Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
What is VOIP
If you are using Skype to call anyone on their VOIP PCs anywhere in the world, then you have come across the term and most likely familiar with it. It’s Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP that is short for internet protocol telephony (IP telephony), referring to the set of transmission technologies that deliver voice grade communication over the IP networks such as the popular internet or other packet-switched telecoms net works.
VoIP provides a more cost effective alternative to regular PSTN phone calls especially when involving expensive overseas calls. Many homes and offices have realized substantial savings when going into VoIP when making overseas calls.
How It Works
VoIP technology starts with a headset designed for the purpose. Either this or your PC can be equipped with an audio card with a headset and microphone to accept your voice. Your voice get converted into digital signals and “packetized” for internet transmissions using the IP standards. The process is just reversed at the other end with a VoIP equipped appliance or a service provider delivering the service to your PC, like Skype.
Broadband internet makes this very viable as digitized voice can be bandwidth hugging. And it was not until broadband became pervasively cheap that companies started implementing VoIP across offices that reduced substantially its overall telephone bills. Traditional PSTN companies initially resisted VoIP incursions but eventually rode on the bandwagon, offering VoIP services to their existing client base.
Disadvantage
A lot has been said about the significant savings from VoIP implementation. But as in any internet application, there are problems and the major quality of service remains a major consideration. If you want crystal clear voice calls that you can understand without dropout, you’re still better off with standards PSTN voice calls.
As it is just another packet data streaming into the internet, latency and dropouts can make voice calls unintelligible unless some dedicated VoIP bandwidth is allocated to it.
