VoIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocol, has become a staple of the modern workplace. There are entire businesses run by people who have never met one another in person, working entirely over internet phone services. If we’re relying on a line to connect one caller to another, what’s the difference between VoIP and a landline?

Unique Features

Voice Over Internet Protocol comes with all the unique features of internet communication. This means that you can video chat, or send texts, videos, and images. A landline is an older technology not suited for today’s business landscape and is therefore limited.

Reduced Cost

Broadband calling is less expensive to set up than landlines. There was a time when this wasn’t the case, but if you have internet access, you can set VoIP up in your office. Landlines may require wiring the entire building for phones.

Internet phone calls are pretty much free. International and mobile calls may come with associated costs, but you’re typically not paying anything but your electric and internet bill for a typical VoIP call.

Connectivity

Broadband phones are connected via the same broadband internet that you use for everything else in your office, where old-fashioned copper wires connect landlines.

Convenience

Having multiple landlines in a single office requires a PBX, which is a physical unit that has to be installed in the office. If you go into old office buildings you can see these “phone closets,” whole rooms set aside to allow the phones to operate. With internet calling, you can set up as many lines as you need.

At home, a landline offers a degree of reliability and convenience. You can use a landline phone when the power is out, and your home already has a jack installed. In the workplace, our communication needs are a little more demanding, and we may have hundreds of people in a single building, all requiring their phone number with which to speak to clients, colleagues, and customers. The time, money, and effort you can save with Voice Over Internet Protocol, up front and over time, is priceless. Contact Atlantic Business Systems if you’re in need of a quality communications system in your place of business.