VoIP's Two Big Advantages

VoIP has two BIG things going for it: It's flexible and cheap.



You can call from wherever you can get a broadband connection. You just need an adapter (ATA), or an IP phone or a computer. And, of course, an Internet service provider, but who doesn't have one of those these days.



Since IP phones or ATAs send their info over the Internet, they can be managed by the provider wherever there's a connection. VoIP is a boon to business travelers who can pack their phones or ATAs on trips and always have access to their home phones.



A VoIP phone plan can cost you as little as $30 a month. You'd have a minute-rate plan similar to a cell phone bill. Some VoIP companies offer unlimited plans for around $79. These higher-end plans offer a set of free features including caller ID and call waiting for which the regular phone company charges extra.

Definition of VoIP

VoIP—a short way of saying Voice over Internet Protocol—is a technique for turning the analog audio signals that make up a regular phone conversation into digital data that can be sent out over the Internet.



A lot of people are excited about VoIP because to them it translates into free phone calls over a standard Internet connection. By downloading free VoIP software, they can make Internet phone calls and bypass the phone company—and its charges—completely.



Some consider this a VoIP revolution. Major carriers and new VoIP providers are taking the technology and setting up VoIP calling plans around the United States. And of course the FCC (Federal Communication Commission) is checking out the potential ramifications of VoIP service.



It's not far-fetched to say that someday VoIP technology will totally replace the traditional phone system that's been in place for more than 100 years.

Three Ways to Make a VoIP Call

There are three ways to place a VoIP call. You can buy an analog telephone adapter (ATA), buy an IP phone, or talk directly from one computer to another.



An ATA is a simple way to start using VoIP. You take the adapter out of the box, plug it in and you're ready to make VoIP calls.



If you want to get a little fancier, you can buy an IP phone. It looks like a regular phone but has all the software you need to make IP calls. When Wi-Fi phones become available, you'll be able to make IP calls from any Wi-Fi hotspot.



Talking computer to computer is the easiest way to use VoIP. You can get the necessary software free or at very low cost. All you pay is your normal ISP (Internet service provider) fee.

Circuit Switching vs. Packet Switching

Circuit switching (the basis of traditional phone service) has been around for more than a 100 years and might have been around a hundred more if packet switching hadn't come along.



VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) uses packet-switching technology. Packet switching, a way of breaking up a phone conversation and transmitting it in a way that eliminates wasted space, is a vast improvement over the old method.



A packet-switched network sends and retrieves data only as you need it. While circuit switching sends your phone conversation over a dedicated line (no one else is using it), a packet-switched phone conversation flows through a frenzied network along thousands of possible paths.



Circuit switching keeps the connection between you and the person you're calling open and constant. Packet switching opens a brief connection that's just long enough to send a small piece of your conversation (a chunk of data called a packet) from one system to another. And if you're not talking, it's not sending.



When the multitude of packets (traveling a multitude of paths) gets to its destination, the packets of conversation are reassembled into the original form. And you didn't even know it happened.

Equipment Needed

To make a phone call using Voice over Internet Protocol, you'll need a broadband Ethernet connection, an adapter and a touchtone phone.



“Broadband” means your Internet access is high-speed (90 kbps or better) and comes through a cable or DSL modem. A broadband connection is continuous and much faster than dial-up. It will give your phone calls consistent high quality sound.



Ethernet is a wired network that connects all equipment with cables. It is quick, reasonably inexpensive and the most stable home networking option.



The phone adapter is usually given free by the VoIP service provider. It translates your voice into data and sends it through the Internet like an e-mail.



Once the equipment is in place, making a VoIP phone call is just like making a regular phone call. Only cheaper.

VoIP Advantage over Circuit Switching

VoIP technology, a packet-switching technique, uses the Internet to provide phone service and has several advantages over circuit switching.



Packet switching allows several telephone calls to occupy the same amount of space that would take up only one phone call on a circuit-switched network. Using the PSTN (public switched telephone network), a 10-minute phone call uses 10 full minutes of transmission time at a cost of 128 kbps.



A 10-minute call using VoIP may occupy only 3.5 minutes of transmission time at a cost of 64 kbps. So, those 3.5 minutes leave the other 64 kbps free. In addition, during the 6.5 minutes of silence included in a 10-minute conversation, the 128 kbps capacity can be used in other ways.



Another three or four calls could easily fit into the space used by a single phone call using circuit switching. Data compression would further reduce the size of each call.

Hurdles Facing VoIP

If the public switched telephone network has one thing going for it, it's reliability. You pick up the receiver and you hear a dial tone 99.999 times. Computers and e-mail, however, remain a bit sketchy.



The big hurdle facing VoIP, therefore, is reliability.



VoIP depends on electrical power. No power, no phone. In addition, digital video recorders, digital subscription TV services and home security systems linked into the phone line can interfere with VoIP performance. Phone conversations can become distorted, garbled or lost because of transmission errors.



VoIP currently cannot be linked to the E911 system and is susceptible to viruses, worms and hacking.



Lastly, a VoIP phone system depends on the strength of your PC. A call can be affected by processor drain. With VoIP, all phone calls are subject to the limitations of the computer being used, for example low memory or other computer applications competing for resources.

Advantage of Packet Switching

Packet switching is a very efficient technology.



Instead of sending a constant stream of bytes, a packet-switched phone system sends just the packets of noisy bytes. If neither you nor the person you're talking to are speaking, nothing is transmitted.



Packets of data can be sent throughout the network along the least congested and cheapest routes.



For the customer this translates into lower cost of service because costs to the provider are so much less.

How Packet Switching Works

Packet switching is a method of breaking down and reassembling data. If you send an e-mail to your friend, your computer chops your message (the data) into small pieces (packets). Each packet has an address telling the devices that move it along the network where to send it.



Your computer sends the packet to a nearby router. That nearby router sends the packet to another router closer to your friend's computer. That router sends the packet to an even closer router. On and on it goes until the packet reaches your friend's computer.



The packets that make up your e-mail message may all take different paths to reach your friend's computer, but finally they all get there. Now your friend's computer reads the instructions contained in the packets and reassembles the data into its original state. Your friend can read your e-mail.

Definition of Broadband

Broadband is a type of communications medium that sends and receives large amounts of data, video or voice information through wide-bandwidth channels.



This type of data transmission uses a single medium (or wire) to carry several channels at once. Cable TV and DSL modems use broadband technology.



Broadband can support a wide range of frequencies, from audio to video, by dividing the total capacity of the wire into multiple, independent bandwidth channels, each one operating within a specific range of frequencies.



Broadband systems can carry a large number of moving images or a huge amount of data simultaneously. Broadband communication lines usually use coaxial or fiber optic cable.



The larger the bandwidth signal, the more channels of information it can carry. Broadband usually refers to bandwidth higher than 2 Mbps.



Simply put, broadband is high-speed transmission and what most people use who want quick access to the Internet.