than the more traditional circuit switching packets. These data packets are then sent individually through the Internet to the receiver and reassembled in order and converted back into voice. This has two major advantages. Firstly, it makes the whole process much quicker, with less chance of the data stream failing half way through and breaking the connection. It also makes it much more secure as the individual data packets are not reassembled until they reach their destination, preventing hackers or eavesdroppers from listening in on the conversation or extracting sensitive data.

An IP phone can be used anywhere in the world, as long as you have an Internet connection. This takes away the constraints of the traditional phone and all the receiver needs is a normal phone to accept the call – there is no need for an Internet connection or even a compatible IP phone to be able to receive an IP phone call.

The only drawback of IP phones is that they may not be able to go through some Internet firewalls. So if you are planning to make a VoIP call to one more IP recipient, it may pay to check via email first that the call will be allowed through your recipient’s firewall system. Also keep in mind that IP hardware, working on a domestic power supply, have need of some sort of power backup system in case of a power outage (which would instantly disconnect your call). A personal UPS (uninterrupted power supply) may be a worthwhile speculation if you intend to use VoIP technology on a common source.