Computer telephony, internet telephony, Voice over IP, or just plain VoIP — no matter what you call Voice over Internet Protocol, it still equates to one thing and that is cost effective telephone calls. We are creatures of habit and have been raised with the ethic that “cheap is good.” This is especially true for those of us not fortunate enough to have been born into affluence. With the names of all the different VoIP providers becoming everyday household words, many households and businesses alike that have a UK phone number are thinking more strongly about making the switch over to VoIP.

Is VoIP the way you should go for your home and office? Only you can answer that question, but don’t attempt an answer until you have thoroughly investigated and researched all the variables, as well as the advantages and disadvantages involved. And it doesn’t matter if you have a UK phone number or live in another country, internet telephone calls are not for everybody. This is the first truth about VoIP technology.

So what are the different types or applications of VoIP service? There are three:

1. consumer VoIP
2. small and medium size enterprise VoIP (also referred to as SME’s)
3. large business VoIP

Consumer VoIP is the standard format that is used on a residential basis with or without a UK phone number, depending on whether or not you are calling PC-to-PC. For the most part, these calls are free. Additionally, long distance and international calls can be made very inexpensively, as in pennies on the dollar versus tens of pennies on the dollar. The calls are made by virtue of VoIP service using a PC with a broadband cable or DSL internet connection.

The negative aspect of these services is that, while they are orientated around a software program on the user’s computer, they are less intuitive to use than a regular landline service with a UK phone number. Additionally, if the computer network is busy then the sound quality oftentimes suffers. It is also important that the software be used with a good quality headset, rather than a microphone and speakers. Otherwise, the sound becomes distorted with background noise and feedback.

Small and medium size enterprise VoIP is normally integrated with a PBX system. The central call control and the switching are performed by a central server at a remote internet hosting center. With a VoIP service provider integrated with PBX, you can still make calls using a UK phone number. Just like with residential VoIP service, having the same for an SME has its benefits as well. The five most common benefits are:

• Ease of deployment - simply plug the phones into an internet connection
• Increased flexibility and new ways of working - distributed offices or home office
• Reduced “internal” phone costs - particularly between office and home
• Reduced operational expenditure - maintenance of the phone service is done via the internet

Huge business VoIP involves the connection of the different office phones systems and UK phone numbers, or known as the “PBX” across corporate sites. Some larger businesses and corporations have phone systems that operate through the use of a converter or VoIP adaptor. While such systems are linked in such a way that calls which are routed between different company sites can be carried over the corporate intranet or an internet connection, and are normally carried at no additional cost to the company. Additionally, many of the newer systems integrated with office PBX technology are now being sent as IP-enabled systems.