Interent telephony and VOIP
Posted on December 7, 2006, 10:32 am by cipher27 under Cool Gadgets |
VOIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol is a way of channeling voice or telephone conversations over broadband or Internet lines VOIP is also known as broadband telephony or Internet telephony. VOIP became popular in early 2001, the steady rise of VOIP has been attributed to the popularity of chat programs like Yahoo messenger, MSN messenger and others which utilize VOIP to conduct voice conversations between PC's. The cost benefits of VOIP are immense, a International call to the US from places like India or other Asian countries over the traditional telephone network or PSTN (Public switched telephone network) used to cost around $2/Minute in the early 90's but with the rapid growth of the Internet and the emergence of VOIP the cost per minute has come down to 9 cents. The telephone companies stand to benefit a lot too, as they don't need specialized equipment to extend their service to far flung places because they can use the existing cable or power line networks to extend VOIP coverage thru the Internet. |
Skype a company that leverages VOIP to deliver crystal clear audio to millions of users worldwide was founded in 2002 by the same entrepreneurs who founded Kazza Skype has enjoyed immense popularity with its great service and was acquired by eBay Inc in 2005. Several competing standards exist which have implemented VOIP according to different protocols Skype owns a propriety VOIP network while Gizmo another company focusing on VOIP uses the open SIP protocol ( session initiation protocol).
the rising popularity of VOIP and the increasing adoption of VOIP by businesses has evinced keen interest from industry giants like Microsoft and Google who are rolling out their own VOIP enable tools and software in order to own a piece of this very lucrative market. Cisco systems and Belkin and other manufactures of network hardware are researching ways of integrating VOIP with existing network hardware such that a normal land line phone that works with PSTN network can be used with VOIP network as well. A report from IDC predicts the number of residential VOIP users will rise from 3 million at present to 27 million by the end of 2009.
Overview of VOIP software
If you have a computer you can make free computer to computer phone calls using any of the widely available Messenger clients like Yahoo or MSN. Skype Allows free calls to anywhere in the US until the end of 2006 for free. Gizmo offers free international calls to 60 international cities.
In order to use these services you need to first download the Client software and istall it. The links to download the software is given below
Yahoo! messenger *
MSN messenger *
Skype
Gizmo Project
Gaim
* both yahoo messenger and MSN messenger inter-operate with each other.
This Wikipedia article has a more comprehensive list of VOIP clients and a comparison of the same.
Several useful VOIP hardware are available in case you don't want to be tied down to the PC.
# Skype offers the SMC WiFi phone package which has everything you need to make Skype calls without a computer.
The Wifi package includes:
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Belkin and Linksys have introduced a line of WiFi phone in 2006 which can be used to make Skype calls without a PC, both models are available from the Skype store.
ASUS the popular motherboard manufacturer have released two VOIP enabled motherboards which have a TeleSky adapter which converts a normal PSTN phone into a multifunctional Skype phone. You also get 60 Skype out minutes free with the purchase of these motherboards.
The Role of VOIP is set to grow as more and more manufacturers introduce VOIP enabled Hardware.The coming VOIP revolution is set to change the way we communicate forever.
# source : Skype store
