The technique for routing telephone calls from one provider to the next until the call has been routed to the last telephone company and received by the recipient is referred to as VoIP call termination. Call termination is often referred to as voice termination. Providers or carriers are other terms for telephone corporations.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a word that describes a call that originates over the Internet, such as Skype calls or Google Voice calls. Internet-based calls typically terminate at a location that is not on the Internet.

The majority of call recipients use either a landline or a cellular phone to receive calls. The route may start on the Internet, but it will eventually stop at a point where the call was routed through the public switched telephone network, which is the standard name for call termination.