VoIP, PBX, QoS, SIP - What does it all mean?
Posted by Cloud Net on Mon, Dec 21, 2009 @ 08:55 AM
Abbreviations such as VoIP, PBX, SIP and QoS are bouncing around the business world. In this blog I will attempt to explain these terms, simply.
The term “VoIP” is an abbreviation of Voice over Internet Protocol. This means that you can send voice calls over the internet via a telephone, microphone etc. There are new breeds of telecom companies who are offering VoIP telephone services. The advantages of using VoIP services are that they are a lot cheaper than traditional phone services and have many more features. Companies such as Cloud Net also offer free calls within their own network. Imagine if the whole country switched to the Cloud Net Network - the cost of the calls to everyone would be free!
Another abbreviation that is commonly used by these telecom companies is "PBX", which stands for Private Branch Exchange. Traditionally a telecoms company would send out an engineer to install a big box on one of the walls of your office. These are often expensive and can break down and require lots of service. PBX’s are used to handle multiple calls to your office phones. This can now be done by VoIP companies via the internet - they provide simple, easy to use software which is often free and allows you to monitor calls, ring multiple phones simultaneously, record conversations, transfer between extensions and much more.
Yet another abbreviation that you may come across when searching for VoIP telecoms is "QoS" (Quality of service). This term refers to the prioritisation of traffic over a network. Cloud Net's voice optimised broadband service, for example, has been designed to prioritise voice packets travelling down your broadband line. So when you are on the phone the broadband makes the call the number one priority and helps make sure you get the best quality phone conversation.
"SIP" stands for Session Initiation Protocol. This is a protocol that helps when transferring voice and video over the internet. The SIP controls the creating, terminating and modifying of sessions with participants. SIP is generally used in most multimedia communication sessions. Proxy Servers are elements used by SIP to help connect requests to the end users location.
VoIP has received a lot of bad press over the years due to people making calls using regular broadband, and because other users downloading, surfing and streaming were using up the bandwidth, call quality suffered. So companies like Cloud Net worked hard to find the right methods to make calls of an excellent quality - now a VoIP call is indistinguishable from a normal "landline" call, in fact often it is even better!
Kevin Box - Cloud Net