Voice over Internet Protocol or the VoIP, is basically the process of sending voice through internet protocol, making it convenient for a consumer to make phone calls at cheaper price. VoIP is used not only when using the internet protocol to send or receive calls, but it is also useful when you want to avail the service of traditional phone lines that guarantee better quality & allow bigger space for calls.
When the quality of audio and frequency in VoIP is high, it is very hard for customers to notice the difference between it and a normal telephone. Even the person who is receiving the calls from a VoIP will not be able to guess that the calls are made from a VoIP Network. Transferring PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) to VoIP/SIP Session Initiation Protocol) allows VoIP users to send and receive phone calls as done in ordinary phone lines.
Now, enough about VoIP from the scientific point of view. Let us now proceed to the benefits of using VoIP compared to using conventional phone lines. Basically, consumers care mostly about the rates so they would like to know how much can be saved when you purchase a VoIP service. This is one of the advantages of VoIP. It became popular because of its cheap call rates as compared to any conventional phones. It gives you the ability to make unlimited phone calls, long distance calls and low international calls charges with low monthly subscription rate. This is value added service for any consumer.
VoIP can be used in different ways. One possible way is through ATA or Analog Telephone Adapter. ATA is connected between a telephone jack that is already existent and an IP network in order to provide VoIP service. This type of service is generally offered by broadband internet providers such as cable companies and telephone companies.
Simply check the company that provides you with internet cable service or the company that provides your home phone service to see if they offer this service. If you want an easier way, just check the internet out for low rates companies. There are a lot of new companies that are just providing this service and they are concerned about giving the best service with lower rates.
Finally, a VoIP is a better & more economical way of making long distance as well as short distance calls by simply using an internet connection. You can use it for local, nationwide and international calls. You can even make calls to residential phones or cell phones.
By: Joanne Greco
Posts Tagged ‘Session Initiation Protocol’
All About VoIP
February 20th, 2010Wireless VoIP 101
February 11th, 2010
The Internet has revolutionized communications in the last decade of the 20th century, but during the present, it is wireless technology that is the next step in connectivity all over the world in which Vonage also participates.
A world without cables, where you can take from one point to another numerous devices, could not be apart of Voice over the Internet phone services.
Vonage VoIP took this in mind with VoIP 101 emerging as a new alternative in 2006. Vonage phone introduces a change to your current long-distance calling plan, and analysts believe that eventually many traditional telephone providers will switch to similar VoIP plans for their customers.
The Forrester Research Group predicted that about 5 million American households will be using VoIP phone service by the end of 2006, with Vonage as the top provider, and a considerable percentage of users will be using wireless VoIP 101 services.
Flexibility, low cost, and improved technology is making Internet telephony a convenient service complementary to many other Internet activities, in which many people are involved not only in the United States, but also in the most unexpected places on the planet earth.
Vonage VoIP, and all other Wireless Voice over IP variants, are bringing to users Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA), a feature which caught the attention of the press during a 3GSM congress in Barcelona in early 2006.
Although, there is still too much confusion about Vonage phone as a wireless alternative and what UMA is about, there are currently different wireless alternatives ready for a market hungry for connectivity, including IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) implemented on mobile phones, as well as non-standard Wireless VoIP systems, including the popular service offered by Skype.
Vonage says that Wireless VoIP will contribute to a major productivity for business, since there is no need to stay attached to desktop equipment, offering reduced cost in mobile communication and better deployment.
Wireless VoIP also guarantees call quality within residential areas where basements and office blocks are left off quality reception via traditional mobile services. Vonage considers that wireless VoIP services will improve the coverage in these areas where other wireless devices have succeeded as well.
Although, we are just in the beginning of this new technology, it is expected that most WiFi enabled handsets, such as Palm and smartphone devices, can take advantage of wireless VoIP, which market growth is increasing every day, with more carriers joining the venture, including Vonage phone services, along other renowned Internet telephony providers.
By: Natalie Aranda
The Aim To Standardize VoIP Protocols
January 1st, 2010
Voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) is a remarkable technology that lets us talk to one another from our home computers. It provides an efficient and flexible way for us to communicate at work and at home, and the cost savings versus conventional telephone services are incredible. It requires little upfront investment, and you have the ability to travel with your phone number all over the world. It is a technology that almost seems too good to be true. As with any relatively new technology, though, there are technical kinks with VOIP that continue to need refining and development in order for the technology to reach its fullest potential as a replacement for the current telephone systems that we are accustomed to using.
At the beginning of a VOIP phone call, there is an analog phone (in use with an ATA), an IP phone, or software that converts data from analog to digital and routes the call to an endpoint. Along with these pieces of equipment, there are protocols that are employed to get the job done efficiently. A protocol is a set of rules that control data transfer between two points, in this case, from the placement of a phone call to the destination. Protocols are put into use by any combination of hardware and software to define real-time communications performance.
There are several VOIP protocols used at this time that mark out which programs (that transform the data) connect with one another along with the network. The most common protocol being used for VOIP is know as H.323, which was created by the International Telecommunication Union for the purposes of videoconferencing. This protocol is actually a group of several specific protocols that provide provisions for videoconferencing, data sharing, and audio transmission (VOIP). However, since it was not expressly designed for VOIP, there are often compatibility issues with its use.
A newer protocol has come out known as Session Initiation Protocol, or SIP. SIP was developed specifically for VOIP, and it is less complex than H.323. Yet another protocol used for VOIP is known as Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP). It focuses on destination control, and is intended to be used for supplemental features such as Call Waiting. A big problem arises because these three protocols do not always work together very congruently. This is often a problem when placing VOIP calls between different networks that use different protocols. And since there has not been yet developed a uniform set of standards for protocols to use for VOIP, problems are likely to continue until they are established.
Despite the technical glitches that can be encountered in using the technology to place phone calls, VOIP is still far more efficient, accommodating, and cost effective to what we are used to in telephone communications. The direction in which VOIP is heading hints that it is poised to one day replace our traditional telephone technology altogether. As with any technology-driven product or service, developers of VOIP will likely continue to improve upon current standards of VOIP and its protocols, further improving the technology for widespread use. This will provide users of VOIP even greater efficiency and reliability when they want to make a telephone call.
By: Mark Woodcock
