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What the Fuss is About VoIP

May 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you’ve heard about the new technology called VoIP then now may just be the time to take a closer look at it and how it works.
When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1865 he had no idea of the effects this complex device would have. After a series of refinements and developments in the field and more than a century later, VoIP was launched. VoIP simply stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. This popular service was started sometime in 1995 by some people who were carrying out PC-to-PC communications somewhere in Israel. The telephone that was initially seen as a device for hobbyists in Bell’s time, has since become an enterprising business.
In the year 1995 Vocaltec released the first software that was meant to function as an Internet telephone software. The advent of this invention challenged the traditional Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN). Data packets sent through the Internet are easily sent at costs much cheaper than long distance charges on PSTN networks. The process of transmission breaks data and sends them to a receiver through routers with no circuit switching as in the case of PSTN. The system of the receiver would then reorder the data packets. The only requirement was that both the sender and receiver would have the same equipment. The software could be run on a simple Home PC and used sound cars, speakers, modem, microphone and the H.323 protocol. The voice quality was initially poor when compared to traditional telephones but over time the situation would improve.
3 years later VoIP has successfully cornered about 1% of the voice communications market. However its initial success was plagued by many problems. PC to phone followed by phone-to-phone communications was then established with the use of gateways. The transmission through the phone would initially include advertisements which would come just before and at the end of the message which reduced the costs and permitted companies offering these services to offer free calls to their customers. With the introduction of Ethernet services, voice quality became less of a problem. Static and connection problems between Internet and PSTN networks however would still exist.
At the same time the need of a computer in order to establish communications became void. In 1998 Cisco, Nortel and Lucent manufactured equipment that could successfully route and witch IP-based voice traffic. The switching capabilities allowed dtat packet switching to be similar to PSTN data and easily read by PSTN equipment. VoIP thus became less dependent on computers. Since hardware had become much more reasonably priced, companies started the implementation of VoIP on their internal IP networks. Long distance carriers started using the network as well. In the year 2000, VoIP traffic had increased to about 3% of the voice communications market share.
The new technology continues to grow. Voice quality issues have also been addressed and VoIP services are now able to offer a huge number of different services. The service is available to both business as well as residential users. It is also an exciting field which could see a number of changes and advancements in the near future. The amounts of competition in this area will ultimnately lead to better services as well as cheaper costs. In any case the end-user will be the final beneficiary.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of VoIP

May 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Exerpt: The fact that VoIP has its advantages is an often overstated fact. However users should be aware that the technology has its disadvantages as well. This article explores these disadvantages and compares them with the advantages to determine who wins out in the battle for the consumer.
VoIP technology has resulted in serious changes in the way we communicate with each other. It has succeeded in integrating both voice and data and utilizing the Internet for communication as well. Telecommunication is continually evolving and as people we can only continue to benefit from this evolution. VoIP will be the telephony service of the future but are its advantages being overemphasized? All things may not be as they seem.
VoIP has a great number of benefits and advantages. The only requirement that VoIP has is that you use a broadband DSL or cable connection. Provided you have this sort of connection, you can easily use VoIP. If you use your VoIP through a PC-to-PC connection calls are usually free just as long as the person you are calling has VoIP as well, other than this most VoIP providers tend to offer unlimited calling plans for calls made outside a certain geographical area for a flat monthly fee. Traditional telephone services are much costlier than VoIP. VoIP also offers additional services such as call forwarding and caller id, free of charge.
One other benefit of the integration of voice and data is that the person needs only a single system. It makes it easy to install and save money as well. Each phone is identified by a single IP address regardless of wherever it is plugged into. This makes it easy to move from one place to another or to add it to other networks as well.
These VoIP phones may also be utilized anywhere just as long as they have been connected to an IP network. This assists a lot with telecommuting and international offices as well, saving companies and individuals a lot of money. These devices also tend to be light and very easy to carry.
Regardless of these numerous benefits, there are disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage would be that VoIP is run by a lot of power. If a power outage occurs all voice communications cease, unlike the traditional telephone service which can still be made use of if there is no electricity.
Problems also exist with the calling of 911 emergency numbers. When you usually make a 911 call it is traced back to the sender and sent to the nearest 911 communication center in the area. However with VoIP these calls cannot be traced back to a particular location and cannot lead rescuers to find you.
Voice quality with VoIP is generally efficient but the use of cable broadband could mean poorer qualities. This is because the data is broken down in order to be transmitted and the delay or a packet of data will sometimes mean that it needs to be dropped. This then results in silent periods.
Phone equipment may also need to be updated since VoIP only tends to work with newer phone versions. Depending on the number of phones that need to be replaced, this could a substantial expense.
VoIP also has some minor annoyances that have to be sorted out but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, From all evident aspects VoIP is the phone of the future but the future may already have arrived for all we know.

