What is SIP Phone?

In this page you can read about what a SIP phone is, how can you have one and how can you make the best use of it. If you are a business owner or an administrator, you may need to build a new or modernise your already existing communication system that is capable to make international / intercontinental calls, this page will surely help you.

As you can see in Figure 1, a SIP phone (the VoIP Phone or the softphone on a computer in the figure) initiates a call that goes through the Ozeki Phone System server. The server is connected to the Internet. Through the Internet, the server can connect the SIP phones with any kind of device that is capable to handle VoIP connections. All connections are made through SIP connections.

Figure 1 - The route of calls that are initiated by SIP phones

SIP and SIP Phones

SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol: this protocol's "job" is to create and disconnect the real-time multimedia (text, voice, audio) connections between two or more participants. SIP is the signaling protocol of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

SIP phones, also called VoIP (Voice over Inetrnet Protocol) phones or softphones, are computers or other new generation devices (smart phones, iPADs, PDAs, etc.) that can be used for phoning. SIP phones are different from other phones in using a relatively new technology, the Internet Telephony.

In most cases - depending on the type of the device - SIP phones are capable to manage calls to/from the conventional phoning system (PSTN, the Public Switched Telephone Network) and the Internet Telephony as well.

How to Get a SIP Phone?

In order to have a SIP phone, you will need:

  • a device that suits physically for Internet Telephony
  • an Internet subscription with the proper bandwidth
  • a subscription to a VoIP service provider
  • a software that converts your ordinary device into a SIP phone

NOTE that if you have an IP phone (as the device), you only need the two subscriptions - you will only have to provide the user data to the device to configure the phone, and it is ready for using.

How Can You Make a Good Use of a SIP Phone?

SIP phones can be used after a simple configuration; but if you intend to use more SIP phones in a system, you will need the Ozeki Phone System server (that is a PBX, Private Automated Branch eXchange or a PABX Private Automated Branch eXchange) to have a centre where you can connect your devices one by one. In order to use a server - this server will be called as SIP server in this use - for the connection, you will need a SIP account.

After the registration to the Ozeki Phone System, your account will allow you to connect your SIP phones to the server: after the devices are connected to it, your SIP phones can be used for Internet telephoning.

With your Ozeki Phone System account, your devices are capable to manage international multimedia calls without trouble. With this modern solution, your calls and messages always arrive to their destination. This solution ensures the 7/24 accessibility, perfect sound and video quality and maximum reliability.

To get to know more about how to make use of SIP phones and VoIP technology, read through our other articles:

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