Analog Telephone Adapters (or ATAs) are one of the recent
developments in VoIP technology. These adapters allow you to use
your existing analog telephones to place calls over the Internet
using VoIP. Because of these adapters, using VoIP is not much
different today than using a regular telephone service. They
allow your VoIP service to “act like” a traditional phone – you
hear a dial tone when you pick up the phone and dial the number.
An ATA, like many of the devices in today’s digital world, is
actually a small, highly dedicated computer. It performs several
functions that are required for VoIP communications. One
function is that of providing an analog interface for the
telephone. This includes providing a dial tone to your analog
telephone, as well as a ring signal for incoming calls. Another
function it provides is that of converting the analog voice
signal into a digital form that can be carried over the
internet. Similarly, it must also convert the incoming digital
signal into an analog one that your t