VoIP Telephony

VoIP stands for Voice over the Internet Protocol. It has always been known that it was feasible to digitize sound, transmit it and then turn it back into sound, but the Net was not fast enough to make the theory a reality. These days, when most Net users have access to broadband speeds, VoIP can be used worldwide. However, it is still very much dependent on the speed of the Net connections for its quality.

VoIP goes under various names by different suppliers and so you may know it as IP, broadband or Net telephony. VoIP has a few advantages and a couple of disadvantages over normal telephony. On the plus side, it ought to be a great deal cheaper to telephone anywhere in the world, because it is simply like using the Internet.

While you surf the Net, you are charged either a local call rate or a fixed monthly fee for accessing the Net no matter where the web sites are that you are accessing. They do not charge you more to look at an Australian site than an American one.

The same ought to be true of VoIP: all calls should get classed as local calls. This is not always true, but some VoIP service providers do allow free worldwide computer to computer calls.

Another plus point is that if you are talking about a subject, say business, which is computer-related, you can access your computer’s data and share that whilst you are speaking. In other words, VoIP is much more adaptable than standard telephony.

VoIP also offers video-conferencing. Free video conferencing between computers, if the broadband connection speed is sufficient. This is fantastic if you are working away from home or from a loved one. Most laptops (and other small Net-enabled units) have a built-in camera and a built-in microphone to make video VoIP a doddle.

To connect a desktop computer in the same fashion you just have to purchase a camera and a microphone but they are not expensive. Anything that connects to the Net can be converted or adapted to make use of free VoIP. Again, very importantly, this all depends on your local connection speed and the local connection speed of the person you are communicating with.

This is the disadvantage. If the speeds are not both fast enough, the video images will seem very jerky and if they are low then the voice transmission will also become interrupted and you will go through delays like you hear when mission control speaks to its spacemen.

We have already talked about VoIP and computers, but there are also special VoIP telephones, yet they are only computers built into housings that look like telephones so as not to scare those who think that they cannot operate a computer. They are more user friendly because they look traditional.

As more and more households have computers worldwide and as there are cyber cafes in even the most far-flung towns, so it is becoming easier and easier to use free (video) VoIP with friends and family all around the world which brings the price of long-distance communication down.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with looking for the best cell phone family plans. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Family Plans For Cell Phones.