Getting Started with VoIP

What are VoIP Adapters?

My Favorite VoIP Phones & Headsets

BYOD VoIP Providers

VoIP Adapters

VoIP adapters play an important role in the transition to voice over IP because they allow you to use a traditional analogue telephone with a voice over IP service provider. They will have several ports on the side of the device that are used to connect in your Ethernet cable from your internet connection and the analogue telephone cord from your analogue phone. Depending on the device it will have one or two of each of these ports to get the device set up. Now one thing I should talk about is the difference between FXS and FXO ports on these adapters. An FXS port is an analogue port used for connecting to your telephone handset. An FXO port is used for connecting to your analogue telephone line. Now you may be thinking "why would I want to connect my analogue telephone line? Well if you have an analogue back up, if your internet goes down (it happens) you can still keep calling although at the more expensive analogue rate.

As in the video, some VoIP adapters may also have more than one Ethernet port. It's the slightly larger port (compared to the analogue FXS/FXO). If there is only one, then the device does not have a router and must be connected to your own router to work properly. If you already have a router these are the easiest to get set up. If you do not have a router I would suggest that you get a VoIP adapter with 2 Ethernet ports because then it will have a router built in.

For a detailed list of VoIP adapters check out this list.