What is VoIP Vs. Cell Phone?
Being successful at what you do in the 2020s requires you to be always well-informed about your domain and to stay reachable. Therefore, entrepreneurs and professionals need to always have their phones on them, as an opportunity lost due to lack of communication can go a long way. Desk phones manning the fast-paced demands of today’s times, that too solo, is totally out of question! In fact, new research shows that the percentage of homes with landlines has now dropped to 46 only. VoIP works by using the internet to facilitate voice, video, and media communications without the need for cables or traditional landline setups.
A good VoIP system is now the first choice for business communications, and many people are also switching their home phone services to VoIP as well.
While the manifold benefits of cell phones are immensely appreciated, the same cannot always be said about cell service. The cost of calling, the disappearing signals in some service dead zones, and the various terms and conditions regarding different calling packages don’t agree with everybody.
The calling costs set by cell service providers often don’t suit new startups that are looking to cut costs wherever possible as well as widespread businesses with huge and frequent calling needs. This is where VoIP service providers come to the rescue! Adding a basic VoIP app to your smartphone can save you from the worry of calling costs and let you focus on your actual work.
Can VoIP replace a cell phone?
With more people switching to texting instead of making calls over cell phone service, many are seeing VoIP as the destined replacement of cellphone service for voice calls. Many organizations and even home set-ups supporting multiple communication devices are starting to prefer communicating over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and benefitting from potential savings on the communication cost. VoIP does not require a special router, making setup easy and cost-friendly as well.
VoIP calls bring about many benefits and have become a popular choice for cutting down on calling minutes and enjoying real-time video conversations. Also, with the growing geographic coverage of data networks, VoIP services are becoming more reliable. Not just that, the VoIP service apps have replaced cell phone voice service for international calls, to a great extent.
That said, not everybody can afford to completely cut back on cell phone voice service. Individuals who travel a lot, rely on their cell phone service for frequent communication with family, friends, and their workplace, that they can’t risk dropping owing to being in a data-less zone.
You need your cell service, even if not always, when and where you can’t access mobile broadband. It may come as a surprise, but research regarding broadband figures shows that 5% of mobile phone users still don’t have access to broadband, which makes 16 million of them, therefore while VoIP is a promising technology, it can’t completely replace cell phone service, not for everybody, at least not just yet.
Do Cell Phones Use VoIP?
Simply put, yes, they do. Mobile VoIP requires a cell phone’s 4G/5G connection, Wi-Fi hotspots or another internet service to make voice calls over Internet Protocol. This way mobile phone users can cut back on the calling costs. Smartphone users can especially benefit by making free or inexpensive voice and video calls using VoIP software, locally or internationally. While some offers vary from one VoIP provider to the other, mobile VoIP users in general do not experience limitations on text messages or calling minutes.
Is VoIP Better than Cellular?
When talking strictly in terms of costs, VoIP is better. For any business, cutting down on avoidable expenses is necessary, which is why switching to VoIP using your data plan is a wise choice. If you do the math, you will see that no matter what a cell service provider has to say about cellular rates, data costs significantly lesser than calling minutes.
However, with its pros come its share of cons as well. VoIP calls rely on the availability of strong and stable signals of the internet connection. While data network coverage has greatly increased, there are still areas with little to no coverage. If your internet connection isn’t strong, making VoIP calls wouldn’t be the best experience for you as you will face issues with audio and you will more likely be unable to make video calls. Regardless, most companies today choose VoIP over traditional PBX systems.
Therefore, a smart choice would be to make use of both technologies for greater convenience. Consider segregating your business calls and personal calls by opting for VoIP for one and cellular network for the other. The cloud system of your smart phone can make use of intelligent call forwarding and forward you any business calls that are unable to reach your company’s number on your personal number. That way you can enjoy a mostly segregated calling traffic on your numbers, on top of the perk of enjoying cheap data plans.
VoIP also offers more security than cell phones, with specialized tools for controlling system access and use as well as protections against breached calls or data.
What is VoIP vs. cell phone?
Cell phones make use of a speaker and microphone combination. The sound waves of your voice are transformed into an electrical signal which are further transmitted from your phone as radio waves. On the receiver’s end, these are converted back into sound waves. This whole process requires a mobile phone to be connected to its nearest cell phone mast. Each time a call is made, the signal is beamed on to the same mast, and then moves through a local base station before arriving to its intended destination. A grid pattern consisting of grid boxes known as ‘cells’ is imposed on the mast’s landscape to prevent multiple calls from intermingling.
As for VoIP calls, or communications made as Voice over Internet Protocol, these work by transforming your sound into a digital signal and then making use of your internet connection to transmit that signal over to the receiver. Specialized IP phones that look like the regular telephones are connected to your router for making VoIP calls. VoIP vendors offer number porting, so it's possible to use your old phone on VoIP without giving up an established business phone number.
Besides using IP phones, VoIP service can also be utilized with Analog Telephone Adapters or softphones. Even simpler is to download VoIP apps and make use of them directly on your desktop device or your smartphones for more convenient usage.
VoIP can also be used with landlines for companies who are looking to blend their communication systems.
What is replacing VoIP?
While there may be rumors about VoIP being replaced by another technology soon, such is not the case. In fact, VoIP is considered better than landlines by most companies. Instead, immense growth is expected in the VoIP industry, in the coming years. With cut down costs of communication and greater ease in mobility without being tied down as in the case with cellular service, VoIP is surely here to stay.
Moreover, customers are greatly in favor of the cheap to no prices for sending messages and making audio and video, long-distance calls without having to compromise on quality. As such, many companies and individuals alike are making the switch to VoIP.
Therefore, it’s safe to say, that while VoIP still has room for improvement and geographical data coverage needs to be increased further, it’s a great way of cutting down on communication costs.
