SIP phone Vs IP phone – Which is the Best Internet Telephony?

Gone are the days when telephony was all aboutjust lifting a receiver and saying hello. So much happens with the telephone now. How about a behind-the-scenes tour with this SIP phone Vs IP phone review?

When was the last time you wrote and posted a letter to a buddy in a different town? Probably never! Yet chances are you two virtually link up all the time. Texts, chatting, social media, skype, facetiming – you name it!In this era of technological advancement, even businesses no longer rely solely on voice telephones for communication. Wouldn’t it be cost effective to have all the channels of communication – emails, phones, chat, mobile apps, texts and video conferencing rolled onto one platform?Well, internet-based phones offer more robust solutions in this regard. Though technically different, both SIP and IP phones deal with internet telephony. Let us then delve into SIP phone Vs IP phone details, without further ado!

What are the Differences Between a SIP phone and an IP phone?

SIP phone Vs IP phone – How Do They Compare?

IP/VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is an ubiquitous term that incorporates any form of telephone communication over the internet, in contrast to the traditional landlines used in the past (PSTN). SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is one of the protocols (industry standard method) that transmit VoIP calls between devices.  In essence therefore SIP and VoIP can’t be compared because SIP is simply a protocol used to achieve VoIP.What we are comparing therefore is IP devices that use voice only (VoIP only) and those that use other multimedia features as well (VoIP with SIP).

Scope and Transmission

Whereas VoIP is concerned with making and receiving calls through the internet or internal networks, SIP is an application protocol that establishes, modifies and terminates multimedia sessions like VoIP calls. This means that in modern telecommunication networks, VoIP is not a discrete technology but a family of technologies. SIP is an application protocol within the VoIP umbrella. This means that all SIP phones are of IP telephony, but not all IP phones are SIP compatible.

While VoIP only sends voice messages, SIP, through data network, transmits all forms of messages, beyond just the voice. SIP trunks send packets of data, voice or video content. SIP systems therefore allow making of voice and video calls, mostly for free.

Devices Mode of Communication

VoIP phones have to be connected to a computer so as to make or receive calls. Further, the computer must be on. This limitation is not shared by SIP phones, which only require a modem for internet connectivity.

Data Processing

SIP data is processed at an individual user’s system (user account). This peer-to-peer system ends up handling large volumes of data since every user account has access to more bandwidth and resources. This translates into better reporting, higher call quality and better control when using an in-house system.

On the other hand, VoIP hosts organize, filter and direct data from one central network. The upside of this single network system is that the few centers of communication means better data security. The downside however is that large volumes of data easily overload the network, negatively impacting performance.

SIP phone Vs IP phone – A Comparison Overview

SIP phone

SIP can be used in transmission of information between just 2 endpoints, or more than 2. Besides VoIP, it can be used for media distribution, instant messaging, video conferencing and other applications. This enables people from across the globe to communicate via the internet using their mobile devices and computers.SIP is able to take over all the multimedia communications of a business, thereby bringing a host of benefits to the business. For starters, renting a line is cheaper than the traditional PSTN. In addition, call rates, both local and international are lower. The office phone network can be scaled up or down, without having to re-install equipment. SIP providers offer quality data service, including more redundancy re-routing options, compared to the PSTN or ISDN services. In addition, SIP can be easily switched to other network types e.g. NBN without affecting its service.This ability to intelligently interact with other protocols means a SIP system can adapt to match a client’s system.

SIP is therefore most beneficial to companies that heavily rely on multimedia communication yet have many branches or remote workers. Setting up and maintaining SIP systems is difficult for the average employee, so keeping up with it requires companies with strong IT support.

Pros

• Affordability
• Scalability
• Reliability
• Redundancy/Disaster recovery
• Independent Network Access

Cons

• Maintenance requires strong technical skills
• Requires enough bandwidth for support quality service
• Different service providers offer different features
• Data security and quality risks especially with public networks

VoIP Phone

VoIP phones use the internet to digitally transmit a voice signal to another endpoint or telephone. The VoIP system changes voice calls into data packets that are then transferred over the internet. It covers many protocol technologies like Skype technology and open standards like SIP.In addition to IP phones, other devices compatible with IP telephony act like a circuit switched network to offer services like the traditional landline. This means that Internet protocol telephony  uses packet-switched connections fax, voice and the other services.

Pros

• Easy to ensure data security
• Low cost of initial investment and maintenance
• Minimal on-site installation as phones are easily portable
• Limited features e.g. caller ID, call barring, call forwarding, call waiting
• Usually long-term service contract unnecessary

Cons

• Must be connected to a computer
• Large data traffic can overload network
• Call quality and service require bandwidth
• Some services may not support mobile integration or mobile apps
• Doesn’t support multimedia or integration with important apps e.g. dropbox

Conclusion

Knowing the difference between SIP and VoIP determines whether or not you have an efficient and reliable phone experience. This is because IP technology not only cuts down an organization’s communication costs, it also increases productivity.Nevertheless, whereas SIP is entirely used to scale and support VoIP, not all VoIP telephony relies on SIP. This means that evaluating SIP phone Vs IP phone isn’t as meaningful as evaluating IP phones that use voice commands only (VoIP-only) against those that use multimedia features (VoIP with SIP). The question I leave you with therefore is, will a voice only VoIP phone meet your business needs or should you spring for a VoIP with SIP one?

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Is there a difference between VoIP and SIP?

VoIP is the making or receiving phone calls via the internet/ internal networks. On the other hand, SIP is an application layer protocol thatmodifies, establishes and terminates multimedia sessions like VoIP calls.

Q2. Is SIP trunking VoIP?

SIP Trunking is a service using VoIP to help connect private branch exchange (PBX) to the Internet. The Internet thus replaces the traditional telephone trunk allowing users to communicate with mobile and fixed telephone subscribers across the world.