VoIP gives free calls right? Wrong! (ish).

The telecoms industry's marketing of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been negligent over the years with references to 'FREE calls' being let idly by when the real benefits have been largely glossed over.

What most business owners and IT & Telecoms managers are unaware of are the excellent operational functions of VoIP, how it can connect remote offices, greatly improve customer service, keep travelling staff in touch and enhance disaster recovery.

To the uninitiated VoIP is simply explained like this; when you connect an extension to a phone system you use a cable connection? Well, with VoIP, the internet is used to connect static and roaming extensions (IP extensions) and network compatible phone systems (Network IP Telephony). The result is wherever there is broadband internet and a way of connecting to it, you can have an IP extension.

Calls made IP to IP (connected to the same IP phone system or network IP phone system) are indeed FREE, yay! You know how calls made Skype to Skype, MSN Chat to MSN Chat etc. are all free? Well that's why, these are IP to IP calls.

A call originating as IP to a destination not on the same IP phone system or network will be sent over the public exchange network, which means it will be metred, which means it will be charged - often at inflated call charge rates, so BEWARE!

If your business has multiple sites then VoIP technology enables you to connect all the sites together which means you can share system functionality (voicemail, auto attendant, call recording etc.), calls made to one office can seemlessly be transferred to another site like an internal call. Inbound calls can be sent to groups containing extensions at different sites. Call management and statistics can be merged... and, yes, inter-site calls are all IP to IP, so free.

Homeworkers and roaming workers with access to broadband internet can be set up instantly without the need for a new line (up to 9 days) to be installed and once connected an IP extension works in EXACTLY the same way as an internal 'hardwired' extension. TECH BIT: An IP terminal is a digital telephone with a network card, simple.

VoIP has stepped up now with the introduction of SIP lines, superceding ISDN, which offer the same popular flexibility on trunk lines as with extensions. Companies are able to relocate outside their telephone exchange area without having to change their telephone number; SIP trunk lines are delivered via a dedicated broadband connection and can indeed save money.

Throw Hosted VoIP, soft switches, VoIP-ready, VoIP-enabled and SIP extensions in to the mix and the whole subject can be terribly techy, which is probably why the industry is happy to let the lazy free calls line be rolled out so often.

VoIP is not the future, it's the now, and it's a fantastic piece of technology, not a cheap free calls gimmick.