In this blog we’ll explore whether you need a telephone line for a VoIP phone system.
With many businesses moving to cloud based VoIP telephone systems, it is important to understand how they work, and what their requirements are.
One of the most commonly asked questions about VoIP is, “Does VoIP need a telephone line?”. So lets explore that..
Does VoIP need a phone line?
In short, no. A VoIP phone system does not require a telephone line. It does, however, require a broadband line. This is because VoIP uses your broadband connection to provide your business with both its voice and data connectivity.
Traditionally (before VoIP that is), a business needed multiple telephone lines. Each of these telephone lines is capable of handling one single call at any one time.
So, for example, if your business had 12 employees, you would opt for anywhere between 8-15 telephone lines, depending on your call volume.
VoIP does away with all of these additional telephone lines, instead replacing them with your businesses existing broadband connection.
Why does VoIP only require a broadband line?
VoIP stands for voice over IP. This means that your voice is going over an ‘IP’ network (which is a fancy way of saying internet).
When you speak, your voice is broken down into data packets. These packets are sent from your handset, over your businesses WiFi network, to the internet and then are picked up by the call recipient.
When your businesses uses a VoIP connection, it essentially ‘sections off’ a small area of your broadband connection for voice calls only. This means that if you’re on a call and there is a sudden influx of network traffic, you will not be cut off or have your call impeded.
The great thing is, your business probably already has the ability to run a VoIP telephone system. As a guide, we recommend no less than 20Mbps download to run a stable VoIP telephone system—which is achievable for most businesses, especially if you have access to a fibre broadband connection.
In short, VoIP enables your businesses to make better use of its existing broadband connection, by using it for both your voice and data connectivity.
What are the benefits of VoIP over phone lines?
Upgrading your telephone lines to VoIP brings with it a whole host of benefits. But here’s our top three:
1. Cost Savings
As you might expect, removing the requirement for multiple telephone lines, also removes the cost associated with these lines. Fewer lines = fewer costs. Another way you can save money, is utilising the 5,000 free UK minutes included with our VoIP phone system—helping you eliminate call charges.
2. Better voice quality
Using IP connectivity provides better quality voice when compared traditional ISDN/analogue technology. Switching to VoIP also allows your business to benefit from the latest, digital, high quality handsets, which help further improve voice quality over traditional telephone lines.
3. Future proof
If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Well in 2025, Openreach will turn off the UK’s ISDN network—therefore rendering all non-IP telephone systems redundant. While there is still plenty of time, moving to VoIP is something that your business should almost certainly consider.
Overall, VoIP is a great option for many businesses across the UK, providing reliable, robust and high quality communications at a lower price than traditional PBX and ISDN telephone systems.
