Youth Incorporated Magazine

Emails, video chats, text messages, messengers, smartphones, mobile phones, landlines, are all mediums of communication that have kept the world closely knit. A world today without smart gadgets is unimaginable, but our ancestors did live without any form of communication some 400 years ago. Back then, the only way to communicate was via written letters sent through pigeons or messengers. Later as time progressed, the postal service came into being. However, the nature of communication drastically changed only when a breakthrough invention was introduced to the human race by a scientist, and engineer, Alexander Graham Bell, when he invented the first telephone. 

The invention of the telephone marked the beginning of an advancing world. It changed and bettered the way people connected and communicated with each other. Telephone not just helped people connect with their near and dear ones living far away, it also paved the way for business expansions. Before the telephone was invented, telegraphs were into existence for over 30 years. The only reason why telegraphs died out was that they could transfer only one message at a time which limited communication between two people. Moreover, to use a telegraph one had to acquire the skill to operate it, whereas with a telephone one only had to speak. 

The invention of the telephone however cannot be solely credited to Graham Bell.  Elisha Gray is another name that needs to be remembered while talking about the invention. Both Bell, as well as Gray, independently designed telephone devices but Bell was the first one to patent his telephone. Thus, the world’s first patented telephone was developed in the year 1876. After this, within no time, this invention spread like fire to almost every part of the world. Further to this, telephone technology kept evolving making way for other forms of phones like the landlines, cordless telephone, pagers, mobile/cell phones, and now smartphones. 

Old telephones transmitted voice over copper wires. These copper wires were stretched across the country and thus helped people to connect with each other from distances apart. This kind of telephone service was widely used for a long time in the past and is used by few even till date. The service is commonly known as the Plain Old Telephone Service or POTS. However, the POTS system was still a bit complicated to use, took time to connect, and was costly too. Only those who could afford to make long-distance calls could fully use the service. Moreover, POTS required an operator to make calls. Before people could start wondering as to ‘What will happen after plain old telephone service is gone’, Transistors emerged making a route for the digital network. 

The technology of phones since then has kept progressing. Further, with the birth of the internet in 1990, the world of telecommunication took a great plunge and made the world glocal. Telecommunication has played a huge rule in globalization. Today businesses are expanding, companies are setting up branches across the globe, communication within the organizations has smoothened, nations are working together on massive projects, all thanks to the advanced communication methods. 

Businesses especially have benefited from advanced communication technology. The invention of VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol further upped business operations around the world. VoIP technology enables one to make and receive calls using the internet instead of a phone line. The calls via VoIP transmit voice digitally using a high-speed internet connection. VoIP can be used by individuals as well as companies as it is best for daily communications. 

VoIP, unlike the analog phone system, uses your audio signals and transforms it into digital signals thereby establishing phone calls. VoIP communicates data over the internet and sends and receives voice calls when in use. Under the VoIP system, a cloud-based phone provider needs to complete the call since VoIP can’t reach a phone independently. A VoIP system doesn’t rely on traditional phone lines — everything is powered and streamlined by a broadband internet connection. With Wi-Fi as the medium, users gain more functionality, reliability, and a diverse line-up of features.

Many people falsely believe that to set up a VoIP phone system is complicated and expensive, when in actuality, its the opposite. You need just a few equipment to get started. The basic things you need are a good working phone, quality wifi service and VoIP itself. The other things that you might need are a headset, microphone, ATA (Analog Telephone Adapters), webcam (if your computer doesn’t have a built-in camera), IP conference phone, etc. The usage of this, however, purely depends on the wish of the user. 

Years back when VoIP was newly invented, it did have a few technical glitches, like the voice wasn’t clear, people on the call sounded jittery, drop-outs in voice were common, all of which made the quality of the service an issue. However now with the blessings of the internet, VoIP has largely become a reliable phone service among the masses. If a user faces any issue with the service, it is mainly due to the quality and speed of the internet. If your internet connection isn’t up to the mark, you are most likely to face an issue with the phone calls. Rest assured, VoIP is the perfect choice for an effective communication structure. 

Mobility is a major reason why businesses must consider using VoIP service. VoIP eliminates the fear of missing out on important business calls as one can access and make calls even while traveling or from any place of convenience. Communicating using VoIP is also very affordable as it does not require any added call cost, unlike the landline phone calls which are charged. A VoIP call will use internet from your data pack itself. VoIP has a variety of added advanced features to offer to the users which include unlimited calling, conference calling, unlimited faxing, auto-attendant, HD voice quality, unified communications, video conferencing, and much more. Considering these benefits VoIP offers, small scale businesses must definitely switch to the VoIP Small Business Phone System for seamless communication. 

After deciding to start with VoIP, the next step is to choose the correct VoIP service provider. Pick a provider that tailors with your needs, offers you the service in the right budget and operations. You can also ask your business partner or find out from your competitors as to which service provider do they work with for VoIP.  

Currently, VoIP phone system is helping the world carry out communication with hardly any hurdles. So till the time, some new technology comes up, businesses especially small scare, operating on an international level must consider adopting to the VoIP technology to further grow and expand.