Cable Installations for Voice over IP

Voice over IP is a technology which provides an option to make calls using the internet connection. While switching from traditional telephone system to VoIP phone systems there should be sufficient bandwidth, quality switches and routers and a good back up power supply solution to protect from power failures.

                                           Fig 1: Residential network including VoIP

Requirements for VoIP installation:

• Bandwidth: Determining the bandwidth requirement of the organization is the first step. Internet connection is required to connect the analog phone adapter to the internet.
• Router: selecting low quality routers may degrade the network performance.
• AC power outlet: To connect the analog phone adapter.
• Ethernet Cable: To connect the telephone to router or modem.
• Quality of Service: Determine whether the voice traffic is separated from regular internet users or if both share the same line.
• VoIP Device: Various IP phones like digital office phones, soft phones, analog phones with adapters, headsets etc. are available in the market.
• VoIP Gateway: connect the VoIP equipments in the network to either the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or the building’s telephone switch to connect the calls from outside customers.
• Uninterrupted power supply: VoIP works using internet and so it can’t work when power goes off. So better battery backup installations are to be done prior to VoIP installation. If there is sufficient budget, Power-Over-Ethernet switches can also be tried.

IP Telephone instruments can be broadly classified in to three:

1. IP hard phones (IP telephone instruments):

These phones can be only used as a VoIP phone and cannot be used over a Public Switched Telephone Network. It can be classified as Vendor specific instruments and open standards based instruments. Open Standards based phones are widely available from a variety of manufacturers and are commonly referred to as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) phones.

2. IP soft phones:

They enable the personal computer to act like a VoIP phone. A soft phone is actually a software that can be downloaded from the internet, installed and can be used to make VoIP phone calls using a VoIP provider.

3. Analog phones used with adapters:

                      A VoIP system also allows connecting the ordinary telephone handsets to the Internet using an adapter called ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter). 

How to Install?

            Installing a VoIP phone is easier than installing a traditional analog telephone. In an ideal installation, VoIP can eliminate the need for two separate cabling for voice and data communications. There are three most common uses for VoIP. They are: to interconnect VoIP phones within same building using its Local Area Network, to interconnect VoIP phones between multiple buildings using its backbone network and to interconnect VoIP phones in different organizations using the Internet and/or the Wide Area Network.

To install VoIP phones the first step is to make sure that the internet connection is active. Then go to the router and connect the Ethernet cable to the ATA Linksys PAP2. After that connect the ATA to the power outlet and using a regular phone cable connect the standard telephone set to the ATA. A green light will blink. Depending on the ATA model follow the manufacturer’s instructions to configure the VoIP account and start making VoIP calls.

VoIP phones provide significant benefits compared to legacy phone systems. The migration towards VoIP will increase in the coming years. The use of VoIP can save a lot of money; it efficiently uses the bandwidth, and creates a more productive environment.