“By 2020, we expect to have fully transitioned our customers from decades-old, legacy technologies to an all-Internet Protocol network architecture.”
Randall Stephenson, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President AT&T Inc. 2012 Annual Report, February 11, 2013.
What does the above quote mean?
Well, in the very near future all wired phones will become VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). “Legacy” is just like the standard home phone you would have growing up (with copper phone lines that still worked when the power went out).
VoIP simply means phone communication over the Internet.
Some other things you should know:
- VoIP uses its own power – your power goes out, then your phones work only if you’ve put them and all your network on a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply), which is just a battery backup. Remember that these batteries may only power your network equipment and phone for a few hours depending on how big the battery is. This is typical in an alarm system, which usually have a battery backup that lasts for 2 or 3 hours.
- VoIP uses your internet connection to the phone company. Legacy (Analog) phones use a separate connection to the phone company.
- The call reliability and quality are dependent on your internet connection, and the Public Internet. If your internet is good, then your phones will be good.
- Typical VoIP solid state business phone systems have a reliability of 99.999%.