If you are just starting to look at VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) as an alternative to conventional POTS (plain old telephone service) for your home or office, you will be hit with an all new set of technical terminology and industry jargon. This is a guide to help clarify and define some of the basic vocabulary used in the VoIP world.
Many of these terms are not limited to the VoIP world. As with so many technologies that revolve around broadband access, wireless networking and telephony, you will see these terms elsewhere so it will be helpful for you to understand their meaning as they relate to VoIP.
Telephone Adapter – In the world of VoIP, a telephone adapter is a device that is installed between your network and your telephone hardware. You can think of it as a converter as it sometimes referred to by this term. The most simple of these devices have three connections: power adapter connected to a power outlet, a 4-wire telephone connection where you plug in your conventional telephone hardware and an Ethernet adapter to connect the device to your network. The adapter converts (digitizes) the analog phone signal to an IP protocol.
Codec – Short for coder/decoder, this is a compression and decompression utility that digitizes and compresses the analog voice signal created by your telephone. There are a number of different codecs used and each one offers differing levels of compression. With varying levels of compression come different levels of quality of voice over the line.
VoIP Service Provider – This is a provider of the actual connectivity of your VoIP hardware, your network and the rest of the world. Some provide only computer-based services while others provide complete home or office solutions including multiple phone numbers and fax/data solutions.
RTP – Real-time Transport Protocol is the protocol used to specify standards for carrying voice calls over broadband connections. RTP is used in conjunction with RTCP (Real-time Transport Control Protocol) to provide QoS (Quality of Service) support. This provides a precedence or ‘right-of-way’ traffic control of voice calls over standard traffic over the network. Standard traffic can be thought of as text, email or other low priority, non-time sensitive traffic.
SIP – Session Initiation Protocol controls the way VoIP traffic is transmitted and routed over a broadband network. In simple terms, SIP is the standard by which a session (phone call) is initiated and terminated (phone hangs up).
VoIP phone – This is a telephone that is designed specifically to be used with a VoIP service. It has the functionality of both a telephone in its basic design but incorporates all the functionality of a telephone adapter making is a single, self-contained VoIP device.
Softphone – This is actually a misleading term in that it is not really a phone at all. A softphone is a computer that is equipped with a microphone, a speaker (or headset) and a software program that allows you to make telephone calls without the need for a conventional telephone or adapter.
By: Jeff Runyon
Posts Tagged ‘Protocol Technology’
Internet Telephone VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) – Technology and Terms
October 29th, 2009The Benefits of VoIP Technology
October 1st, 2009
Before you are able to assess the truthfulness or the reliability of any VoIP reviews, you must first of all attempt to understand the VoIP technology and what it is all about. This task may seem somewhat unnecessary considering the fact that the use of VoIP seems rather straightforward but most of the time we often assume we know what we actually don’t. By taking out the careful time to understand how VOIP works, you cover grounds that you may have not previously been aware of. In any reviews you come across fundamental aspects of a VoIP service will be discussed and you must be aware of these aspects.
VoIP refers to voice over ip, which is really one of the newest ways of making calls and in this case making calls over an internet network. Most computer software vendors are in the forefront today with the sale of various tools and devices which aid people in their bid to make cheap calls over the Internet. The phones and software that enable you to make phone calls over the Internet have similar qualities to what your physical telephone possesses. These phones however work using Voice over Internet Protocol technology, another fancy way of saying that they allow you make calls anywhere an Internet connection exists.
One of the primary reasons for the popularity of VoIP technology is mainly due to its low costs as well as the relative availability of the service. The system is also quite quick to setup and can be used in any area that has an internet connection, preferably a high speed connection. The VoIP equipment that people use has the ability to transmit audio information into data, this data in turn is then transmitted over the Internet and all that is demanded of you is that you pay your normal internet charges and a small fee tha you’d normally pay if you made a local telephone call. Regardless of the location in the world which you intend to call, as long you’re using VoIP technology you only need to pay the costs for a local telephone call or even less.
VoIP is perfect for people who need to make International telephone calls on a frequent basis. Such people include establishments such as corporate bodies and business people. Other categories of frequent international callers are people who have a number of friends and relatives residing abroad. Now newer versions of instant messenger clients now come equipped with VoIP technology for ease of use.
If you’re using VoIP, some elements that you will require in order to communicate are your microphone, speakers as well as a high speed internet connection. Other things include as sound board, your VoIP adapter, VoIP phone and other auxiliary elements that may be required. VoIP phones are usually equipped with certain other facilities such as call waiting, speaker phone, speed dial as well as the standard call transfer functions. Certain additional functions exist which are designed to provide the user with a better communication experience.
By: Kelly Hunter
