What is VoIP?

When you buy a new phone, it is often VoIP-enabled. However, very few know what is behind this name. We clarify it.

Simply explained: What is VoIP?

Voice over IP, or VoIP for short, refers to making calls over the Internet. Your phone does not send its signals over the telephone line, but over the Internet line.

• With VoIP, the ISDN standard is superfluous and probably will hardly be used in a few years.
• The change from ISDN to VoIP devices is very slow because providers have to offer both standards. There are still a lot of ISDN devices on the market.
• The advantage of VoIP is the cost reduction for the user and also the provider. Surfing and telephoning are carried out over the Internet and therefore over one line.
• You do not have to fear a slower Internet connection by using VoIP. The transmission of the speech signals uses very little bandwidth.
• At first glance you can see no difference between an ISDN telephone and a VoIP telephone. Only the lack of a cable to the telephone socket optically distinguishes the VoIP telephones.

How does VoIP work?

• As with the ISDN telephone, what has been said is recorded and stored as an analog signal. The signal is then converted from an analog to a digital signal and encoded in an audio format.
• The signal reaches the Internet via your network and is sent to the receiver. At the receiver, the digital signal is converted back into an analog signal.

In the next practical tip, we will show you how secure VoIP really is.