Five Myths about VoIP

What do you know about VoIP? VoIP stands for Voice over IP, or a method of sending voice communications over the internet rather than the ‘traditional’ (PSTN) telephone network. Over the next few months we’ll be running a series of short articles introducing VoIP telephony –starting with a bit of mythbusting.

1) Myth: Very few people use VoIP for telephony

Fact: Much of the backbone of general telecoms is run over VoIP these days. VoIP services such as Skype have become hugely popular. In fact, lots of people use VoIP without realising that’s what it is!

2) Myth: The person you are talking to needs to be using VoIP as well

Fact: Media gateways, also commonly referred to as VoIP gateways, are devices which bridge PSTN telephone networks and equipment to VoIP telephone networks and vice versa. So the person you are talking to does not need to be using VoIP as well – provided you use a VoIP service such as dmClub's that includes a VoIP gateway.

3) Myth: You can't use 'normal' PSTN lines and VoIP at the same time

Fact: With the right service, you can combine VoIP and PSTN and even use both simultaneously – meaning there’s no need to install a whole new system to take advantage of the cost savings of VoIP!

4) Myth: VoIP call quality is never as good as PSTN

Fact: VoIP call quality can be compromised factors such as a highly compressed codec (the way the sound is packaged for transmission), a poor internet connection or a low quality microphone. But with the right equipment VoIP can be the same or better quality as PSTN: for example dmClub uses the same codec to transmit VoIP as PSTN calls, meaning you don’t need to compromise on quality.

5) Myth: You are tied to a computer if you’re using VoIP

Fact: There are lots of ways of making VoIP calls. You can use a dedicated VoIP handset, a DECT/VoIP hybrid, an analogue telephone adaptor (ATA – a device that adapts a ‘regular’ PSTN handset for VoIP) or a ‘softphone’ program that runs on your PC along with a headset. You certainly don’t have to be tied to the computer unless that suits your needs!

Want to know more about VoIP? Look out for our jargon-busting articles over the next few months.