VoIP
Posted October 2nd, 2007 by NickJ
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Sounds boring. No...worse than that, it sounds like something only the geeks in your IT department talk about, regularly dropping it into their conversation alongside talk of 'RAM', 'CPUs', 'Gigabytes' and 'Hypertext Transfer Protocol'.
Well, as a technology, VoIP (also called IP Telephony, Internet telephony, broadband telephony, Broadband Phone and Voice over Broadband) is somewhat dry. It is, like a lot of technologies, the 'behind-the-scenes' stuff, but it's the stuff which you do not need to understand to enjoy the benefits.
Here comes the 'science' bit: VoIP is the routing of voice conversations over the Internet or through any other IP-based (Internet Protocol) network. Whereas traditional telecommunications involve sending electrical impulses down the line to carry sound, VoIP carries voice signals (in the form of data packets) using as its basis, existing internet protocols and thereby digitising the process.
But what interests users at large is what it offers and what it can do. One of the important, and undoubtedly most attractive, features is that an existing computer network can carry the data where there is the capacity, bringing substantial cost savings over a normal phone line. VoIP-to-VoIP calls are mostly free, whilst VoIP-to-PSTN (traditional phone network) are only the fraction of the cost of normal phone calls, because they relay the calls as far as possible over a computer network. The downside to this technology is that call quality is not always 100%, as data packets are dropped or delivered in the wrong sequence.
But this seems like a minor concern and since 2000, VoIP usage has expanded dramatically. Whilst initially, VoIP was pushed to corporate customers by companies such as Cisco and Avaya, who switched to VoIP to save on both call and infrastructure costs, it has now reached and been taken up by residential users. In just a few short years, VoIP has gone from being a new technology to a viable mainstream service, rivalling that of standard telephone services - or more than likely, replacing it, as telecomms operator upgrade. As more and more phone exchanges become digital (or part of the network) more and more VoIP calls can be routed in this manner and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) now offer this as part of their ADSL services. Phone and computer networks are converging, forever changing the way we make and pay for calls.
There are a number of ways you can take advantage of VoIP technology. When using Broadband, many ISPs will offer users free calls using Internet Telephony. This usually entails plugging another handset into the ADSL line on a separately assigned number.
There are a number of ways you can take advantage of VoIP technology. When using Broadband, many ISPs will offer users free calls using Internet Telephony. This usually entails plugging another handset into the ADSL line on a separately assigned number.
As an end-user, you can also take advantage of VoIP by installing one of the many available VoIP clients. Programs are available in abundance: Jabber, Googletalk and many open source programs. Even Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger) now support audio and video calls. But the one service to have had by far and away the biggest impact is Skype. Skype's simplicity and ability to work with firewalls that break other VoIP clients, Skype has radically changed the landscape for web-based communications with a reported 150+ million downloads. With a headset and microphone or webcam you can make audio/video calls to other Skype subscribers or chat with them using the built-in instant messenger (IM) function. Video-conferencing was once the (expensive) preserve of big companies, but is now available to everyone with a simple webcam and a VoIP client. These applications allow files and data to be shared between user.
Skype - recently acquired by Ebay - actually allows you to do much more and is at the forefront of convergent technologies and fulfils many of the criteria of a true Web 2.0 service. Skype enables the user to take part in public conversations with other users; with another plug-in, you can dial telephone numbers straight from your browser; but Skype is the first VoIP client to reach a large audience, offering users a real alternative to a fixed landline. In addition to free VoIP-to-VoIP calls, chat and cheaper calls to landlines and mobiles worldwide (with SkypeOut), non-Skype users can call Skype users on a 'SkypeIn' number and the incoming call can go to voicemail or be forwarded to another number.
But other companies are driving VoIP usage: Vonage has put its VoIP service on a USB stick, which means that you can literally take your VoIP service with you and then plug it into a PC and run the application and make your call. And Skype looks like it might have a serious contender in the Gizmo Project, which is offering many of the same services as Skype offers.
Beyond that, VoIP is being offered on cabled and wireless handsets, even mobiles, so that you do not need a computer to talk to people using the Internet. 'Dual mode' phones - supporting cellular and VoIP services have started to appear and 'MoIP' or 'MVoIP', as it is known, is expected to grow, once coverage for VoIP (over wireless networks) catches up with cellular coverage.
Recording your VoIP Conversations is also a great feature!
Hi there, it´s a great article, I´d like to expand it with my humble comment.
There are several reasons why you´d want your calls recorded, like journalism, podcasting, aquire legal evidence, archive your family calls, etc.
VoIP is very easy to record, there are a few software around, and I personally like 2:
HotRecorder - Older one, the classic. It uses a proprietary audio format and has 1 mayor bug with the audio loosing sinc, not bad for a grandpa...
EasyVoipRecorder - Newer, quite good, records directly to several common formats, like MP3, have just installed and works like a charm, loved the sharing posibility (upload the files to their servers and share/publish with just a link)
Having the posibility to record your calls give´s you one more reason to try out VoIP.
I´ve been using VoIP for over a year now, and with the recording posiblities, I´m so enthusiastic about this technology.
Thanks!
Martin
Martin, thanks for your
Martin, thanks for your comment.
I think you're right and it is an exciting time for this technology.
Call recording serves us well, as we can get detail on projects and use calls for training purposes, and these applications literally 'plug in'.
Personally, I cannot get HotRecorder to work with Skype, which it crashes on a regular basis and Callburner and I did not get on.
Skylook, which works with Skype, gets a 'thumbs-up' from a colleague and I will certainly be trying EasyVoIPRecorder on your recommendation.
Post new comment