What is VOIP
Every now and then, technological advancements bring along a better way of doing something. As often the case with new technologies, it is difficult to understand at the start what they actually are and what benefit they might have for you and your business.
Here at SenSys Technology, we specialise in delivering bespoke VoIP solutions for our customers. We have combined a list of the 7 most commonly asked questions on the subject of VoIP. We hope that they will help you better understand what VoIP is.
1. What is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and it is the future of business phone communications.
It allows users to make phone calls over their broadband Internet connection, rather than traditional phone lines.
2. How does it work?
When you make a phone call from your landline phone, the analogue lines take an audio signal, which translates into electronic pulses, hence the need for phone lines that make up the public switch telephone network (PSTN). These copper lines have been the only way of routing telephone calls until VoIP was invented.
Rather than converting audio signals, such as your voice during a phone call, to electronic pulses, VoIP breaks it into a binary code. Your voice becomes packets of data made up of a bunch of 0’s and 1’s.
These packets of data are transmitted over what is known as a packet switched network to the receiving device. Packets of data are made up of headers and payloads. The header contains the call destination information and this information is used by networking hardware to figure out which phone in the world you are trying to connect to. Payloads contain your digitised voice and are extracted upon arrival at their destination by the relevant software, contained in the VoIP phone on the other end of the connection so that your voice can be played.
3. How is VoIP different from a traditional landline?
Here are the main differences between a traditional landline phone system (PSTN) and VoIP.
| PSTN |
VoIP |
| Dedicated Lines |
All channels carried over one virtual line over the Internet connection |
| Features such as call waiting, Caller ID and so on are usually available at an extra cost |
Features such as call waiting, Caller ID and so on are usually included free with service |
| Can be upgraded or expanded with new equipment and line provisioning |
Upgrades usually requires only bandwidth and software upgrades |
| Hardwired landline phones (those without an adapter) usually remain active during power outage |
Lose power, we have many back-ups and failover solutions built in, such as failover to another landline or mobile |
4. How fast does my Internet connection have to be?
The broadband speed requirement is dependent on the number of concurrent calls.
The following table highlights the typical broadband speeds required when using a dedicated broadband connection for voice. It’s important to note that this is the speed required purely for voice usage. SenSys Technology will advise on the correct broadband connection for VoIP.
| Number of concurrent calls |
Speed required (upload & download) |
| 1 |
0.10 Mbps |
| 2 |
0.20 Mbps |
| 3 |
0.30 Mbps |
| 8 |
0.80 Mbps |
| 12 |
1.20 Mbps |
How to check your broadband speed test?
Using your computer, perform a speed test by logging into the dedicated speed test website www.speedtest.net. Please take note of both the download and upload speeds. SenSys Technology will manage the firewall settings to ensure that all voice calls are excellent.
5. How does the voice clarity of VoIP compare to traditional telephony?
Poor call quality creates a bad impression for anybody you do business with on the phone. It’s the last thing you want to experience with your phone provider.
SenSys Technology understands your business demands dial tone reliability with crystal clear conversations – so how do we achieve this?
We partner with world leading SIP trunk and VOIP telco’s that provides the best in class communications.
- Tier 1 Irish call routes
- Two independent Irish data centres
- High-quality voice technology
- HD voice Yealink handsets
6. How reliable is VoIP?
It is only natural to have concerns regarding the reliability of any new service, especially the one that will provide your business communication solutions.
However, if something ever goes wrong with your own broadband connection, SenSys Technology configure your VOIP phone system that it automatically fails over to another branch office or your mobile(s) to keep your incoming calls working.
7. Can I keep my phone number and use VoIP?
Yes, there is an agreement with all major telecoms companies that allow you to port in and out numbers. SenSys Technology manage the complete migration and guarantee zero down time for your business communications.
