Glossary
What is VoIP?
Voice over internet protocol: the technology behind cloud phone systems, virtual numbers and SIP trunks.
The short answer
What is VoIP?
VoIP (voice over internet protocol) is technology that carries phone calls as data over an internet connection instead of a traditional phone line. A VoIP call can be made from a desk phone, a computer or a mobile app, and it can still call and receive calls from ordinary landlines and mobiles through a provider connected to the phone network. Cloud phone systems, virtual phone numbers and SIP trunks all run on VoIP.
How it works
To the person you're talking to, a VoIP call sounds like any other call. The difference is in how it travels.
- Your voice is turned into small packets of data and sent over the internet.
- A VoIP provider passes calls between the internet and the ordinary phone network, so you can reach any number.
- Your number belongs to your account, not to a wire in a building, so calls can ring on any device you sign in on.
- Call quality depends mostly on the internet connection.
Example
A two-person accounting office cancels its landlines and moves its number to a VoIP service. Calls ring on the desk phones and in an app on both partners' mobiles, so a client who calls while one of them is out still gets through.
What it means for a small business
For a small business, VoIP mostly means flexibility: numbers aren't tied to a building, and calls can go to apps, other numbers or software. An AI receptionist connects the same way. Daber AI's agent answers on its own number, on your existing number through call forwarding, or over a SIP trunk or Twilio number you already have.
Questions
Is VoIP the same as a landline?
It can replace one, but it works differently. A landline runs over a physical phone line to a fixed location; VoIP runs over the internet and works wherever your devices are signed in. Callers can't tell the difference.
What affects VoIP call quality?
Mostly the internet connection: its speed, stability and delay. A wired connection or strong Wi-Fi, and a network that isn't overloaded by large uploads during calls, matter more than the phone itself.
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