What Makes the IP Phone Distinct From Its Analogue Counterpart?
Back in the 80s, one of the most exciting things consumers could own was a digital watch. Instead of trying to figure out the time from the old-fashioned analogue watch, people simply read the numbers of a digital display. Since then, people got more used to the idea of digital technology. Now pretty much everything seems to be digital, from television and radio to music players, cameras, cell phones, and even books. If we narrow down the search to the phone, you may ask what the difference between analogue and the digital phone is. Which is best? Let’s take a closer look!
Analog Phones
It’s some kind of phone that we have been using for years. Analog is the process of taking an audio or video signal and translating it into electronic pulses. The analogue technology has been existing for decades because it’s not a complicated concept and it’s definitely inexpensive. In other words, they are extremely reliable, cost-saving and user-friendly.
However, there are limitations too. First of all, analogue signals have size limitations as to how much data they can carry. Analogue phones transmit signals continuously during communications, and this causes their batteries to run out faster. Furthermore, the application of analogue phones poses certain restrictions to use certain services (such as internet and e-mail connection) that will only be provided to digital users. As such, phones that use support future service must be compatible with other digital devices such as computers.
IP Phones
Digital, on the other hand, is breaking the signal into a binary format where the audio or video data is represented by a series of “1”s and “0”s. The beauty of digital is that it knows what it should be when it reaches the end of the transmission. As such, it can correct any mistakes that may have happened in the data transfer. In other words, clarity of signals is guaranteed. You will get distortion-free and error-free conversations and clearer signals.
Analog or IP?
The first thing to consider when buying the analogue or digital equipment is where you will be using it and why you are using it.
1. Capacity
The number of phone users in your office is one important consideration. If you use IP phones, you can have more extensions than you can with only analogue phones.
2. Line appearance and extension appearance
Some businesses want the ability to see and select phone lines or extensions right on their telephone, a feature called line or extension appearance. So if you want to have a line or extension appearance for your office, choose IP phones.
3. Wiring
Some offices are already wired for analogue telephones at each workstation. If you are wiring a brand new office and you are already putting computers at each desk, IP phones can save you the money and headaches of putting in two separate sets of wires.
Advantages of IP Phone at a Glance
IP systems are, by their nature, more complex than a digital platform, which is not necessarily a disadvantage. Rest assured, selecting an IP phone deployment requires a more diligent and advanced support system to efficiently monitor the system performance (IP phone deployment requires a comprehensive technical understanding of both internal network administration as well as on-going awareness of utilisation). Also, the IP phone requires more energy than a comparative digital phone deployment. As such, it provides greater flexibility for deployment based on the availability or limitations of a single line or dual-line cabling infrastructure.
On a final note, there are many choices for IT professionals for businesses that can work with phone systems in today’s marketplace. If you don’t know which business phone system provider to suit your business, you are always welcome to contact us and IT Solution will be happy to let you know how it’s going.
