VoIP Equipment

All the Gizmos, Bells and Whistles You'll Need
When you call the phone company to turn on service in your new house, you need a telephone. You'll also need a cord to plug your phone into the wall jack, but most phones come with that. That's all you need to do for your standard telephone service--call the phone company, buy a phone, plug it in.

Getting started with VoIP telephone service is a little more involved, and you may have to buy some hardware or software to get started. To get started, you'll need to have a broadband Internet connection. Your VoIP provider will supply you with an analog telephone adapter (ATA), which plugs into your phone on one end, and your broadband modem on the other.

That's the basic set-up, but you will probably want more. Your broadband modem can only accommodate one device at a time, so you can't surf the Web and talk on your VoIP phone at the same time. To be able to use both your computer and your phone simultaneously, you'll need to add a router. This is another small hardware device that connects to your modem on one end, and your computer and telephone on the other. Your router will allow you to connect multiple computers as well into a small network.

On the software side, both your router and your broadband modem will have some sort of configuration software that you will need to use. This software lets you configure your hardware devices.

Optionally, you may wish to also add a firewall, which is a software or hardware device that will prevent hackers from attacking your system. It will protect all of the devices on your network, including your Internet phone and your computer.

You can use any ordinary telephone along with the adapter. Alternately, you may purchase a specialized IP telephone. This type of telephone looks like an ordinary phone, but instead of a standard wall jack, it has an Ethernet jack. With an IP phone, the adapter is not necessary. You plug the IP phone's Ethernet jack directly into the router or modem. The advantage of using an IP phone instead of a regular phone is that it doesn't have to go through the computer, in fact, you don't have to have a computer at all--and the installation process is much simpler.

If you don't want to go all-out with the full service, you may decide to try out VoIP at first with just PC-to-PC service. This is simple, and you won't need to buy any special hardware, adapters, or telephones. Although you'll still need a broadband connection, the only other thing you need is the software. Your computer will have to be equipped with a sound card, a microphone, and speakers (usually standard equipment on most PCs).

If you are installing VoIP in your office with multiple phones, there will be an extra step of course, and that's the PBX (private branch exchange). Replacing standard telephony with IP telephony in the office will require you to replace the PBX with a new IP-based PBX. Fortunately, an IP PBX is inexpensive.

Another option which some companies may choose is to deploy their own VoIP server. Going through a service provider is easier, and probably a better option for smaller companies. However, if you do choose to deploy your own VoIP server, then you've just added another hardware requirement. It is possible to deploy a server on an existing PC, but using a separate, dedicated computer for your VoIP server is recommended for the greatest security and performance.

VOIP :: Voice Over IP Information

Your Guide to VOIP Telephone Technology and Services