What is VOIP?

The Internet has always been the subject of great innovation. Although it was originally designed for transmitting data, one of the most dramatic innovations has been the ability to send voice over an Internet connection. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) accomplishes this technological feat. But it doesn't stop there. It has also changed the very nature of how we use the telephone, how service is delivered to us, and how the phone company makes money.

VoIP fundamentally changes how your voice goes out over the phone. Unlike standard telephony, the Internet breaks up a transmission into tiny electronic envelopes, called "packets," and sends them out over the Internet. On the receiving end, those packets are re-assembled. Since packets may travel over several hops as they go through the Internet, they may not arrive in the proper order, but it doesn't matter--at least it didn't matter when the Internet was used only for data. Sending a document isn't time-sensitive; the equipment on the receiving end simply waits for all the packets to arrive, and then re-assembles them. In a voice conversation though, this just won't work. Fortunately, there have been some interesting technical innovations that have made it happen.

In the very early days of VoIP, the first application was a mechanism that allowed two people on a computer to talk, assuming a microphone was connected to each PC. No telephone was involved; each person had a computer interface screen with controls. It was mostly experimental, and used by hobbyists and those who just wanted to try it out for the sake of its newness. Call quality was poor, the voice sounded choppy, and there was a lot of "latency"--or time delay between when the first person spoke and the second person heard the words. Today however, call quality is the same as the regular telephone service, and VoIP can take place either over the computer or through a standard telephone handset.

The greatest advantage of VoIP is that it bypasses the long-distance companies and gives you cheap service. If you make long-distance calls to only one or two people, and the other party has a computer and a broadband connection, using a PC-to-PC VoIP connection may be very economical, or even free. Alternately, you may decide to use a special VoIP hardware interface that connects a standard telephone handset to your Internet connection.

In a PC-to-PC call, you typically do not use telephone numbers; rather you select your party through a menu screen, or enter their IP address. Phone-to-phone VoIP calling is just like using a regular telephone. You may even be on a VoIP call and not even realize it. A party with a phone-to-phone VoIP system like Vonage can call anybody, regardless of whether the call recipient uses VoIP or not. In addition, some of the least expensive long-distance calling cards are able to offer excellent rates by routing calls over the Internet.

VoIP has been growing at an incredible pace, and traditional telephony providers are busy trying to stay competitive. Many traditional phone companies are starting to roll out VoIP offerings. Some cable companies are taking advantage of the trend by offering a "Triple Play," which combines Internet access, cable television and VoIP-based telephone service in a single package, all coming in over the cable and bypassing standard telephone lines completely.

VOIP :: Voice Over IP Information

Your Guide to VOIP Telephone Technology and Services