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VoIP ARTICLES - Learn about VoIP
Internet Calling - What is VoIP?By Rafe Needleman and Felisa Yang HOW IT WORKS
Internet phone serviceMany different forms of Internet telephony exist. Some systems, such as Skype The one thing all VoIP solutions have in common is that they take your voice and convert it into data packets that are then routed over the Net just like e-mail. For calls to a standard telephone, the data call obviously has to connect to the public phone network at some point; Internet phone services provide this connection seamlessly. In the most flexible form of VoIP, Internet technology replaces the connection between the telephone and the phone company. You plug an ordinary telephone into an adapter that connects to your broadband setup. Your call is routed over the Web to a VoIP service provider. This provider connects your calls to the telephone system. If the person you are calling is also a user of the same Internet calling system, the call will never touch the phone system at all. ![]() PC-to-PC Internet phone Free Internet phone systems such as skype ![]() Internal VoIP In a medium or large office, the internal phone system can be Internet based. In this case, calls between extensions, and possibly between office buildings, run over a private data network. To reach the outside world, the company's Internet phone system can connect to the Internet, the regular phone system, or both. ![]() WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR Despite many advantages, Internet-based calling faces technical and political roadblocks that may affect you if you opt to go with it. Technical First of all, plugging in to Internet phones requires gear that not every household has. You must have an always-on broadband connection, either DSL or cable, and you need a spare Ethernet port on your hub or router to plug the Internet phone gateway into. If your network connection goes out or the power to your network equipment fails, your Internet phone dies too. You can insure against power outages with an uninterruptible power supply, but if your ISP is less reliable than your phone service, keep that in mind if you'll be relying on your VoIP phone. New products, such as Actiontec's Phone Wizard, can help you bridge the gap between VoIP and traditional telephone services. Actiontec's device lets you manually switch back and forth between VoIP calls and standard telephone calls from a standard phone. Since VoIP phone numbers move with your phone, not with the jack the phone is plugged into, calls to emergency services (911) won't automatically go to a local emergency call center. Until recently, in fact, 911 calls were not available on many hosted VoIP services. Today, 911 handling can be turned on, although you need to register your phone so that the call is routed to the right location. Also, when you make an emergency call, you will still have to say where you are, since that won't pop up on the operator's screen. All this may change soon--a number of Bells and Baby Bells are looking into opening their 911 calling infrastructures to VoIP providers. In particular, Verizon announced plans to test this setup in New York City this summer, the outcome of which will determine whether Verizon opens up the rest of its network. If you have DSL and want to keep your phone number, you might have a challenge because DSL usually has a phone number attached to it. You can't typically turn off the number without interrupting your DSL service. You can, of course, get a new number from your VoIP provider, and this may be what you want to do anyway if you're looking for a VoIP line to expand your phone system. Today, Qwest and Covad offer DSL without a phone number attached (this is called naked DSL). If you're a cable-modem customer, this isn't an issue. Political The FCC greased the way for Internet phone service by exempting VoIP from the regulations and the taxes applied to regular telephone service. That's why Internet phone calls are cheaper than regular calls: Internet phone carriers don't have to pay the same taxes for 911-center or federal wiretap-access maintenance. The reasoning behind the FCC's platform is sound: innovation grows more quickly when regulations and taxes are kept at bay. And there is a lot of innovation ahead in Voice over IP. But vast and powerful forces are arrayed around telephony, and the current state of affairs is being maintained, in part thanks to ongoing hearings in Washington, D.C., as well as pressure from technology lobbies. Facing off against them are players in the telephone industry that claim that VoIP has an unfair advantage because of its regulatory exemptions. And taxation isn't the only roadblock Internet telephony companies will have to navigate: as of this writing, the FBI has proposed that Internet providers, including VoIP companies, provide wiretap access, which could require rearchitecting how these services work. For an up-to-the-minute look at the status of Internet telephones and how this could affect you, see News.com's ongoing coverage of this topic. The future Though Internet phone service gives you features and performance that traditional phone systems can't offer now, this disparity won't last forever. Hardware companies like D-Link Moving voice to a fully digital platform means that innovation will continue to accelerate, and small, nimble companies will continue to come out offering new communications services. Teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and collaboration applications may soon be available as part of your integrated IP-based voice communications package. VIDEO TUTORIAL
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History of the Telephone - From Bell to VoIP and BeyondEveryone knows the story of Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone. There’s the story of Bell’s first words, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you,” that’s indelibly printed on our...
How VOIP can mask the size of your Business And Save you a BundleHave you heard the buzz about VOIP (Voice Over Internt Protocol)? Basically, it's like communicating over the phone without a phone. Instead you plug your microphone into your computer log on...
Is Your VOIP Service Secure?For individuals, VOIP security is primarily a matter of preventing others from eavesdropping on their conversations. Some VOIP service providers offer voice security through encryption or separate...
PC to Phone VoIP over Dial-UpSo you've heard that you can use your computer to make cheap long-distance calls over the Internet. Maybe you've even tried it. Chances are though that if you've attempted VoIP calls over a dial-up...
Security, Stability, and Interoperability Issues on VoIP ImplementationNow we have accepted that VoIP is no longer just a phone service, it has become feature rich as it merges with computer configurations. The VoIP's existence has changed considerably over the last few...
Wireless VoIP - DescriptionWireless VoIP is a technology that converts voice information into digital data packets, and transmits them wirelessly over a mobile network. Several VoIP telephony companies have recently made... |
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Read The Latest News About Voice Over Internet Protocol Below
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Voip-Pal.Com Inc. Successfully Completes Beta Testing of Newly Acquired VoIP Patented Technologies on Ground Server BELLEVUE, Wash., May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Voip-Pal.Com Inc. ("Voip-Pal") (VPLM.PK), through its wholly owned subsidiary Digifonica (International) Limited Gibraltar ("Digifonica ... Voip-Pal.Com Inc. Acquires Five Major VoIP Patents Through Acquisition of Digifonica (International) Limited Gibraltar BELLEVUE, Wash., May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Â Voip-Pal.Com Inc. ("Voip-Pal.Com") (VPLM.PK), a leading edge international VoIP telecom company, is pleased to announce that it has ... Top VoIP Equipment Supplier TelcoDepot.com Launches Special Discounts for Factories Leading VoIP equipment provider TelcoDepot.com now provides special discounts for factories on bulk purchases of phone systems, VoIP equipment, video surveillance equipment, access control systems, networking solutions, and more. The new discount offer and the integrated special technical support coverage is aimed at reducing acquisition, installation and maintenance costs on new communications ... Infonetics Research: Comcast, Verizon top Infonetics Business VoIP Services Scorecard for North America Market research firm Infonetics Research today released excerpts from its annual North America Business VoIP Service Leadership Scorecard, which analyzes and ranks the top service Brekeke Now Supports JeraSoft VoIP Carrier Suite's Dynamic Routing Feature SAN MATEO, CA-- - Brekeke Software, developer of SIP telephony software for enterprises and service providers, today announced that the company has confirmed interoperability of the JeraSoft VoIP Carrier ... |
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