Internet Telephony is used to describe a service that enables people connected to the public Internet with a suitably equipped PC to have voice conversation; examples of Internet Telephony providers include Skype. VoIP is the generic term for the technology that enables phone calls to be made over networks running the Internet Protocol, be that the public Internet or private IP networks. It is also the term that is used to describe the technology in a business to business context. One could say that the consumer will use Internet Telephony while businesses use VoIP.

Voice over IP (VoIP) converts the analog signals of sound when using a telephone to a digital format for transmission across a data network and then back into analog when it reaches the receiver. In a VoIP network, digitized voice data is highly compressed and carried in packets over an IP network. The phones can be purpose-built devices for the IP network (e.g. SIP phones) or standard everyday analog telephones. VegaStream core product range allows users of existing phones to take advantage of VoIP networks.

Whats all the hype about?

The reason for VoIPs popularity is a simple matter of physics. You can put more traffic over the same physical network using IP than you can with traditional telephone technology, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) as used by the public switched telephone network (PSTN). This simple law is driving many PSTN network providers to migrate their existing TDM networks; that have served them well since the invention of the telephone, to the new IP technology. BTs 21st Century Network is a classic example of this migration.

With VoIP, IP allows us to use a single high-speed Internet connection for all voice, video, and data communications. This is known as convergence and is one of the primary drivers for corporate interest in the technology. The benefits of convergence are obvious. By using a single data network for all communications, it is possible to reduce overall costs. Furthermore, the business model for data networks, including the Internet allows the customer to remain permanently connected at a fixed price. Meanwhile, when using traditional PSTN, the meter starts running every time you pick up the phone. The idea of VoIP communication dates back over 20 years however, a greater interest in the applications of VoIP emerged in the 1990s, with the growth of the Internet. The Internet made it possible to interconnect every home and every business with a packet-switched data network, this saw a rapid growth in VoIP technology. Today, with broadband connectivity the norm not just in business but also at home and even over the mobile, the platform is set for an explosive growth in VoIP.

VoIP Changing the Way We Communicate

VoIP offers a great deal more than cost savings in telephone calls. VoIP technology allows devices to recognize and communicate with each other as if they were connected over a dedicated wire (like the TDM model). It therefore enables video, instant messaging and data conferencing as well as voice. Furthermore all these communications techniques can be used simultaneously allowing people to share images and information as well as hear each other speak - all on the same call.

VoIP communication therefore allows us to actually change the way we communicate with each other. Communicating over the phone with VoIP will be more immediate, collaborative, visual and cost lest. No wonder the market for VoIP equipment and services is the fastest growing sector in the IT industry.