How Does Digital Home Phone Service Work?

The good old days of “Ma’ Bell” and Thomas Edison seem to be on their way out. In the place of the old style analog phone is a new product called the digital phone. Analog phone systems take voice and data and convert this information into electrical impulses that are transmitted through the wires to the switching station. Digital phone systems work in a much different way.

What is a Digital Phone?

The old-style analog systems use electric impulses to transmit information through telephone wires. The digital phone system is a completely different method of transmitting. The digital phone, also known as VoIP, which means Voice over Internet Protocol, can be compared to a very basic computer on many levels. The digital phone system takes the same information and instead of converting it to electrical impulses, it converts the information into a binary code. Digital phones are becoming more and more popular due to their affordability. Digital phones also offer many features that analog phones do not. These include:

• Voice-to-text conversion


• Call forwarding to mobile phones


• Lower international rates

How does a Digital Phone System Work?

The caller initiates the call by picking up the phone receiver, dialing a number and placing the call. This is not any different from the old analog way. The differences are not apparent by the phone users. It is only in the method of conversion and transmission that the differences between analog and digital become apparent. When the user dials a number into the phone, the digital phone navigates through the digital network into the open public phone system seeking the intended receiver. As the conversation ensues, the phone converts the information in to a computer binary code. This binary code might be more familiar to you if you think of zeros and ones. The information is translated into the binary code and transferred along digital networks known as CAT 5 cables. The binary code then is translated into understandable language and data at the other end receiver.