What's OTG and what can I do with it?

With VoIP, you're not making calls via an analog or digital (ISDN) line, but via the internet. One important difference between digital calls and internet calls, is that digital telephony is connected to the public switched telephone network. That means you call from one telephone connection to other telephone numbers, like you would with an analog line. Internet calls are made to IP adresses. VoIP telephony has a better call quality than digital or analog calls.

With VoIP, you can make calls to contacts all over the world. The fixed monthly fee for this is lower than for analog or digital calls. You can also combine different types of communication in 1 device with VoIP, such as your voicemail and email. That's useful for at home, but also at the office. Aside from these advantages, there are also some disadvantages to VoIP. A VoIP modem is electric, which means that you won't have reception if there's a power outage. Internet calls are also more sensitive to WiFi issues. Because without the internet, you can't make internet calls.

VoIP is often used for business telephony, because it comes with several business advantages. For example, you can connect a VoIP phone and a laptop to the internet via 1 Ethernet port, so you'll have less cables running through your office. In addition, you can make an unlimited amount of calls with just 1 network connection when you use VoIP. Thanks to the use of IP addresses, you can call from any location with internet. This means you're not limited to 1 location, as with a phone without VoIP. Want to move your business or open an extra office? You can keep using the same VoIP connection.

You need an SIP account to make internet calls with a VoIP phone. You'll get a special phone number that only works for IP telephony. The range of possibilities this offers, depends on the provider. Do you already have a landline phone set that you want to use for internet calls? It's possible to take out a VoIP subscription. With a VoIP subscription, you get a modem that you connect your analog phone to.

Note: to use a VoIP, you need either a special VoIP phone with a SIP account or a special box from your provider.