How it works

In engineering terms, when using VoIP, first, the analog signal of your voice is converted into digital format, that is into data packets, and then compressed to remove the redundancy. Then, instead of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), your voice is transmitted over the Internet (or some other IP-based network), like any other data. And last, at the recipient’s end the data packets are decoded back into your voice.

Commonly by the term ‘VoIP’ we understand something like voice chat in MSN, G Talk, Yahoo messenger, or the most widely used Skype application. But the whole point is that all these systems are proprietary, that is closed, so using each of them means connecting only with the users of a particular service. As a rule, such systems provide high quality of communication, and all the calls inside the provider’s network are free, no matter how long is the distance. Even the calls to traditional landline telephones and mobile phones are cheaper there than over the PSTN. Also these services have become popular for such wonderful additional features as instant messaging, file transfer, and video conferencing. 

As a matter of fact, there are three ways of using the VoIP technology.

  • The most widely used way concerns so-called softphone, when you install on your computer special software which turns it into a phone. There exist a number of such services (v. s. the examples), based either on proprietary or on open standards. Most of these applications are free or very cheap. Besides your computer with an installed application, all you need are speakers/headphones and a microphone, or a headset. And so you can make calls.
  • To call directly from VoIP to an ordinary phone and vice versa you need a special analog-to-digital converter called ATA (‘analog telephone adaptor’).
  • There also exist special IP-phones, intended only for calling using VoIP technology.

Thus, with the help of VoIP you can give and receive calls from any place where there is a broadband Internet connection.  So, wherever you go on travels, you can choose the most appropriate and convenient way of making calls by means of VoIP.