IP Phone Vs Digital Phone – Keeping Up With Telephony Advances!

Are you are seeking to upgrade your office phone system but are wondering which will best suit your needs? Wonder no more – with this IP Phone Vs Digital Phone comparison, you won’t have to look far!

Technological advancement in telephony has been so tremendousin the last decadethat the marketplace today is flooded with many phone varieties and choices. Digital and IP phones are increasingly becoming very popular phone systems for businesses. However choosing a phone system is not as simple as picking a handset from a vendor. It calls for a critical evaluation of budget, integration with other devices or technology, ease of use and the network environment. We hope this IP Phone Vs Digital Phone review will help you in this regard.

What are the Differences Between an IP Phone and a Digital Phone?

Digital phone Vs IP phone – How Do They Compare?

Irrespective of your company’s size or type, the telephone bridges that communication between your client and you. Though the 2 phone systems share a lot in common, they also differ significantly. Digital phones are the direct descendant of the analog phone system. They still use the traditional phone lines but convert your voice into encoded digits which are then decoded at the endpoint/destination. IP/VoIP (voice over internet protocol) uses the internet instead of the traditional telephone lines. How do the 2 phone systems compare?

Power

IP phones consume lots of power. The phone needs to be connected to an AC power source in order to work. The digital phone doesn’t require connection to a power because it uses power from the cable connected between it and the digital circuit board.

Wiring

IP phones use the same cable connecting the LAN to the PC on a user’s desk. This sharing means less cable is required, cutting down on wire cost at installation. For a digital phone system on the other hand, you will need 2 cables – a data cable and the voice cable.

Bandwidth

Since the digital phone does not connect to data, it has nothing to do with bandwidth and doesn’t affect the organization’s data needs. For IP phones the local area network has to provide it bandwidth.  Since it shares bandwidth with the organization’s data network, its system must be carefully engineered so as not to affect the data network. This is because when there is insufficient bandwidth, the phone might work well but internet applications may take long to load. If internet fails, the phones can’t be used.

Movability and Changes

IP phones are easy to move from one location to the next.  Simply unplug, move to the new location and plug into a different connected Ethernet cable. All the phone’s capabilities, features and extension numbers will move to the new location automatically. This is not the case for digital phones since the information they carry is hardwired on a port in the digital station card. Moving the phone requires a technician to move the port in the system’s chassis and rewire the phone. This is cumbersome and costly given an organization’s frequent changes and movement of staff.

Maintenance

Software and hardware maintenance, upgrade or updates for digital phone systems require the service technician to be on the premises. For the IP phones, all these can be done remotely by the service providers or VAR.

Costs

Proprietary telephone sets, circuit cards and adjunct applications make installation of digital phones’ hardware costly. For the IP phone system, applications are mostly embedded in the equipment and activated through software, as opposed to adding hardware. The system also has more flexibility for users in the choice of endpoints.

The actual cost of installing the IP phone maybe substantial. In the long run however, the IP phone is cheaper to run. Since the communication medium is the internet, call rates are quite low, or free even, depending on your data plan. VoIP to VoIP calls are actually free in an organization. Therefore, organizations with many offices across the globe stand to benefit most. You may be charged less to install a digital phone system, but call rates will cost you more. Local and long distance calls cost about 40% more on the digital phone compared to IP phones, while international calls cost 90% more.

Digital phone Vs IP phone – A Comparative Review

Digital Phone

Because they use the same telephone lines used by the analogue system, upgrading to the digital phone system is less cumbersome – no heavy initial installation costs. Since they use the same tried and tested lines, they are reliable.

Since its systems PBX is localized, the biggest letdown with a digital phone system is the lack of mobility. Changing desks or phone numbers requires reprogramming.

Pros

• Cheaper to install when upgrading from analogue
• Reliable voice clarity
• Straight forward implementation
• Few points of failure

Cons

• Lack of mobility

IP Phone                               

The IP phone can be said to be an upgrade of the digital phone, in the telephony technologies. It uses internet in place of traditional phone lines. Each of its handset is programmed with all the information it needs to communicate. This is best thing about an IP phone because you can move with it to the next room, next floor or even home and still stay connected. All you will need is internet and power.

Being connected to the internet also enables an IP phone to offer many additional featuresto the telephone. VoIP phones have enterprise level phone features that include LCD display, soft keys, multiline keys, pre-programmable keys, multi-LAN ports, PoE (power over Ethernet), and video calling features.

The IP phone system requires reliable internet and power to run. This makes its use limited in areas with poor internet connectivity or those with unreliable power. An office in a rural setting may therefore suffer under this connectivity.

Pros

• Very mobile
• Do not require lines
• Reduced monthly running costs

Cons

• Complex in setting up and maintaining
• Needs stable internet and power

Conclusion

Both IP phones and digital phones incorporate current technologies and have their place in the business world. Your business specific needs determine your best fit.  If you don’t have remote or constantly relocating employees, or if you want to keep voice and data separate and already have a separate cable infrastructure, then the digital phone system will serve you best. On the other hand, if your business makes many calls and has a well-developed internet network infrastructure, if what you want is more than a desk phone, or if you are constructing a new office building, then the IP phone is the one go for. So, IP phone Vs Digital phone, what is your take?

Verdict:  Which is better the IP Phone or the Digital Phone?

Each of the 2 phone systems has its place. However, the IP system can be viewed as an upgrade of the digital system, since it offers so much more, with the telephone. You can use it to call, email, message, video conference, and so much more. All these are functions you use in business. Why not bring them all under one umbrella?

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is a digital phone?

A digital phone/ digital trunk is a kind of telephone line that carries voice and/or data by using digital codes. By converting voice signals to digital, phone enables more information to be transferred through a single connection.

Q2. What’s the difference between a VoIP and a digital phone work?

There are many differences, but wiring is the main one. VoIP phone systems utilize the same cable connecting the PC to the LAN at a user’s desktop. The voice signal is then carried through the internet. Digital phones have both voice and data cables. They do not connect via data because they transmit the voice signal, in digital form through the voice cable.