Difference Between Analog and Digital Phone

Analog vs Digital Phone

Telephony is one of the oldest technology that is also one of the last to slowly adopt a digital alternative. An analog phone system, the one that we are more familiar with, is composed of circuit switched connections that allow analog voice signals to travel along copper wires. Digital phones use VoIP where the voice signal is converted to digital and then chopped into many packets and sent across the internet to reach the designated destination.

Digital phones use a lesser amount of bandwidth which directly translates to a lower cost as you can fit more conversations to existing lines without adding extra lines. VoIP technology also allows multiple calls to occur simultaneously which is not possible for analog phones. Digital telephony opens the door to new features that have been very difficult to implement with the existing analog phones. A good example of these features is video calling where you can see the person that you are talking to.

There are immediate problems that are facing this technology. The most prominent of which is reliability. Unlike analog phones which are powered by the telephone company, digital phones are powered at home and are susceptible to power outages. This same reason makes it unsuitable for emergency situations where communication is very essential.

A desired feature of digital phones is also a cause of problems. Because you can make as many concurrent calls at the same time, digital phones are quite prone to congestion. This results in greater lag and you would notice that the voice of the person you are talking to drops at times. This problem is compounded as more services compete for the same bandwidth.

Digital phones are also a lot more complex to setup compared to analog phones which you simply plug into a wall outlet. Digital phones connect to a router or a computer and needs to be configured properly in order to function. Though this might be a cakewalk for some people, it is too complex for most who are not familiar with it. But despite the difficulty, most people are willing to go through it and even ask for help due to the quite cheap calls possible; especially for international calls.

Summary:
1. Digital phone charges are lesser compared to analog phone charges
2. Digital phones have more features compared to analog phones
3. Analog phones are more reliable than digital phones
4. Digital phones are susceptible to congestion while analog phones are not
5. Digital phones are more complex to setup while analog phones are very simple

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