Long distance phone service refers to the calls made to non-local numbers, both domestic and international, through a specific long distance phone service provider. Usually, your plan with a phone company like AT&T refers primarily to your local domestic costs, and long distance and international costs will be charged to you separately.
Long distance and international service are provided by both VoIP providers and traditional phone companies. Traditional phone companies depend on a system called the PSTN to transmit calls. The PSTN has been in place for as long as there have been phone calls. It is the original method for sending a call.
The main difference between the PSTN and the VoIP system is that the PSTN is an analog system, while the VoIP system is digital. This means that the PSTN sends sound data as an electronic frequency, while a VoIP system sends sound data as a binary code.
It’s difficult to send an electronic frequency for a long distance call without losing some of the quality of the data. This means that in the analog PSTN system, a call must stop several times before reaching its final location.
In order to reach its long distance location, a call sent over the PSTN must follow a mapped-out course of intermediary stops at all of the most convenient hosts along the way that are linked into the PSTN. It is because of the need for all of these intermediary stops, and the need to maintain the aging infrastructure, that a long distance call made this way can be more expensive and less efficient.
Before options like VoIP calling became available, many people were dependent on long distance service providers (you may remember 10-10-321 and 10-10-220 from the early 90s) to get the best prices on long distance calls. These companies were very popular because their services were relatively cheap after telecommunications were deregulated in 1996.
These long distance phone services allowed users to use other long distance carriers besides their primary providers. As a result, though calling costs could be cheap, they were irregular and varied based on location. Services like these are still available, but are much less common because of changes in the telecommunications industry, primarily the shift away from standard providers towards cell phone providers.
Today, services with these long distance phone service providers can be extremely high. Calls made with 10-10-321 cost $0.20/minute, and calls made with 10-10-220 cost $1.20 for the first ten minutes and $0.20/minute after that.
Through your Internet connection, you are linked to your VoIP service provider. Your service provider determines the route that will be the fastest for getting your call to its destination, and they send it along that route. This may mean that if you are in California and you are placing a call to New York, your service provider might have the option to send your call to New York through a route in New Jersey, or through a route in England. The service provider will evaluate both of these routes and determine which one is fastest, and depending on traffic and other factors, the route through England may actually be faster than the route through New Jersey.
A VoIP service provider has this freedom with a long distance call because binary digital data is so easy and inexpensive to send. This is why VoIP providers charge minimal fees to send long distance calls: there is effectively no difference between sending a long distance call and a local call. And most of those extra fees are charged only for international calling.
There is also very little infrastructure to maintain in VoIP. ...
Long distance and international service are provided by both VoIP providers and traditional phone companies. Traditional phone companies depend on a system called the PSTN to transmit calls. The PSTN has been in place for as long as there have been phone calls. It is the original method for sending a call.
PSTN and VoIP phone service: differences between long distance calls
Traditional Long Distance Phone Calls
The PSTN, the antique structure that traditional phone companies use, is based on a network of wires, cables, and satellites. It suffers from an aging infrastructure that can cause many problems in its functionality and efficiency. The equipment is frequently old, and the technology often outdated. As a result, the cost of sending a long distance call with a traditional phone company can be very high.The main difference between the PSTN and the VoIP system is that the PSTN is an analog system, while the VoIP system is digital. This means that the PSTN sends sound data as an electronic frequency, while a VoIP system sends sound data as a binary code.
It’s difficult to send an electronic frequency for a long distance call without losing some of the quality of the data. This means that in the analog PSTN system, a call must stop several times before reaching its final location.
In order to reach its long distance location, a call sent over the PSTN must follow a mapped-out course of intermediary stops at all of the most convenient hosts along the way that are linked into the PSTN. It is because of the need for all of these intermediary stops, and the need to maintain the aging infrastructure, that a long distance call made this way can be more expensive and less efficient.
Before options like VoIP calling became available, many people were dependent on long distance service providers (you may remember 10-10-321 and 10-10-220 from the early 90s) to get the best prices on long distance calls. These companies were very popular because their services were relatively cheap after telecommunications were deregulated in 1996.
These long distance phone services allowed users to use other long distance carriers besides their primary providers. As a result, though calling costs could be cheap, they were irregular and varied based on location. Services like these are still available, but are much less common because of changes in the telecommunications industry, primarily the shift away from standard providers towards cell phone providers.
Today, services with these long distance phone service providers can be extremely high. Calls made with 10-10-321 cost $0.20/minute, and calls made with 10-10-220 cost $1.20 for the first ten minutes and $0.20/minute after that.
VoIP Long Distance Phone Calls
A long distance call sent with a VoIP service provider undertakes a much simpler process. A VoIP system in any home or business is composed primarily of an IP (Internet protocol) phone, VoIP phone service, and your Internet service. You can make a phone call with VoIP with any device connected to your Internet service.Through your Internet connection, you are linked to your VoIP service provider. Your service provider determines the route that will be the fastest for getting your call to its destination, and they send it along that route. This may mean that if you are in California and you are placing a call to New York, your service provider might have the option to send your call to New York through a route in New Jersey, or through a route in England. The service provider will evaluate both of these routes and determine which one is fastest, and depending on traffic and other factors, the route through England may actually be faster than the route through New Jersey.
A VoIP service provider has this freedom with a long distance call because binary digital data is so easy and inexpensive to send. This is why VoIP providers charge minimal fees to send long distance calls: there is effectively no difference between sending a long distance call and a local call. And most of those extra fees are charged only for international calling.
There is also very little infrastructure to maintain in VoIP. ...