By Will Peeden

 Voice over Internet Protocol  A way to make phone calls over the internet.  A way to bypass the standard phone company and their charges.

 Traditional analog signals are converted to digital and sent through the internet to a VoIP service provider.  VoIP uses the packet-switching method to transfer the data which is much more efficient than circuit switching.

 Connect your regular phone to an ATA (analog telephone adapter).  Install software on your computer that will let you make calls with your microphone and speakers.  Use a VoIP phone that is basically a telephone with an ATA built in.

Typical Analog Telephone Adapter

 VoIP is much cheaper than traditional land lines.  No extra charges for long distance calls.  Anywhere you can connect to the internet you can make and receive phone calls.  VoIP can integrate with other internet applications such as video conversation.

 If your power goes out, so does your VoIP service.  Some VoIP service providers don’t offer 911 emergency because it’s hard to determine which 911 center to route a call.  Errors with your internet connection will adversely affect phone calls.  VoIP is susceptible to worms, viruses and hacking.

 Over 90% of VoIP providers use a public known codex and a publicly known protocol to transport voice conversations.  A VoIP service should compress your voice into encryption packets to travel across the internet, and return back to voice at its destination.

 Packets can be lost during transmission, resulting in your voice being fragmented.  Delayed packets can cause your voice to be jittery or echoed.  Any types of “hiccups” in your connection will reduce quality.

 Features like caller id, call waiting, and call forwarding are usually included in packages.  Voic , alerts to new voic , and web access to voic .  Online management of your account, features, settings, etc.  Computer Dialing

 The H.323 protocol is currently the most widely used.  The ITU recommends H.323 because it provides audio-visual communication sessions on any packet network.  There are other protocols as well, which can cause problems if two different protocols try to communicate.  Uses soft switches to find the correct IP address to route calls.