According to experts, the technology that has driven the change in telecommunications is the voice over Internet or VoIP protocol. A VoIP telephone system represents a completely new way of making voice calls. As technology has matured, its impact on the telecommunications sector has increased. Today, VoIP is the dominant force and continues to grow in influence.
What Is VoIP?
VoIP is a new way to make voice calls. Or rather, it is a new way to transport the audio of those calls. In traditional telephony, sound is translated into electrical signals. These electrical signals are transmitted through a network of telephone lines. This system is called a public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Instead, voice calls work very differently with VoIP. Audio is not translated into electrical signals, but is transformed into Internet Protocol (IP) data packets. These are subsequently transported over the Internet from one end of a call to the other. Voice calls through VoIP are possible through laptops, computers and similar devices. They don’t always need traditional phones.
Why VoIP?
Why has VoIP been installed as noticeably as it has? Why does it seem that technology will replace traditional telephony altogether?
The answer to that lays in the numerous advantages that VoIP has over traditional telephony. Now that VoIP technology is more mature and better developed, it exceeds it in a large number of areas:
1) Cost
Calls are much less expensive when using VoIP. This is especially prominent for long distance calls outside the local area or country of the user or company. Therefore, geographical distance matters little to VoIP. International and long distance calls are not charged “premium”, as is done with traditional telephony.
2) Ease of Use And Portability
Currently, most companies have multiple facilities, and many encourage telecommuting. VoIP telephony works much better with this modern and mobile work style.
With intelligent VoIP configuration, employees can make calls from a landline, a mobile phone and / or from anywhere. This aspect adds an additional degree of professionalism to work from home. It also allows workers to take urgent calls even if they are not in the office.
3) Collaboration And Additional Features
VoIP systems offer users much more than voice calls. It is a product that offers unified communications as a service. Voice calls, instant messaging and video conferencing are possible through a single system.
Not to mention other notable features such as virtual receptionists (bots) and integration with other software solutions. Therefore, a VoIP system can be key to many of a company’s daily operations.
4) Maintenance
Traditional telephony is based on an old infrastructure. Telecommunications companies offer their services through an obsolete copper wire telephone line network. As that network ages, its maintenance cost increases exponentially.
The physical network of telephone lines is also vulnerable, as it can be affected by bad weather or random acts of vandalism, among others. Telecommunications companies can maintain and repair VoIP delivered services much more easily.
5) Convenience
Telecommunications companies have not kept out of the VoIP boom in the last decade. Globally, the main operators have already begun to take advantage of the potential of this technology. For example, they have begun to grow technology by providing voice and broadband calls to consumers.
The Influence Of VoIP In The Future Of The Telecommunications Sector
VoIP adoption is accelerating rapidly in the United States. Some experts even predict that technology could completely replace traditional telephony from 2025. In light of this trend, major telecommunications companies are already making significant movements.
There is consensus on all sides, and around the world, that VoIP is the future of the telecommunications sector. To survive and prosper in the future, all telecommunications companies must (at least somehow) become VoIP companies.
The companies in the sector are already making movements in that direction. Many traditional telecommunications companies are finding ways to expand and diversify their offers.
VoIP is undoubtedly the technology that will replace traditional telephony. Regulators, telecommunications companies and end users have already decided. They agree that VoIP is the most viable telephony solution in the future.