Voice Over IP Phone Systems (VoIP) telephones explained

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Voice Over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) Phone Systems Explained

Revolutionary changes are occurring today in both telecommunications and information technologies.

In this article, we will explain the workings of a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone system. In our examples, we will use a Panasonic VoIP phone system as our reference, although the primary benefits of VoIP telephone systems will apply regardless of the manufacturer selected. The systems we will refer to are the Panasonic KX-TDA30/100/200 line of Hybrid IP PBX systems. These systems have been chosen because they handle both analog and digital telephone phones.

A Brief Explanation of the Phone System

In the current telephone system, calls are transported on systems referred to as circuit-switched technology. This establishes a "permanent" connection between the caller and the receiver for the duration of the call.

The limitations of this technology are that it requires significant bandwidth for a call and only certain types calls can be supported (i.e. phone to phone). Additionally, the hardware needed to run circuit-switched networks is expensive. Part of this expense is because voice and data must be carried on different wires which means separate hardware is required to handle the two types of traffic. This higher cost is passed on to the consumer through higher rates for phone and data service.

The existing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is an analog (analogue) system. When referring to data storage and transmission, an analog format is one in which information is transmitted by modulating a continuous transmission signal, such as amplifying a signal's strength or varying its frequency to add or take away data. Telephones take sound vibrations and turn them into electrical vibrations of the same shape before they are transmitted over telephone lines.

VoIP (Voice over IP)

VoIP refers to calls that traverse networks using Internet Protocol (IP). Calls may travel over the Internet OR over privately managed data networks that use IP to transport the calls.

The difference between a VoIP system and a traditional system is that VoIP systems are digital and traditional ones are analog. "Digital" describes any system based on discontinuous data or events. Computers are digital machines because at their most basic level they can distinguish between just two values, 0 and 1. Values in between (such as 0.5) are not easily represented, but it can be done. All the data processed by a computer is encoded digitally as a series of zeroes and ones.

When you speak into a VoIP phone, your voice is converted to an electronic signal which is then broken down into packets, compressed, and sent toward their final destination by various routes depending on the most efficient paths. At the receiving end, the packets are reassembled, decompressed and converted back into a voice signal by hardware and software.

Why Choose a VoIP System?

The advantages of VoIP over circuit-switched technology are many. For one, the same lines can be used to transport voice and data transmissions. One network means lower acquisition and maintenance costs. By using compression technology, more calls can be placed on those lines than when using circuit-switched systems. Up to 8 times the number of calls can go out on the same line without sacrificing sound quality.

Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) screen shot The flexibility of VoIP allows different devices to talk to one another, allowing such services as PC-Telephony (image of screen capture to the right). The integration of a phone system and customer database gives you a powerful support tool for Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

Having phone conversations on a VoIP network means your calls are toll-free. If you live in New York and your friend in Dallas both have high-speed internet access and VoIP phones (which use the same VoIP protocols - a topic for a future article), you can speak as long as you like without any long distance charges. These cost-savings can be realized for businesses and consumers.

Communication between head and branch offices can be combined using VoIP to create your own private interoffice network. For example, customers using a KX-TDA100 or KX-TDA200 in the head office, VoIP can be used to implement KX-TDA30 units in all the branch offices. Using a network numbering plan, you can assign a telephone number to each extension in a branch or head office. So, at your head office in Toledo, you enter the four digit phone number of your branch in Toronto and speak to that person toll-free.

Hybrid VoIP Systems

The Panasonic KX-TDA30/100/200 models are referred to as "Hybrid" VoIP PBX systems. What does that mean? It means that you can use digital AND analog devices on this system. For example, answering machines, faxes and older telephone units may not be compatible on a purely VoIP phone system. However, these devices can be attached to a Hybrid VoIP phone system. See the diagram below. (Click the diagram or here to view a larger version.)

This article has discussed the "Hybrid" VoIP Phone Systems from Panasonic. Telephone Magic sells VoIP phone systems, gateways and phones from a variety of manufacturers at wholesale prices. For more information on our VoIP product range, click on the links below.

Proprietary VoIP Phones by Manufacturer
Nortel IP Phones	Avaya VoIP Phones	Mitel IP Phones
i2002 i2004 i2007 i2050 SoftPhone	Avaya 4601 Avaya 4602 Avaya 4606 Avaya 4610 Avaya 4612 Avaya 4620 Avaya 5601 Avaya 5602 Avaya 5610 Avaya 5620	Mitel 5212 IP Phone Mitel 5215 IP Phone Mitel 5220 IP Phone Mitel 5224 IP Phone
Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones by Supported Protocol (s)
MGCP	SIP	Other
Polycom IP-301 Polycom IP-501 Polycom IP-601 Polycom IP Expansion Module	Polycom IP 4000 Conference Phone	Teledex IP-120 (SCCP)
VoIP Business Phone Systems
Avaya IP Office (H.323) Nortel Business Communications Manager TalkSwitch (SIP) Aastra Venture IP
VoIP Gateways
Mediatrix VoIP Gateways
VoIP Phone System Links
How VoIP phone systems work Get started with VoIP

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