Not many people understand what an SIP address is and what they can do with it. They might know it has something to do with VoIP, but not how it can really benefit them. Neither do they understand how it works. Let's clear all that up in this article. Since everyone already understands the way email works, we can use the same model to explain how a SIP address works. The two are surprisingly similar in architecture.
When you have an email ID, you first need an email provider. This can be a corporate email provider for business emails, or it can be a free email provider like Google, Yahoo!, Hotmail etc. In the same way, when you get an SIP address, you first need to decide with whom you want to host it with. Like email, there are free services and paid ones too. OnSIP is one place where you can get an SIP address for your business needs. To extend the comparison further, when someone wants to send you an email, they need to know two things. First, your username and second, which provider you're with. These two combine into an email address in this format: "username@provider.com." This gives you one single "email ID." Senders don't need to know anything else. They don't have your password for example. Just the ID is enough.
A SIP address is just the same. You have your username and the provider with whom you have a SIP account. The two combine to form your SIP address in the same format as an email ID, "sipusername@provider.com." Many providers offer premium services which allow you to choose any "suffix" you want. Businesses are unlikely to be happy with an email ID which ends with "yahoo.com" after all. So with a bit of tweaking, you can make your SIP address the same as your email ID.
To receive calls, you need a SIP application. This is where email differs from the SIP protocol because the kind of communication is different. In this case, SIP functions more like chat. You need a client up and running which will receive the messages and pop up with a notification. If you don't have the client, there's no way for you to know when a call is coming. And unlike email where you can read the message after the person has sent it, a call needs to be simultaneous, you both have to be online at the same time.
Many people think that a SIP provider is nothing more than a method of VoIP, Voice over Internet. However, in reality, it is so much more than that. It is used to take communications in real time to the next level.
It goes beyond the simple level of voice and takes our communication beyond voice as well. SIP is the abbreviation for a protocol known as Session Initiation. While VoIP uses this protocol, along with many others to make it work, there is so much more.
To get started using a SIP Provider, all you really need is a program and an address. This might be an IP address, SIP address, or even something as simple as your email address. What happens is that you or any person wanting to call you will enter your address into their SIP enabled software program. The provider then connects their software to your software or vice versa and voila you are ready to go.