A Beginner’s Guide to VoIP for 2023
Welcome to the Beginner’s Guide to VoIP! Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology that has revolutionized the way we communicate. It enables voice and multimedia communications over the internet, providing businesses and individuals with a cost-effective, flexible, and feature-rich communication solution. In this blog, we will explore the basics of VoIP, its benefits, how it works, and its various applications. Whether you are new to VoIP or looking to enhance your understanding, this blog is designed to provide you with the knowledge and insights you need to make informed decisions about your communication needs.
So, let's get started! Since its inception in 1996, the VoIP market has seen exponential growth in recent years, with a wide range of providers offering solutions for businesses of all sizes. With the rapid expansion of the VOIP industry and cloud adoption, it can be challenging to understand the different solutions that exist on the market, and more importantly, the journey that VOIP took to get to where it is today. We have organized the information in a reference format so that you can easily revisit specific sections whenever you need to. Below, you will find a wealth of information that will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of VOIP technology including:
What is VOIP?
What is a PBX?
What is SIP?
What is a SIP Trunk?
What is UCaaS?
Why am I being asked how many USERS I have?
What is an ATA?
Calling Plans: Local Long Distance / Toll Free Calling / International Calling
What is a Softphone?
How does Voicemail work in VoIP?
What is VOIP?
VOIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a technology that allows you to make phone calls over an internet connection instead of traditional copper POTS lines. Rather than transmitting calls over physical lines, VOIP uses your local internet connection to upload and download your voice conversations. One of the initial advantages of VOIP was that it eliminated the need to pay local tolls for making calls, which resulted in lower costs for phone conversations.
What is a PBX?
A PBX, or Private Branch Exchange, is the system that distributes calls throughout a company. Back in the day, PBX systems were analog and consisted of a physical switchboard to connect calls to the right extensions or outside lines.
In the early days of communication technology, businesses had to make significant investments in premise-based analog systems to have what most would consider a basic business phone system. These legacy systems were often expensive, inflexible, and difficult to maintain. They required large up-front investments in hardware and software and specialized technical staff to operate and maintain them.
Today, most PBX systems are digital and use internet-based technology to route calls. Physical equipment is no longer necessary, and these systems have been virtualized into easy-to-use software. With modern interfaces and admin portals, almost anyone can program their phone system.
The term ‘PBX’ is not commonly used by modern VOIP providers because it has been replaced by an intuitive and user-friendly interface, which is now referred to as an Admin Console or User Portal. Despite the name change, the functionality remains the same. A PBX that is not based on the cloud and utilizes physical equipment is commonly known as a Legacy PBX.
What is SIP?
If you are researching VOIP providers or talking to IT, you might come across the term SIP. This is because SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, is an important part of all VOIP calls. SIP allows people to make voice and video calls over the internet, kind of like a secret code that lets two people talk to each other over their devices. It's the communication protocol that helps make VOIP calls possible.
What is a SIP Trunk?
A SIP trunk can be thought of as a virtual version of a physical phone line that connects a company's PBX to a service provider's network using the SIP protocol. With a SIP trunk, businesses can make and receive phone calls from anyone with a phone number and an internet connection, anywhere in the world. Without a SIP trunk, a PBX would not be able to receive any calls. Each SIP trunk can only handle one phone call at a time, so the number of SIP trunks a business needs is determined by the number of concurrent calls it expects to handle at any given time.
What is UCaaS?
The rise of cloud computing and the widespread availability of high-speed internet paved the way for communication services to be delivered via the internet, eliminating the need for on-premises equipment like a PBX, and reducing the complexity and cost of managing communication systems.
With the introduction of cloud based VOIP solutions, companies adopted the SAAS (Software As A Service) model to communications technology. Enabling businesses to subscribe to communication solutions at a lower monthly recurring cost instead of a high initial investment. The UCaaS model was born.
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) emerged as an alternative to traditional on-premises communication systems that required a PBX with SIP Trunks. Unified Communications goes beyond voice communication, encompassing video, messaging, and SMS channels of communication.
By subscribing to a provider's platform, businesses can leverage shared infrastructure and resources with thousands of other accounts. The platform is designed to handle billions of concurrent conversations, making it a scalable, easy to use, and cost-effective solution.
Why am I being asked how many USERS I have?
The UCaaS model made pricing easier for VoIP companies by streamlining it with user-based licensing. This replaced the previous practice of charging fees for individual features, usage, support packages and other services. With the user-based licensing model, a single license allows a user to establish a unique profile on the platform, use all of the features included, and receive unlimited support. This profile can be shared across multiple devices (phones, cell phones, tablets, web) and can have multiple phone numbers associated with it.
The UCaaS model can be confusing for traditional PBX customers who are used to focusing on SIP Trunks for concurrent calls. However, modern VOIP providers have their PBX in the cloud and use enterprise SIP trunks to connect directly to national carriers, allowing for unlimited concurrent calls. With UCaaS, businesses pay based on the number of users they have on the platform rather than the number of SIP trunks needed for concurrent calls. It does not matter to a VOIP providers how many ‘lines’ you have coming in, only how many users you will have on the platform.
