A Short History

It all started in 1995 when a company called VocalTec pioneered a new phone they dubbed, InternetPhone. The purpose of the phone was to work around the large charges administered by phone companies for international and long distance calling. There was no video and both people had to have the same software.

After a few years, they had added a few services, namely voicemail, and phone to phone and phone to computer capabilities. With the quality of internet in the mid to late 90s, these calls were usually frustrating and often had poor sound quality, bad and dropped connections, and periods of silence. By 1999, VoIP, voice over internet protocol, accounted for less than 1% of voice calls made.

The potential of this software was not lost on people though, three more companies emerged and all started offering equipment so that people can keep their old phones and still use a VoIP phone system. Broadband Ethernet improved the call quality immensely but it did not get rid of all the problems and calls were still had some static. This all meant that at the end of 2002, VoIP consisted of 25% of all voice calls.

So far I have made it seem that only businesses and people who make regular long distance calls are the ones who use these VoIP phone systems. That is not true, one of the largest demographics using these services is PC gamers. They use softwares like TeamSpeak, RaidCall, and Skype to communicate with their friends and fellow gamers while online. Skype has become so popular, not with only gamers of course, that ebay bought them for $2.6 billion, even though Skype has yet to see a profit.

Today, there is a wide variety of services and companies looking to get in on the growing business. The quality of calls now rivals phones so now it is used for oversea calling quite frequently. In fact, if you call a customer service line and get an indian guy, he is most likely using a VoIP system.

Why Internet Phones are Growing Fast

Value

For the average person, if you know your friends have apps like skype or WhatsApp you can use your phone for pretty much free. If you feel the need to call anybody and do not know if they have that app, a call from skype costs 2.3 cents per minute. This is a lot better than the phone companies charging anywhere from $60 to over $100 a month for just one line. The only thing keeping the big phone corporations in business is that the recognition of VoIP advantages are still fairly low and that people feel the need to have the newest, most expensive phones which are usually only sold by phone companies with two-year plans.

For businesses, VoIP phones are extremely popular. These phone systems cut the cost of running and starting a business, especially if you are contacting people over long distance. Businesses of all sizes have recognized the value and are switching. In 2014 almost 79% of businesses in America use VoIP phones in at least one area.

Versatility

With the ability to send video and text as well as voice, many people enjoy the wide range of services provided by VoIP apps. In business this is taken to a whole new level. Services provided to business make everyday processes much easier. Furthermore, it can work smoothly with programs like Outlook and Office. Contacts can be imported or exported very easily, data is easily sent between people during a call, video and audio conferencing is cheaper and more available.

Providers of VoIP services have advanced call forwarding options so that you no longer need a PBX and, if you want, you can get those calls directly to your mobile phone. Some providers even have data so that if you have and emergency and need to step away, you can still be connected to your businesses with your mobile phone in areas with no internet. If you are looking to really cut costs for your business, any tablet or computer you will already be using to run your business can be used to make calls.

With internet based phones it is easy to keep track of and manage your system. If you have an IT service, it will be easy for them to monitor it along with the rest of your network so you do not have to worry about your phones going down. Call logs are easy to make and retrieve. You or your employees do not have to even be at their desk to take calls, making it more efficient and easier for callers to reach you. This is great especially for small businesses because this means no longer having a phone cluttering your workspace or having to run in order to answer it.