Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls – also known as internet calls or wifi calls – are simply audio or video calls made over the internet.
They have become increasingly popular over recent years and are now widely used for both business communications and personal calls that would previously have been made via a landline or mobile network.
VoIP calls may sound like a recent innovation, but they actually date back to the 1970s, when this form of communication was first tested by the US Department of Defence. VoIP technology works by dividing information into small packets that are transported via the data networks connecting devices such as computers and smartphones, then reassembling the information to present to the receiver at the end of the line.
In most cases, these packets can be sent from one device to another anywhere in the world in less than a second. It’s a completely different system to traditional phone networks, which connect calls by switching circuits in an intervening exchange.
