What is VoIP or Voice over Broadband?
VoIP is an acronym (V.O.I.P) which stands for "Voice over IP". VoIP is the process of making and receiving voice transmissions over any IP network such as the Internet, an office LAN or a private network between corporate offices.

VoIP is also called IP Telephony. Voice conversations are converted into digitized data and packetized for transmission across a network. This type of phone transmission is commonly referred to as VoIP or Voice over Broadband because of the nature of the actual IP transmission.

Packet Switching is a far more efficient method of transmitting data across a large network. Instead of creating a dedicated line between you and the other side (telephone or computer) as happens with a circuit switching, packet switching opens a brief connection, just long enough to send a small chunk of data called a packet from one system to another.

The process happens like this: the computer (or telephone) sending the message separates the data into small packets each carrying an address letting all network devices know where to send them. Inside of each packet is a payload. The packet payload could be any bit of digitized data such as a piece of an e-mail, a music file, a photo or part your phone call.

The computer or telephone then sends the packet to a router and goes about creating the next packet. The router that received the packet is at the same time getting thousands of other packets of data from thousands of different sources. In an instant, that router determines which direction to send your packet to and which route is best to send it on. In turn, the next router does the same thing sending the packet along until then it arrives at the receiving station.

When the receiving station gets the individual packets that could have all taken completely different paths across the network, it uses detailed instructions within the packets to reassemble the data into its original state. Packet switching is very efficient because allows the network to route packets along the least congested and cheapest lines.