If you have read some of our older blog posts, you may realize that we at Core Networks are fans of VoIP. However, if you have stumbled across our blog to read some of our newer posts, you probably don’t understand what VoIP is, other than some fancy type of telephone. In future posts, I plan to explain just what VoIP is, but first, we must first have some foundations to build on. There is an alphabet soup of techy terms surrounding VoIP, and in this post, we’re going to examine those terms.
VoIP Alphabet Soup
VoIP = Voice Over Internet Protocol. Works via Internet, so as long as you have Internet you can have VoIP and thus not pay for separate telephone service.
IPT = IP Telephony. Basically just another term for VoIP.
POTS = Plain old telephone service (keyword being service). The first form of telephony is best visualized as children talking to each other via two cans connected by string. POTS relies on analog/vibration-based signals.
PSTN = Public Switched Telephone Network. This is the physical network of cables, lines, satellites, etc. PSTN is digital, but it can carry POTS by converting the analog signal into a digital one.
PBX = Private Branch Exchange. A privately-owned PSTN.
LAN = Local Area Network. A relatively small network of devices, like in a small office. Some larger businesses may have multiple LANs.
WAN = Wide area Network. A network of networks, usually spanning a large geographic distance like a city, state, etc.
If that alphabet soup of tech terms seems confusing, that’s okay. I’ve given you some dots, but I haven’t really connected them yet. Keep an eye out for my future post explaining the basics of VoIP, in which this will all hopefully start to make sense.
Learn more about our VoIP service: https://corenets.com/telephone-system
