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VoIP Phone

VoIP phones utilize packet-switched Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), or Internet telephony, to transmit telephone calls over the Internet as opposed to the circuit-switched telephony used by the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The advantage to VoIP phone calls is that unlike regular long-distance calls, phone calls made through a VoIP phone service are free – there are no fees beyond the cost of your Internet access.

Also referred to as online phones or Internet phones, a VoIP phone can be a physical telephone with built-in IP technology and an RJ-45 Ethernet connector instead of the RJ-11 phone connector found in standard phones, or it can be a voice-capable computer that uses VoIP hardware such as MagicJack or VoIP software like Skype. This flexibility makes it possible for VoIP phone calls to function as Internet phone-to-phone, Internet phone-to-PC, PC-to-PC or PC-to-phone calls.

See The Difference Between VoIP and PSTN Systems in the Did You Know? section of Webopedia.
Also see the
VoIP Meets WiFi article in the Did You Know? section of Webopedia.



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