VOIP Adapter

Today, companies are increasing moving away from POTS (Plain Old Telephone Systems) to more advanced and modern Voice Over Internet Protocol phone systems, also called VOIP.  In older systems, phone calls worked by sending voice data directly as an analogue electrical system over the line.  VOIP phones work by converting speech into digital signals which are then sent in small bunches called packets over a digital network.  These packets can look just a webpage being downloaded or a file being sent over the network, and all of these different types of packets can be sent over the same network simultaneously.  Many people still want to use their old analog traditional phones and devices which requires a VOIP adapter to work on the modern networks.

If your office uses a modern digital VOIP phone system, you may still be able to plug in and use your favorite old phone by hooking it up to a VOIP adaptor.  These VOIP adaptors work by taking the analog electrical signal from the phone line and converting it into VOIP packets.  They also receive the VOIP packets for your calls and convert them back into electrical signals which to your phone sounds like a normal phone call.  Without one of these adapters, your old phone can't plug into the new system because they speak different languages: Your analog phone doesn't know how to talk with the digital network and vice versa.  The voip adapter serves as the translator that allows the two to work together successfully. 

Sometimes it may be difficult to tell if your phone will require a VOIP adapter to work on the network.  Usually you can tell based on the type of plug the phone has. An old style phone will have a phone plug, whereas a VOIP phone usually connects with an ethernet plug.  At first glance, these two look similar but the ethernet one is a bit bigger and you will not be able to successfully plug one into the other.  If your phone has an old phone connector and not an ethernet port, you will probably need to buy a VOIP adaptor to allow it to work.  If you do use an older phone with a VOIP adapter, you should be able to make and receive calls, but you will not get access to the advanced functions of VOIP phones which require a digital connection.  You can buy a VOIP adaptor online or from most office supplies and computer hardware retailers.