The first use of data transmission over the internet for voice communication started in 1973 due to experiments with network voice protocols during government project ARPANET, the seed that later bloomed into the internet as we know it.
But it was about two decades before voice over internet protocol (VoIP) would be available commercially. In 1995, a company called Vocaltec brought out the very first internet phone software, which compressed voice signals into digital packets that could be transmitted over the internet.
VoIP was promising due to the cost savings for local, long-distance, and international calls and the flexibility of losing the expensive handset hardware. By the year 2000, VoIP had grown to over 3% of all voice calls in the U.S.
But anyone that tried this technology in its early days, knows why businesses avoided switching right away to VoIP services, despite the huge cost savings.
Early Problems with VoIP
Connect2Geek has had a front row seat to the evolution of VoIP and we’ve seen it go from a service that businesses considered too risky to one that companies are adopting as the norm for their company-wide phone systems. Through our VoIP services we help businesses in Nampa and the surrounding area use this technology to the fullest.
In the early days of VoIP there were several growing pains that needed to be worked out before it could be considered a reliable replacement for landlines, such as:
- Poor voice quality (you immediately knew if someone was on VoIP)
- Dropped calls (the internet wasn’t as reliable in the late 1990s/early 2,000s)
- High latency (the lag time from sending data to receiving it on the other end)
Beyond just the voice technology itself needing to mature, the internet infrastructure it relied on also needed to evolve for VoIP to become viable for businesses to use.
Flash forward about 15 years…
The Bright Future and What VoIP Looks Like Now
With advances in VoIP technology and faster than ever high-speed internet connections, the look of internet-based phone technology has completely changed, to one that was cheap and of poor quality to one that offers the high quality and advanced features of an enterprise-class phone system, but for just a fraction of the cost.
Approximately 36% of businesses have switched to using VoIP phone systems, and that number is growing.
VoIP is proving itself in offices around the world (and in Nampa, Idaho!) as a viable replacement for landline-based phone systems, and one that is actually a smarter decision due to the mobility and cost savings.
Advantages that a VoIP system offers include:
- Excellent voice quality
- Smooth calling experience (no more dropped calls)
- Low latency (fast connection speeds for data going from point A to B)
- Lower cost than land-line systems (both for hardware and monthly call costs)
- Portability (ability to answer your phones anywhere)
- Advanced features (like voicemail to text and auto-attendant routing)
- Both voice and video call capability (Just like the Jetsons!)
- Easy scalability to add or remove user lines
The bottom line is that VoIP is all grown up now and is fast overtaking new installations of older analog phones. If you haven’t taken a look at this technology for a while, you’ll want to check it out and see what it looks like now.
Schedule a Free VoIP Demonstration for Your Office
Wondering how much you could do (and save) with VoIP? Connect2Geek is a proud SherWeb VoIP partner we can give you a free demonstration of VoIP technology so you can check it out for yourself.
Schedule a free demo today online or call us at 208-468-4323.