Benefits from Using a VoIP Adapter with Your Wi-Fi Network

What Are VoIP Adapters?

Are you considering connecting a VoIP adapter to your wireless network to improve how your business communicates? Hooking up your VoIP adapter with a Wi-Fi hotspot means you can take your IP phone everywhere you go. 

VoIP adapters offer you and your employees much wanted mobility. But, before you make the decision, let’s take a look at the basics.

VoIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. The term VoIP refers to any phone call sent over the Internet, rather than over traditional telephone lines, also called the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). 

The FCC defines it as “A technology that allows you to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. Some VoIP services may only allow you to call other people using the same service, but others may allow you to call anyone who has a telephone number – including local, long distance, mobile, and international numbers. Also, while some VoIP services only work over your computer or a special VoIP phone, other services allow you to use a traditional phone connected to a VoIP adapter.”

People often refer to VoIP by other names, including Internet telephony, IP telephony, IP phone, voice over broadband, IP communications, broadband telephony, and broadband phone services.

How Does VoIP Work?

VoIP sends voice signals from one phone to another via the Internet. Generally speaking, it involves a group of protocol technologies, including the Facetime Protocol and other open standards such as SIP. 

The most common way to deploy VoIP in your business is through an application, such as Zoom or Google Meet, a hosted VoIP service or IP-enabled PBX hardware.

Since it works with so many commonly used tools, the VoIP industry is currently growing. It had a cumulative annual growth rate of 9.1% from 2016 through 2021 and there were 204.8 billion corporate VoIP subscribers worldwide in 2020. 

Businesses across the world continue to adopt VoIP now more than ever. 

Related: How to explain to your customers how SIP works in VoIP

How does a VoIP Adapter Work?

With this broad understanding, you may be ready to learn how a VoIP adapter works. 

Generally speaking, VoIP adapters act as a bridge between an IP network and your desktop telephone. Sometimes, the bridge extends to the PSTN. 

What does it do exactly? It converts voice traffic into a suitable form for receipt by the destination device or network. Let’s break this process down a little more.

VoIP adapters convert analog signals from any telephone into digital data packets. Then, they compress, break and transfer these packets across the IP network through a signaling protocol. 

The opposite applies if the signal comes from the IP network, which means the digital packets are decompressed and converted to analog signals so they can reach the destination telephone.

Deploying VoIP on your wireless network is as comfortable as doing it on your wired LAN. So, instead of having a hub filled with numerous wires connected to different machines, you have a router. This router is, in turn, connected to an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA).

That means you’ll be able to make calls using an IP phone if you are within range of the network. It’s that simple.

Related: An Overview of VoIP Telephony (and How It Relates to SIP)

Tips for Using a VoIP Adapter with Your Wireless Network

Here are six tips for using a VoIP adapter with your wireless network.

1. Use a Wireless Bridge to Connect to Wi-Fi

The first step is to connect your wireless to the VoIP adapter. You can accomplish this in a number of ways, including:

• Using a softphone (VoIP software)
• Use an Ethernet Wireless Bridge
• Using a wireless VoIP Phone
• Using an altered Wireless Router
• Using Windows Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) from a computer with a wireless adapter

However, experts recommend using wireless bridges. In order to function, they receive the wireless signal then pass it on to the VoIP adapter. Wireless Ethernet Bridges are also compatible with wired IP phones.

2. Don’t Mix VoIP and Data

Experts recommend not using VoIP with data. Any interruption or delay can lead to problems with VoIP applications. Using the same wireless network for both data transmission and VoIP is one example of disruption and can result in decreased voice quality.

Ensure that VoIP packets are delivered in priority using the quality of service (QoS) features.

3. Use It with Your Phone

VoIP adapters are primarily used to save money. It is inexpensive to make calls from your IP phone. Why don’t you add phone capabilities to the network you already use for web services and email? As the main benefit of this strategy, you will have unlimited Internet calling.

4. Use a Secure Wireless Network

One of the biggest concerns of using a VoIP adapter with your wireless network is security. Transmissions that go over airwaves are more susceptible to interception than transmissions through cables.

This means that the wireless network that your VoIP adapter is connected to must be secure. The traffic must be encrypted and authenticated.

5. Use a Dependable Wireless Network

This seems like an obvious tip; however, you must understand why it is important. Since VoIP is a real-time application, packet loss can significantly affect its performance. Below, you will find a list of the three most common causes of packet loss. 

• Weak Signals
• Range limitations
• Interference from other devices on the same frequency

Having a reliable wireless network is critical to preventing packet loss. By doing so, you will ensure high voice quality for every call and prevent dropped calls.

6. Extend the Reach of Your Wireless Network

One of the main ways of making your wireless network dependable is by extending its reach. The easiest way of doing this is by setting up a wireless range extender (wireless repeater or Wi-Fi expander).

These extenders pick up wireless network signals and rebroadcast them. You can use WiMAX to achieve the same result. It’s a family of wireless communication standards based on 802.16 criteria.

Unlike regular extenders, WiMAX can provide wireless broadband to an entire area ranging as much as 46 miles. With theoretical and practical throughputs of 288 Mbps and 70 Mbps, respectively, WiMAX is perfect for VoIP.

Wrapping Things Up

VoIP adapters can save you a great deal of money on your telephone service. It allows you to use your IP network to make phone calls. Many companies utilize wireless technology to operate their IP networks, and setting up VoIP in their businesses saves them a lot of money in the long-term. You can make the same choice and start saving today.Since you now have a much better understanding of the way VoIP adapters work, it’s an ideal time to give them a try to improve your business’ communications. SIP.us lets you explore these and other services for free and quickly implement them in your company. Get started now.