Introduction to VoIP
Internet telephony brings together two of the most powerful communications technologies: the reach of the Net and the simplicity and immediacy of a voice call. Internet telephony, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is already replacing the traditional telephone in many homes and businesses.
First developed by Internet enthusiasts in 1985, early VoIP software only allowed calls to be made between computer users. By 1998 calls from PCs to regular phones and then phone to phone calls were possible. But it is the phenomenal growth in high-speed, broadband Internet access that has brought VoIP to the mass market.
Now, VoIP services stand alongside the global telephone network for reach and in many ways outranks it for flexibility. With the right hardware and software, VoIP works anywhere there is a high-speed Internet connection.
As with many Internet-based applications, the variety of VoIP services can be bewildering.
But all Internet phone services work in broadly the same way, by converting your voice into a digital signal that is transferred across the Internet.
This means that subscribers to VoIP services are not tied to physical locations, in the way of conventional landline services are. Nor are they forced to pay the high charges often levied by landline operators for international and mobile calls. If you have a broadband connection, there are few reasons not to consider VoIP.
