About VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is a technology that allows phone calls to be placed over the Internet.
How Does it Work?
Once you signup with a VoIP provider, and you are assigned a phone number that regular people can reach you at (i.e. 321-555-1234),
you have two options for getting connected with the VoIP provider. If you already have an existing analog phone(s) in your house,
you will probably want to by an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA), which allows you to use your old phone - this is what I did.
I purchased a Linksys PAP2 ATA device, which allows for the hookup of two analog phones, also known as POTS phones (Plain Old Telephone Service).
However, if you do not have an analog phone, I would suggest buying an ethernet phone, which connects to a switch or router, just like a computer connects to your home network.
This is the future of telephones along with VoIP. It is recommended that the ethernet phone supports the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), as this is the standard.
My VoIP Setup at Home
I have my VoIP services through
Teliax. They have several plans for people, including a $0.02 per minute
plan which intrigued me into getting Teliax. My phone registers itself with Teliax, which says "Hey! I'm able to receive calls right now, and
here's my current location on the Internet - route them to me!"
Why VoIP?
For one, VoIP is usually cheaper than a traditional phone line, as currently there are no taxes on these services. VoIP is also almost always significantly cheaper when
you're trying to make calls to other countries.
VoIP providers include:
Asterisk
Asterisk is an open source PBX (Private Bank Exchange). A PBX is basically a piece of equipment that is responsible for switching
calls between users. Think of phone systems at any business - they generally use a PBX. Asterisk is a free PBX, which allows anyone
that is willing to set it up the flexibility of having their very own little phone system that has voice mail, extensions, call queueing,
call fowarding, etc.. Although Asterisk is NOT necessary for VoIP communications, a lot of people choose to play with it, as it's fun
to setup a little phone system for free.