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Where VoIP meets cell phones

May 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Exerpt: Cell phone manufacturers have become increasingly aware of the agitation by cell phone subscribers to have access to VoIP services. The recent launch of access to these services has threatened the market share of cell phone companies on calling routes. Who will win in the end?
Because we live in a society that is based on technology, we tend to think of the future all the time. VoIP has reduced the costs of making calls for a lot of people and saved many businesses thousands of dollars that would have been wasted on phone calls yearly. Why then shouldn’t VoIP services be used along with cell phones? International calls made from cell phones can be rather expensive and if you need to make a number of these calls and you are constantly on the move, using VoIP on your cell phone would seem like a very natural thing to do and quite advantageous as well.
VoIP and cell phones make the perfect fit for people who are constantly on the go and who can’t be tied to their computers all day in order to handle their business. Althrough wireless IP phones exist, you can’t roam everywhere with these phones. If you are the kind of person who multitasks frequently, you probably understand this. If the cell phone is one thing that is always with you when you move, VoIP can solve a lot of your problems and make your life a whole lot simpler.
When using cell phones, you tend to pay a flat monthly fee for a certain amount of minutes, if you’re the kind who normally exceeds these minutes due to the need to make long distance calls, VoIP can easily help you solve your problems. Mino Wireless in the USA claims that they are the first ones providing mobile VoIP in the United States. Their charges start from around 2.2 cents by the minute and they also charge a flat monthly fee for calls to about 40 different countries. In order to get Internet data however, they require that the user of the service is subscribed to Cingular, Nextel or T-Mobile. The phone they use must also have the capability to handle Java.
Different mobile carriers are interested in providing VoIP services along with their regular cellular operations. A lot of these carriers are currently implementing VoIP in their daily operations and in order to help them save on costs. They may also want their users to take advantage of the opportunities that it provides. Thy can easily implement these services on their own but they tend to be concerned with voce quality issues. The launch of companies like Mino may be a threat to these cell phone service providers.
Wi-Fi is another popular technology that comes along with VoIP in cell phone technology. Wi-Fi makes use of free airwaves over a short-range wireless broadband network. Handsets that are Wi-Fi compatible allow their users to make calls over Wi-Fi networks. The capability to make VoIP calls over Wi-Fi networks will also reduce the number of calls over cellular networks. Mobile carriers aren’t so excited about losing this portion of their business to businesses like Mino.
VoIP is continually increasing in terms of the number of subscribers that are using the service. What VoIP cellular phones will bring to mobile technology is immense. Cost is one of the areas that immense benefits will result in. Before hurrying to sign up for a VoIP cellular phone service a user must try to determine what their potential savings will be. Businessmen will be the people who benefit from this the most. Cell phone companies will not be too quick to start such services but the demand from VoIP subscribers will outweigh any reservations that they have. High Speed mobile technology should be combined with the Internet. What VoIP cell phones will offer is a freedom of movement as well as lower costs in cell phone communication.

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