Voice over Internet
- Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology for communicating using ?Internet protocol? instead of traditional analog systems. Some VoIP services need only a regular phone connection, while others allow you to make telephone calls using an Internet connection instead.
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- VOIP
- Voice over Internet Protocol, also called VoIP, IP Telephony, Internet
telephony, Broadband telephony, Broadband
Phone and Voice over Broadband is
the routing of voice conversations over the Internet or through any other
IP-based network.
Companies providing VoIP service are commonly referred to as providers, and
protocols which are used to carry voice signals over the IP network are
commonly referred to as Voice over IP or VoIP protocols. They may be viewed
as commercial realizations of the experimental Network Voice Protocol (1973)
invented for the ARPANET providers. Some cost savings are due to utilizing a
single network - see attached image - to carry voice and data, especially
where users have existing underutilized network capacity that can carry VoIP
at no additional cost. VoIP to VoIP phone calls are sometimes free, while
VoIP to public switched telephone networks, PSTN, may have a cost that's
borne by the VoIP user.
There are two types of PSTN to VoIP services: -Direct Inward Dialing (DID)
and access numbers. DID will connect the caller directly to the VoIP user
while access numbers require the caller to input the extension number of the
VoIP user.
Functionality
VoIP can facilitate tasks that may be more difficult to achieve using
traditional networks:
Ability to transmit more than one telephone call down the same
broadband-connected telephone line. This can make VoIP a simple way to add
an extra telephone line to a home or office.
Many VoIP packages include PSTN features that most telcos (telecommunication
companies) normally charge extra for, or may be unavailable from your local
telco,such as 3-way calling, call forwarding, automatic redial, and caller
ID.
VoIP can be secured with existing off-the-shelf protocols such as Secure
Real-time Transport Protocol. Most of the difficulties of creating a secure
phone over traditional phone lines, like digitizing and digital transmission
are already in place with VoIP. It is only necessary to encrypt and
authenticate the existing data stream.
VoIP is location independent, only an internet connection is needed to get a
connection to a VoIP provider; for instance call center agents using VoIP
phones can work from anywhere with a sufficiently fast and stable Internet
connection.
VoIP phones can integrate with other services available over the Internet,
including video conversation, message or data file exchange in parallel with
the conversation, audio conferencing, managing address books and passing
information about whether others (e.g. friends or colleagues) are available
online to interested parties.
