VoIP is a relatively new technology and it has already
achieved wide acceptance and use. There is still a lot to improve and it is
expected to have major technological advances in VoIP in the future. It has so
far proved to be a good candidate for replacing the POTS (Plain Old Telephone
Systems). It, of course, has drawbacks along with the numerous advantages it
brings; and its increasing use worldwide is creating new considerations
surrounding its regulations and security.The growth of VoIP
today can be compared to that of the Internet in the early 90’s. The public is
getting more and more conscious of the advantages they can reap from VoIP at
home or in their businesses. Advertising campaigns, which are omnipresent on the
net, are contributing a lot towards the vulgarization of VoIP, which is not only
giving facilities and allowing people to save, but also generating huge income
for those who dived early into the new phenomenon.
VoIP is based on the Internet Protocol (IP), which is in
fact, along with TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), the basic underlying
protocol for the Internet. By virtue of this, VoIP also handles media types
other than voice: you can transfer images, video and text along with the voice.
For instance, you can speak to someone while sending her files or even showing
yourself using a web cam.
It is known that about 50 % of a
voice conversation is silence. VoIP fills the ‘empty’ silence spaces with data
so that bandwidth in data communication channels is not wasted.
In other words, a user is not given bandwidth when he is not talking, and this
bandwidth is used efficiently for other bandwidth consumers. Moreover,
compression and the ability to remove redundancy in some speech patterns add up
to the efficiency.
The underlying network for VoIP does not
need to be of a particular layout or topology. This makes it possible for an
organization to make use of the power of proven technologies like ATM, SONET,
Ethernet etc. VoIP can alwso be used over wireless networks like Wi-Fi.
When using VoIP, the network complexity inherent in PSTN connections is
eliminated, yielding an integrated and flexible infrastructure which can
actually support many types of communication. The system being more
standardized, it requires less equipment management and is therefore more fault
tolerant.
Voice over IP (VoIP) was developed in order to provide access
to voice communication in any place around the world. In most places, voice
communication is quite costly. Consider making a phone call to a person living
in a country half the globe away. The first thing you think of in this case is
your phone bill! VoIP solves this problem and many others.
There are of course a few drawbacks attached to the use of VoIP, as is the case
with any new technology, but the advantages largely outbalance these. Let's
explore below the benefits of VoIP and see how it can improve your home or
business voice communication needs.
If you don’t use VoIP for
voice communication, then you are most certainly using the good old phone line (PSTN
– Packet-Switched Telephone Network).
On a PSTN line, time is
really money. You actually pay for each minute you spend communicating on the
phone. International calls are much more expensive. Since VoIP uses the Internet
as backbone, the only cost you have when using it is the monthly Internet bill
to your ISP. Of course you need broadband Internet access, like ADSL, with a
decent speed.
In fact, unlimited 24/7 ADSL Internet service is what most
people use today, and this causes your monthly cost to be of a fixed amount. You
can speak as much as you wish on VoIP and the connection cost will still be the
same.
Studies have shown that, compared to using a PSTN line,
using VoIP can potentially make you save up to 40 % on local calls, and up to 90
% on international calls.
On the phone line, only two persons can speak at a time. With
VoIP, you can setup a conference with a whole team communicating in real time.
VoIP compresses data packets during transmission, and this causes more data to
be handled over the carrier. As a result, more calls can be handled on one
access line.
If you are an Internet user
wishing to use VoIP for voice communication, the only additional hardware you
require besides your computer and Internet connection are a sound card, speakers
and a microphone. These are quite cheap. There exist several software packages
downloadable from the Internet, which you can install and use for the purpose.
Examples of such applications are the well-known Skype and Net2Phone. You do not
actually need a telephone set, which can be quite expensive, along with the
underlying equipment, especially when you have a phone network.
