VoIP: how it started and why it's more important than ever
VoIP emerged from experimental internet calling in the 1990s and is now the backbone of modern business communication, especially for SMEs in Belgium and the Netherlands. As remote work, cloud software, and AI have become the norm, VoIP is now more relevant than ever for companies that want to call smarter, more flexibly, and with greater customer focus.
From noisy modems to crystal-clear VoIP
In the 1990s, pioneers like VocalTec took the first steps in internet telephony, enabling people to make calls via computer and slow internet connections. Quality was limited, but the promise was clear: conversations no longer had to travel over copper lines.
Around 2000, broadband internet and improved codecs sparked a breakthrough, with services like Skype bringing VoIP to the masses and drastically reducing international call costs. At the same time, telecom providers began rolling out VoIP commercially as an alternative to traditional business telephone systems.
Why VoIP is the standard today
VoIP transmits voice over the internet, making telephony far more flexible, scalable, and cost-effective than traditional on-premises systems. Companies can add, remove, or relocate numbers, devices, and users without requiring an on-site technician—ideal for growing SMEs.
Cloud-based VoIP and UCaaS solutions combine calling, video, chat, and integrations with tools like CRM, giving sales, support, and management deeper insights into customer interactions and performance. This aligns perfectly with Europe's digital transformation, where virtual telephony and IP telephony continue to grow year after year.
Remote, hybrid, and always on
Since remote and hybrid work became mainstream, fixed-line telephony alone is no longer sufficient to keep teams and customers connected smoothly. VoIP makes it possible to call using the same business number via laptop, smartphone, or softphone—from home, the office, or the road.
For SMEs, this means telephony is no longer tied to a single location, but to the team and their processes. You switch seamlessly between colleagues, locations, and even countries without expensive infrastructure or complex hardware.
From calling to intelligent conversations with AI
The next evolution is that VoIP doesn't just transport conversations—it understands and enriches them with AI. Think automatic transcriptions, per-call summaries, and virtual assistants that welcome customers, route them, and answer simple questions.
Fonzer positions itself as the telephony platform that excels in AI applications built on top of powerful VoIP, so businesses not only call more smoothly but also extract more value from every customer interaction. This gives SMEs a competitive edge: they respond faster, smarter, and more consistently, without added strain on their teams.
Why now is the moment to switch
The VoIP and virtual telephony market is growing strongly, with forecasts predicting double-digit growth toward 2030 thanks to cloud and remote work. At the same time, traditional telephone systems are increasingly being phased out, making VoIP migration not just an opportunity but a necessity.
For Belgian SMEs, this is the right moment to modernize telephony: lower costs, greater flexibility, and room to intelligently deploy AI features like transcriptions, summaries, and virtual assistants with a platform like Fonzer. In the next article in this series, we'll dive deeper into how to switch to VoIP step by step without risking availability or customer experience.