What Is VoIP? Voice over Internet Protocol
The technology that replaced traditional phone lines — explained without jargon.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is technology that converts your voice into digital data packets and sends them over the internet instead of traditional copper telephone lines. Unlike the old PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), which required a dedicated physical circuit for each call, VoIP compresses and routes voice traffic over the same IP networks that carry email, web browsing, and video streaming.
How VoIP works
When you speak into a VoIP device — a browser, a softphone app, or a VoIP desk phone — your voice is captured by the microphone, converted from analog sound waves into digital signals (a process called analog-to-digital conversion), compressed with a codec to save bandwidth, packetized into small chunks of data, and transmitted over the internet to the recipient. On the other end, the process reverses: packets are reassembled, decompressed, and converted back into sound.
The entire process happens in real time. Modern codecs like Opus (used by WebRTC) can deliver near-studio-quality audio at bitrates as low as 32 kbps — a fraction of what a traditional phone call uses.
VoIP vs. traditional phone lines
| Feature | VoIP | Traditional PSTN |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Internet connection | Copper wire / fiber circuit |
| Cost | Per-minute or flat-rate (typically <$0.10/min international) | Per-minute, often $0.50–$2.00/min international |
| Hardware needed | Browser, app, or VoIP phone | Analog phone or PBX system |
| Global reach | 180+ countries via carrier partners | Varies by carrier; often requires international plans |
| Setup time | Minutes (browser-based) | Days to weeks (physical install) |
Why businesses switched to VoIP
The global VoIP market was valued at approximately $40 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at over 10% annually through 2030. Three factors drove the transition from PSTN to VoIP:
- Cost. VoIP calls — especially international — are 80–95% cheaper than traditional carrier rates. A call from the US to China that costs $0.03/min via VoIP would cost $0.50–$1.00/min on a traditional phone plan.
- Flexibility. VoIP works anywhere with an internet connection. No physical phone line required. This made remote work and distributed teams viable.
- No hardware lock-in. Browser-based VoIP (WebRTC) eliminated the need for desk phones, PBX boxes, and on-premise telecom infrastructure entirely.
Common VoIP use cases
- International business calling — calling suppliers, factories, and partners abroad at per-minute rates 90% cheaper than mobile carriers.
- Contact centers — routing customer calls over the internet with advanced queuing and analytics.
- Remote team communication — voice and video calls between distributed offices.
- Personal international calling — calling family, banks, or government offices in other countries without a phone plan.
VoIP and AKITAKI
AKITAKI uses WebRTC — a browser-native VoIP protocol — to carry your voice directly from your browser to our carrier infrastructure (Telnyx), which bridges the call to the PSTN. This means you get enterprise-grade VoIP call quality without installing any software, configuring any settings, or signing a contract. Read more about WebRTC →