Using VoIP also means benefitting from its abundant features which can make your
VoIP experience very rich and sophisticated, both personally and for your
business. You are thus better equipped for call management. You can, for
example, make calls anywhere in the world to any destination in the world with
your VoIP account. Features also include Caller ID, Contact Lists, Voicemail,
extra-virtual numbers etc.
****NOTE****
Microsoft doesn't have any clear documentation about
Vista and VOIP
Top 5 IP
Phones
IP Phones have more or less the same
features, so what distinguishes them besides the call quality, performance,
connectivity and ease of use is the appearance. The looks are important since
they will be part of your room interior or office decoration. The price as well
is an important factor. I considered these factors to come with this list:
1) Grandstream Budgetone 102
The Grandstream Budgetone 102 phone is a cheap entry-level phone of interesting
quality. The call is of good quality, it supports many features, and it has
firewall support. The setting up is quite easy. It has two Ethernet RJ-45 ports
that allow for good network sharing. The appearance could be better: the phone
is quite cheap-looking. It however has large buttons that make it easy to use.
This phone is excellent for small business and home users.
2)
Siemens Gigaset C450IP
The Siemens Gigaset C450IP hybrid phone stands out by working with both VoIP and
PSTN connections. It has a color screen with 4096 colors, with polyphonic tones.
It supports quality of service (QoS) and can accomodate up to 6 handsets. It can
also be used with a battery of 150 hours autonomy within a range of 300m
outdoor. It is also quite easy to set up.
3)
LinkSys SPA942
The LinkSys SPA942 phone is very attractive and perfectly designed for a nice
look and feel. It is the phone to buy if you want to communicate professionally
and in beauty. It is also quite easy to use. The phone gives a good performance.
There is nothing much to complain about it, save its high price.
4) Snom 300
The Snom 300 phone offers an impressive list of features and an easy menu
navigation. The phone is quite neat and compact, thus saving space, but with
large buttons. It can be programmed for up to 6 VoIP accounts. It has two
Ethernet connectors. Models Snom 320 and 360 are more enhanced with better
features, but twice as expensive. The Snom 300 is a nice phone for its price.
5)
Polycom SoundPoint IP 301 - VoIP phone - SIP
(Link)
The Polycom SoundPoint IP 301 phone is a large phone with a large LCD screen,
and rather small buttons. The looks are a bit out of the common. It gives a wide
range of functions, accessible through soft keys.
Residential Services
SunRocket, the No Gotcha Phone Company, provides home phone service over a
broadband connection. You must have a broadband service such as high-speed cable
or DSL to use SunRocket.
SunRocket Service can replace your current phone company. In fact, you can even
keep your existing phone number. With SunRocket, you can call anywhere in the
U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico for one low price, as low as $9.95 per month! Plus,
all sorts of amazing features are included.
SunRocket Service includes great rates to nearly every country in the world. You
don't need to pay an extra fee or sign up for a special international plan to
qualify. And, our annual plans include a credit towards international calling
every month!
SunRocket Service is based on an emerging technology called Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP). SunRocket takes analog voice conversations and converts them
into data that can be sent across the Internet using a high-speed broadband
connection, such as Cable or DSL. At the other end, the data is converted back
into a signal that the conventional telephone system can deliver. Thus, you can
use regular telephones at both ends - the number you are calling does not need
to have an Internet connection or computer.
To use SunRocket Service, make sure you have:
1. High-speed broadband service in your home - either through a cable or DSL
modem. Your modem speed will need a minimum upstream and downstream capacity of
120 kbps. Test your broadband speed now.
2. A valid credit card to secure your purchase and to cover your SunRocket
charges.
3. A modem that uses an Ethernet cord, not USB. If you don't have an Ethernet
port, you should be able to purchase a USB adapter for use with the SunRocket
gizmo (telephone adapter).
If you have a high-speed Internet connection such as Cable or DSL,
you can get
started right away!
Do you have any Windows Vista VOIP information you would like to share?
VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. Do you have any stories or questions about using Windows Vista and VOIP?..
Share them here!
