In general, VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) means that your voice is converted to data that can travel over an IP based network. IP stands for "Internet Protocol", and is the standard protocol that most computers talk to each other in. But don't be confused, there is no relationship between "Internet Protocol" and "The Internet" (even though VoIP can run over the Internet). Obviously, at some point, the data is converted back to voice so that a human can understand the sound. 

Myths debunked

There are quite a few myths about VoIP.  Many people believe that the biggest advantage to VoIP is inexpensive or free long distance.  They believe that because their "voice" is traveling "over" the "Internet", that there is no cost to make the phone call.  While this is true in some cases and is accurate conceptually, it is not an accurate interpretation of that value of VoIP.  First of all, in order to make a call over the Internet, the person on the other end of the call must receive the call over the Internet.......just like e-mail.  The person would have to have a program that can receive the call using the same protocol.  A good example of this is Yahoo Messenger.  Two people who have Yahoo Messenger with voice capabilities can talk to each other for free over the Internet.  However, they must both be logged into the Internet at the same time and have the appropriate equipment (microphone and speakers) to complete the conversation.  They must also be able to hear the other person trying to call them so they have to be near their computer.  Finally, they must be willing to put up with any quality degradation that may happen because of Internet latency that may only happen for a split second.  In order to truly use the Internet for phone calls in a practical sense, the calls must be switched to the traditional public switched telephone network so that one may call a person on a traditional phone.  As soon as that happens, the "free" goes away. 

Another myth about VoIP is that one must use the Internet to take advantage of this technology.  You may now understand that this is not true.  VoIP can use any transport method that supports "Internet Protocol".  These methods would include a local area network, a T-1, the Internet, Frame Relay (possibly), MPLS or a VPN.  The common denominator in most of these transport mechanisms is the T-1 with the exceptions being a local area network and high speed Internet connection that uses DSL or Cable.  Not coincidentally, the T-1 is used for traditional voice products like a PRI or voice T-1. 

The third myth is that the quality of the sound on a VoIP network is not as good as a traditional voice network or that the technology is "not quite there yet".  If designed correctly, a VoIP voice network can provide clear, crisp sound quality that's as good or better than traditional voice quality.

Advantages of VoIP