Think of a user profile like a house on a street. The address is the phone number, and the neighborhood represents the groups the profile is part of. With UCaaS, you can have unlimited addresses and be part of unlimited neighborhoods.
Keeping in mind the example above, you will also see users referred to as lines, seats, or phones in the marketplace for VoIP. However, they all generally serve the purpose of helping companies figure out how many individual licenses you will need to charge you for to use their platform.
What is an ATA?
Analog Telephone Adaptors (ATAs) are the hardware devices that connect a conventional telephone analog signal and convert the signals into IP packets for use with VoIP systems. There are 3 primary uses for ATAs in VOIP: 1. Converting a physical fax machine to use it with your VFAX service provided by a VOIP provider. 2. To plug in a analog Overhead Paging System and convert it to SIP. We also recommend Algo Paging Units as a replacement solution. 3. To convert an analog phone, to be used with a VOIP system.
Calling Plans: Long Distance, Toll-Free, International
Today, there are three main calling plans associated with VoIP accounts, they are Long Distance, Toll-Free, and International calling respectively.
Long Distance Calls
Long Distance Calls or Local Calls are calls made within the US Territories and Canada. Regardless of whether they are inbound or outbound, these calls are the cheapest in terms of cost of doing business. The average business phone user who uses the phone as the primary method of communication, will use between 2,000 -4,000 minutes per month. Now, some low-cost providers will charge less for the user license but bill for usage. While other providers will charge a higher base rate but offer ‘unlimited usage’. Keep in mind, unlimited usage, is never truly unlimited, but this is only relevant for things like auto dialers, or excessive use based on industry averages. It’s also important to note, that outbound usage technically costs providers more than inbound usage.
Toll-Free
Toll Free are numbers have prefixes such as 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, and 844. Back in the day when local and long distance dialing had higher costs that were connected to calling rates, a toll-free number meant you could call the number and not incur the cost of the call or ‘toll’. The ‘toll’ charged by rate centers would be billed to the owner of the toll free number.
Toll-Free numbers today have the advantage of not being tied to a local area code, and therefore have more of a national presence. While the costs have been significantly reduced and ‘toll’ fees are fractions of a penny, it’s still customary for VoIP providers to charge business for every inbound minute of traffic on their toll-free numbers.
Unless you have your inbound toll-free number tied to a call center or expect a high volume of calls, a lot of providers will include a free ‘bucket’ of minutes that will nullify the cost. Industry standard for VoIP calling is typically 2.5 cents per inbound minute. There is no cost to use your toll-free number for outbound calling, as that would be consider a local call. Again this varies by providers but the main difference is going to be between the super low cost providers and the more established platers in how this is handled.
International Calling
International Calling is when you use a US-based phone number to call outside of The North American Numbering Plan. The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the international calling code 1. Some North American countries, most notably Mexico, do not participate in the NANP.
Each provider should have an International Calling Price List publicly available on their site, as pricing varies based on the country and whether it’s a landline or mobile number. There are certain providers we recommend for international calling as they have carrier relationships internationally and can offer more competitive pricing. To learn more reach out to us by completing our Free Assessment.
What is a Softphone?
Softphones Softphones as the name implies, are the software version of a phone. Softphones have become the preferred calling application in today's workplaces. One of the main advantages of softphones is their ability to be accessed from various devices, including computers, phones, tablets, and websites, making them an ideal solution for remote and hybrid work environments.
Users can choose to have both a physical phone and softphone, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of both. Ultimately, the device type used by each user is a personal or company preference.
Softphone applications are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with a focus on creating more integrated experiences that allow users to communicate more efficiently. For example, many softphone applications now combine calling, video conferencing, and messaging into a single application. This trend has been strengthened by the pandemic and the rise of platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Softphone applications are also a key differentiator among VoIP companies, as each provider has developed their own interface that may better cater to certain businesses than others. As a result, it's important to consider the quality of the softphone application when selecting the best VoIP provider for your business.
How does Voicemail work in VoIP?
Voicemail is a critical component of telephony services and comes in various types and setups. The standard voicemail involves receiving a message on your desk phone or softphone and an email copy of the voice message attached to your primary email. The next level is voicemail transcription, which translates the audio message into text. Lastly, voicemail to SMS transcription sends the message as a text message in addition to the other options. ;
It's essential to consider how your company manages voicemails, as they can be customized for different groups and situations and can be transferred between users. Each provider has differences in how they charge for voicemail features and how adaptable they are for various use cases.
Conclusion
In conclusion, VoIP technology has come a long way in recent years and is now a viable and cost-effective option for businesses of all sizes. It offers a wide range of features, including advanced calling, video conferencing, and messaging capabilities, all of which can be accessed through a variety of devices and applications. With the increasing popularity of remote and hybrid work environments, the flexibility and mobility of VoIP technology make it an essential tool for modern businesses.
When choosing a VoIP provider, it's important to consider factors such as pricing, call quality, features, and customer support to ensure you get the best possible solution for your business needs. By implementing VoIP technology, businesses can increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve their overall communication strategy in 2023 and beyond.
Check out our Article on Standing Out In The Crowd: How VoIP Companies Differentiate Themselves to learn more!
