Broadband Phone

A broadband phone is used with a broadband Internet connection to make phone calls. Telecommunication companies set up infrastructure that can transfer voice data from one end to another, allowing consumers to make calls through traditional digital phones without realizing that the calls are being transmitted via the internet. The voice is received from the phone and broken down into data packets and sent through the internet to a receiving station. The receiving station then translates the data back into voice data so that the intended receiver understands the information sent as if he was talking to the person with the use of a regular phone. A slower Internet connection makes the voice signal choppy and unclear, so it is important to have a quality broadband connection.

Let's take a step back and examine what the uses are for broadband phone service. More specifically, the technology behind it. Broadband phone service is utilized by a technology called Voice Over IP (Internet Protocol), or VoIP. It utilizes the bandwidth (the "speed" in layman's terms) to send voice packets. These packets are sent like any other data (i.e. email, web browsing etc.). When they reach their destination the data packets are reconstructed and converted into voice!

All of this happens in a fraction of a second but many issues can arise to degrade the broadband phone service quality. A slow connection, bad phone, over-utilized bandwidth and a bad service provider can all degrade the quality of the phone call.

Nowadays, instant messaging Internet applications have voice messaging capabilities. Although consumers need a computer to make calls with this method, voice messaging uses the same technology. In fact some providers want to make the experience as traditional as possible--so traditional that phones can be connected to the computer. By using this technology, consumers can simply use their existing broadband connection to make free Internet phone calls.

There are usually significant cost savings by using broadband phone service that can alleviate the negative effects of service quality. For the general consumer this might be an acceptable trade-off. But a commercial enterprise might not want to accept this risk.

So why is broadband phone service so cheap? Would it surprise you to know you're traditional telephone company has been ripping you off for years? OK, so no big surprise there, but I'll give you the low down anyway. Turns out broadband phone, and traditional phone services use the exact same grid for transferring phone calls. The Internet. The difference is your traditional phone company has been charging you to send your calls to that grid, where with broadband phone service your DTA, or broadband phone adapter handles that for you and doesn't charge you a dime. You're truly just paying for the service.