Voice over IP (VOIP) is at its most competitive (effectively free) where you, and the person you are calling, are either on the same private network, a broadband connection, or within a local call of your nearest VoIP exchange.

Because internet protocol is a much more efficient way to transmit data than a traditional landline, so the cost to the networks is much lower, and is passed on to the consumer in the form of lower rates.

What is VOIP?

VOIP is an acronym for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and is revolutionising what we know today as telephony. Much cheaper than conventional telephone calls, even virtually free.

Voice, video and data, all over the same line and the same technology, terminating at a single device which could be your PC at home, your laptop when travelling, or your wireless-enabled PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or Smart Phone.

Benefits of VOIP

1. Voice, video & data are all intergrated in a single line (eg. DSL, or cable).
2. An IP phone is uniquely identified by its IP address, no matter where you plug it in (unlike the phone numbers of conventional phones which are location depenent).
3. Individual phones no longer need to be directly connected to the switch or the PABX, they can actually be anywhere in the world as long as there is an IP network (an Internet connection) there, connecting the phone back to the switch or PABX.
4. The switch can be anywhere in the world as long as there is an IP network there, connecting it to the phones.
5. So-called "road warriors", people who work on the move, can use their PCs as a "softphone" to plug into an IP network in a remote city and be connected back to their office network, with all its facilities, data and voice, and be reachable as if they were back in the office.