VoIP

VoIP

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION3

VOIP3

STAKEHOLDERS6

Businesses On The VoIP6

BENEFITS/DRIVERS AND LIMITATIONS/CHALLENGES8

Challenges9

Pitfalls10

911 issues11

Quality of service12

REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES15

Vonage17

Skype17

CONCLUSION18

REFERENCES20

VoIP

Introduction

Global communications has become a must for all sectors of business and life for our world today. With the spreading use of the Internet, people across the globe are able to communicate. VoIP will increase the use of the internet that was once only the domain of data by allowing voice to be transmitted. The voice signal would be digitized, compressed and converted into IP packets for its transmission on the IP network. One of the main motivations for businesses to use VoIP is the very low costs to make long distance calls. However, there are some other motivations that can mention for the allure of VoIP for businesses. One of them is demand for integrating of data and voice networks and the demand for multimedia communication(Riley 2003 pp.89-109).

VoIP

Voice over IP (VoIP) is not a new network, but it is a new application on IP networks. VoIP is a technology that enables you to convert voice communication into data packets and transmit those packets via an IP network such as the Internet. VoIP converts the voice signal from your telephone into a digital signal that travels over the Internet then converts it back at the other end, so you can speak to anyone with a regular phone number. That is rather than placing your calls over telephone lines, you can place them over the Internet. If you have a reasonable quality Internet connection, you can get your phone service delivered to you through your Internet connection instead of from your local phone company(Derek 2001 pp 45 ).

A lot of people have started using VoIP to replace their traditional phone service since VoIP service providers usually offer lower rates than the traditional phone companies. When placing a VoIP call using a phone with an adapter, you will hear a dial tone and dial just as you always have. VoIP may also allow you to make a call directly from a computer using a conventional telephone or a microphone(Danielle 2001 pp 34).

Voice over IP, also called voice over Internet Telephony, "is technology that makes it possible to have a telephone conversation over the Internet or a dedicated Internet Protocol network instead of dedicated voice transmission lines. This allows the elimination of circuit switching and the associated waste of bandwidth. Instead packet switching is used, where IP packets with voice data are sent over the network only when data needs to be sent when a caller is talking" (Khasnabish 2003 . Pp.34). The term Internet Telephony has been generally applied to a family of applications that includes voice communication over a network using Internet Protocol. Leveille Shah (2003 pp.67-81)define Internet telephony as "the services, applications, and equipment for mediated human communication emerging from the convergence of the Internet and telecommunications."

Traditional telephone communication is connected through a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) where calls are converted to digital from your analog phone. They travel in a digital format at 64Kbps until ...