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A VoIP phone service could be key to futureproofing your business communications. Being able to make and take calls via the internet, and better integrate your telephony with other communication channels, can mean greater productivity organization-wide.
RingCentral are specialists in cloud-based business communications. Whether you’re looking to use physical IP phones in your office or need a VoIP telephony solution to cater for a fully remote workforce, we can help.
A Voice over IP phone—sometimes also known as an IP phone or internet-based phone—is any device that uses IP technology to transmit calls.
That’s likely a broader VoIP phone meaning than you may have expected. There are, in fact, two main types of VoIP phones:
When you picture internet phones, you might be thinking of a traditional looking deskphone that plugs into your office Ethernet port. That’s the first of the two main types of Voice over IP phones; known as hard phones.
The other variety are softphones. Softphones are basically software apps installed onto your computer or mobile device so they can be used like a hard phone. In essence, they’re virtual phones that are not restricted to any physical location.
That’s your Voice over Internet phone hardware sorted. Now you need to know how to pick the right VoIP provider. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind:
If you choose RingCentral as your VoIP phone system provider, you get more than just a comprehensive set of telephony features. Sure, you do get call management functionalities, voicemail, call recording, and more, but you can also benefit from:
Unlike legacy PBX, a VoIP phone service like RingCentral RingEX only requires a strong internet connection. This means significant savings on infrastructure and hardware. VoIP also allows long-distance and international calls via the internet at no added cost.
When you opt for an IP phone system, there’s no need to wait for tedious installations. We understand the value of time in business here at RingCentral. You can count on us to have your internet phone service up and running in no time.
VoIP is not just about making calls. RingEX is a unified communications solution that includes an array of extra features, such as call forwarding, call routing, call recording, SMS messaging, voicemail, video chats, and more.
VoIP phones don’t tie you to a physical workstation, instead giving your business the means to meet the rising demand for remote work. With RingEX, employees can work from anywhere, anytime, and from any device.
RingCentral VoIP services are encrypted with secure voice between endpoints on the network. This translates to VoIP phone calls that are protected from interruption and threats like power outages, inclement weather, malicious attacks, etc.
Traditional business phones are static, but VoIP evolves with you. Whether you have plans to expand to multiple locations or add international people to your team, you can scale easily with a VoIP business phone system like RingCentral RingEX.
In network terms, a port is a communication endpoint used by the transport protocol to facilitate the stream of information. Every single piece of data has a destination port associated with it, and this port is associated with a number to enable the server to sort traffic and deliver the data to the correct recipient.
Port numbers range from 0 to 65535. For VoIP traffic, the standard port is 5060, which is used for both TCP and UDP connections. Consider it the gateway for VoIP functions such as media streaming and video conferencing. Often, port 5004 UDP is preferred when transmitting packets of data within a computer network.
VoIP phone and communications providers use a variety of ports based on their specific product designs and requirements. They may also have a supplementary list of UDP ports for when they need to upgrade their products.
Apart from network ports, you may also need hardware ports in order to use complementary VoIP accessories. These can include headsets for devices not designed to be used like regular telephones and USB ports for USB phones.