In the coming years, voice over internet protocol (VOIP) is going to dominate the communication world with its technological advantages. In fact, many communication companies have started using VOIP technology for their long distance calls.

As the name implies, the broadband video phone is a piece of new technology that allows you to make a phone call but with both parties being able to see each other as well.

Imagine phones (that look like regular phones as we-know-it-today) connecting to the Internet via an Ethernet jack (similar to a PC) instead of the phone plug on the wall. These are called IP-based phones. These phones do not use analog phone lines - instead they get connected to the Internet.

From the old party lines in the old days to the modern in home phones to the cellular rage and now VOIP that were currently in there is one thing to know for certain. Phones are here to stay. In this article we'll explore the basics of VOIP, analog vs. digital systems, a basic business system, headsets, tape recorders and phone tapping.

VoIP has been rapidly embraced by several large businesses in a short time due to diversity of its features and the low cost for local and long-distance calling. In VoIP, all the audio data is transmitted over the internet along with other data. This results in a much lower running cost for both the VoIP provider as well as the consumer. Secondly, because of the internet, it is possible to use VoIP no matter where the caller or receiver is, as long as they are both connected to the internet. The technology has matured to the point were it is no long required of the communicating parties to even possess or use a computer in order to avail VoIP. All the parties using VoIP can be operating over the internet but without a computer.