Voice Over Internet VPN

Two recent technologies are beginning to merge in a way that can provide a powerful tool for businesses - voice over internet VPN. What is voice over internet VPN? It is a service comprised of two distinct technologies; voice over internet protocol service (VOIP) and a virtual private network (VPN). When a company wants to use their VPN to run VOIP calls, the result is voice over internet VPN. We'll start by looking at the components and then see how they function when they're combined.

Voice over internet VPN uses a virtual private network to transmit the VOIP calls. How does VPN work? A VPN works much like the previous hard-wired network systems; a virtual private network gives the owner the ability to share information with others on their network by means of a private, exclusive link that is created by a method other than hard-wires or leased lines; usually via the public internet. As long as each computer on the network has access to the internet, information can be shared using local ISP circuits, across the internet, and to the recipient in much the same way that it was when the computers were physically connected. This is why the way VPN works is considered a "virtual" network; the entire connection is not hard-wired.

Now add VOIP to create the voice over internet VPN. It removes the long distance company from the equation, making a long distance phone call virtually the same as a local phone call. How? By using the virtual private network as the routing method that passes the call from the company's local phone provider to the receiving party's local phone provider. Someone inside the network initiates the call, and the analog voice signal is translated into a digital signal. That signal is then sent via the virtual private network to the internet, where it is routed to the receiving party's local phone provider's network at the other end of the vpn, translated back into an analog signal and sent to the receiving party's phone.

What makes voice over internet vpn a powerful service for companies is that it allows the company to create its own, private and protected phone network where their calls and data are transmitted over any distance - without paying long distance fees. And, the information is kept private by means of encryption on both the sending and receiving end.

There are a variety of encryption protocols, depending on what a company's needs are, who they need to communicate with (and therefore be compatible with), etc. The data is not only encrypted, but it is encapsulated, meaning it is sent in its own private "tunnel" or connection across the internet. No one can see the data, and even if they could, they can't decipher or change it.

In this way, information or voice calls can be sent across the internet without being susceptible to interception or corruption by those who are outside of the VPN. Voice over internet VPN can be a powerful tool for a company that needs to communicate sensitive information in a high volume to satellite locations or customers.