How does VoIP work? Your phone or app turns your voice into digital data, sends it over your internet connection, and the phone on the other end turns it back into sound. That is why a business VoIP service needs a broadband connection instead of a dedicated phone line.

In this guide

• What is VoIP and how does it work?
• How does VoIP work, step by step
• How does a VoIP phone system work in an office?
• VoIP vs landline: what changes and what to check
• Frequently asked questions about VoIP
• The Bottom Line: What You Need to Know About How VoIP Works
• Getting business VoIP set up in your office

What is VoIP and how does it work?

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. NIST describes it as the transmission of speech across data-style networks, as opposed to conventional circuit-switched communication. A traditional landline uses a dedicated circuit. VoIP sends your conversation over a data network, the kind used for email and web pages.

For business phone service, FCC rules give a useful definition of what they call interconnected VoIP. It enables real-time, two-way voice, and it requires a broadband connection at your location and IP-compatible equipment. It also lets you receive calls from, and place calls to, the regular phone network.

How does VoIP work, step by step

Step 1: Your voice becomes digital data

Your phone or app converts your voice into digital data. One standard for this is ITU-T G.711, which covers pulse code modulation of voice frequencies, a standard way to encode analog voice digitally.

Step 2: The data travels over a network

Instead of holding a dedicated circuit open, the call travels as data across your broadband connection. This is why your internet connection and your local network matter so much to a VoIP phone.

Step 3: The other phone turns it back into sound

The device on the receiving end converts the data back into audio in real time, so both people can talk at once.

How VoIP reaches regular phone numbers

When you call a cell phone or a landline, the call has to cross over to the regular phone network, known as the PSTN. Under the FCC definition, interconnected VoIP lets users receive calls that start on the PSTN and place calls to it. Ask any provider how it handles that link.

How does a VoIP phone system work in an office?

In an office, a VoIP phone system runs over your network instead of over phone lines. Before you choose a setup, ask who sets up, runs and maintains the phone system, and what you are responsible for.

What equipment you need

The FCC definition calls for a broadband connection and IP-compatible equipment. In practice, that means:

• IP-compatible phones or apps: Ask your provider which desk phones and mobile or computer apps work with its service.
• Your existing phones: Ask whether any analog phones you own can be reused, and what that would take.
• A healthy network: Voice travels over your router, switches and cabling, so have them checked along with the phones.

VoIP and phone systems at CFL Technology Source

CFL Technology Source supports traditional and VoIP phone systems for businesses in Orlando and Central Florida. Our VoIP business phone systems service covers features such as auto-attendant, voicemail sent to email, mobile apps and conferencing. Which of these fit your office depends on how your team takes calls today, so it helps to start with that conversation.

VoIP vs landline: what changes and what to check

A landline and an interconnected VoIP service both let you call regular phone numbers. What changes is how the call travels and what it depends on.

With VoIP, your phones now depend on your internet connection and your local network. Before you switch, go through this list.

• Test your internet connection during your busiest hour of the day.
• Ask your provider how many calls your connection can carry at once.
• Ask how the provider handles call quality on your network.
• Ask whether desk phones will connect by network cable or over Wi-Fi.
• Confirm in writing whether you can keep your current phone numbers.
• Ask what happens to calls if the internet or the power goes out.
• Give your provider the address of every office location.
• Ask what the monthly fee covers and what costs extra.

Note: Under FCC rules, interconnected VoIP providers must have your Registered Location before service starts, for 911 purposes. Tell your provider if you move or add an office.

Frequently asked questions about VoIP

The Bottom Line: What You Need to Know About How VoIP Works

• A VoIP call is voice sent as data. Your voice is digitized, sent over a data network and turned back into sound on the other end.
• Business VoIP needs broadband and IP-compatible equipment. It should also let you call and receive calls from regular phone numbers.
• Your network matters as much as your phones. Test your connection at your busiest hour before you switch.
• Ask who sets up, runs and maintains the phone system. Get the answer before you sign.
• Plan for outages and 911 before the switch. Ask about power, internet failures and your Registered Location up front.

Getting business VoIP set up in your office

Moving from a landline to VoIP is mostly a planning job: knowing how your team uses the phones, checking your network, and choosing a setup you can support. At CFL Technology Source, we work as an outsourced IT department for small and mid-sized businesses in Orlando and Central Florida, with on-site and remote support. Ask us how that would apply to your phones and your network.

For more on phone systems, browse our VoIP and business phone guides. If you want the bigger picture of outsourced IT, read our guide to managed IT services in Central Florida.

Featured photo: Chase Chappell on Unsplash.