Telephonation VOIP Information Archives

VoIP Overview


Since we're using computers all the time to do our work, let's make it easy and add the phone to the pile. VoIP also known as (voice over Internet protocol), Internet telephony, IP telephony, and Internet voice is catching on and is expected to grow in the next few years. The technology has been around for about a decade, but it isn't till now that we have the supporting technology to handle it and an market reaching critical mass (hate using jargon, but there isn't a better way to say it).

VoIP requires users to have broadband connections. With 22 percent of Americans connected to the Internet by broadband, the numbers are large enough for making money with Internet voice and big telecoms are already in the game.

How VoIP works

VoIP works like email. TCP/IP networks consist of IP packets with a header for controlling communication and information for transportating data. VoIP uses the IP packets to send the human voice across the Internet using IP packets to its destination.

It digitizes a voice into data packets, sends them through the network and converts them back to voice when arriving at the destination. Digital format can be compressed, routed, and converted to other and better formats.

When calling someone using VoIP, you use a phone with an adapter. Just like we use a telephone to make phone calls on POTS (plain old telephone service), the adapter is a device to connect the phone to the network. The VoIP phone has its own phone number for callers to dial.

The good and bad things

An advantage of VoIP is it can avoid charges typically found on PSTNs (public switched telephone network). For customers, there is less worry about how long or how often they make phone calls. Calling another state costs the same as calling another country even on the other side of the world. IP-based boxes are cheaper than analog PBXes.

However, service reliability is an issue. How many times has a download or connecting to a Web site faltered? That may not be such a big deal, but it is more disruptive to phone calls. Network issues are complicated by customers getting broadband from one company and VoIP from another. When a call gets switched from network to network, it impacts quality.

When the Internet is down, so is VoIP. Traditional phones aren't affected by power like VoIP since they have its own power and work during blackouts.

Money and regs

Companies make their money by selling features and services. Connect anytime and anywhere there is an Internet connection or while in Wi-Fi-enabled hot spots. It's also exempt from traditional regulations and taxes, but that could change tomorrow though telecoms are working to keep it unregulated. This exemption is keeping prices down, and current prices are anywhere from $20 to $65 a month.

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl's notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.


MORE RESOURCES:

Pervasip's VoX Communications Surpasses 20000 Voice over Internet Lines
MarketWatch (press release)
Scalability is extremely important as VoX engages the mobile VoIP arena where we could potentially increase this number significantly and quickly. ...

and more »


Erictric

Rumor: Gadget turns iPod Touch into iPhone
CNET (blog)
Savvy iPod Touch users already know how to make phone calls on their devices: plug in a headset, find a Wi-Fi hot spot, and fire up a VoIP app like Skype or ...
ZTE Peel EV-DO Case For Transforming iPod Touches Into Sprint VoIP Phones?Gizmodo Australia
FCC Approves 3G-Equipped ZTE Peel 3200 Case for iPod TouchErictric
“Apple Peel 520″ turns iPod Touch into a bonafied phone.Gadgetsteria (blog)
MacDaddyNews.com (blog) -ithinkdifferent (blog) -iSmashPhone (blog)
all 46 news articles »


CBC.ca

New Blackberry phone could boost VoIP traffic
Telappliant VoIP News
VoIP traffic could be set to rise following the anticipated release of the latest Blackberry mobile phone. The BlackBerry 9800 is expected to be launched by ...
UAE Says BlackBerry Offshore Data Storage IllegalDigitaltrends.com
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is concerned about Blackberry phone securityExaminer.com
Blackberry to Improve, but Will it be The iPhone Killer?TMC Net

all 1,246 news articles »


AudioCodes Reports Second Quarter 2010 Financial Results
MarketWatch (press release)
"While we generally enjoyed good industry activity across our core networking business, we also experienced increased activity in the Mobile VoIP area and ...

and more »


Sipcall Announces VoIP Phones Call Promo
TMCnet
Swiss VoIP service provider Sipcall announced it is offering the Siemens (News - Alert) Gigaset A580 IP telephone for CHF ...

and more »


Infrax announces Android VoIP phone
Techwatch
A peer-to-peer connection provides secure VoIP calls between devices by eliminating a central network hub which could be vulnerable to eavesdroppers. ...

and more »


'Multimedia Polska picks Cedar Point for VoIP platform'
TMC Net
Jul 29, 2010 (DMEUROPE via COMTEX) -- Polish cable operator Multimedia Polska named Cedar Point Communications as its exclusive main provider for VoIP and ...



Comcast sees soft market, but good VoIP growth
FierceVoIP
But the interesting thing to us here at FierceVoIP is their VoIP numbers. Those actually are a nice little shining spot on the report. ...



Matrix Launches VoIP Application for iPhone 4
Softpedia
The premium VoIP application coupled with the low bandwidth codec like G729 seems to be working much better for VoIP calls over the 3G data network. ...



Is British VoIP better than US?
8el
Britons could be provided with better VoIP services than US users, according to a new report. Strategy Analytics, a market research company, has revealed ...
Smaller firms turn to 'flexible' VoIP8el
VoIP takes to the skies8el

all 3 news articles »

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