Download First, pick up the phone Dial a phone number The callee`s phone

So by now you probably know what VoIP is. (Voice over Internet Protocol) But do you know how a
VoIP call actually works? Keep reading to get the lowdown and learn the lingo.
First, pick up the phone
Your phone will give you a dial
tone as long as your internet
connection is active, and there
are no interruptions caused
by any firewalls on your LAN.
*If you have an analog phone you will
Pick up
your phone
Do you hear
a dial tone?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
*
0
#
Dial a phone
number
*ATA
The number travels
through an Ethernet cable
need an analog phone adapter (ATA).
Dial a phone number
The phone number is sent to your
VoIP company’s database via the
internet. Then the database uses
the phone number’s IP address
through call mapping to determine
where to send the call.
It transmits
through a Switch
The callee’s phone rings
The database then locates the
callee’s IP address and sends the
call to the callee’s phone through the
internet. When a connection is made,
the callee’s phone will ring.
Then through a
router/modem to
the internet
The database connects your call to the callee over the internet
Callee answers the phone
When the caller picks up the
phone, a session is established
between your phone and the
callee’s phone. This means that each
system accepts information from
one another and creates a clear
communication channel for
the session to take place.
The call travels to
their router/modem
It is directed to their
line by a Switch
Then through the Ethernet
port to their phone
The callee’s
phone rings
When the call is answered a data transmitting session is created
During your conversation
Your system and the callee’s
system transmits data packets back
and forth each time you speak. A
data packet is a basic unit of
communication over a digital network.
When you hang up
The circuit is closed between
your phone and the internet.
Data packets are sent, uninterrupted, over individual channels
BY KATHERINE SMIDANSKY
BROUGHT TO YOU BY FATHOM VOICE
Sources: http://voip.about.com/od/glossary/g/PacketDef.htm, http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/solutions/small_business/resource_center/articles/serve_customers_better/how_voip_
works/index.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_processing, http://www.mainlinecom.com/voipnetwork.html