VoIP

Voice over IP

One day a little while ago, a rather clever person realised that the Internet was making global connections between PCs. You could get a web page from the other side of the world for cents, a fraction of the cost of dialling a phone on the other side of the world for a chat.

This clever person also realised that speech could easily be digitised the same way music is. So what's to stop anyone connecting two people on the opposite ends of the planet connecting microphones to their computer and having a chat by digitising the speech and sending it across the internet using the IP protocol?

Nothing, it seems. So this clever person did it and VoIP (Voice over IP) was born. Companies like Net2Phone now exist to help individuals and organisations make supercheap international phone calls.

Another benefit of networking!

Internet telephony: Talk is cheap

By CNET News.com Staff
http://news.com.com/2100-7352-5072156.html

Story last modified September 13, 2003, 4:00 AM PDT

Voice over IP is a technology for making phones calls using the Internet Protocol, the world's most popular method for sending data from one computer to another.

VoIP requires a network connection and a PC with a speaker and a microphone, or an to convert a telephone's analog signal into IP and vice versa.

After years of overpromising and underdelivering, VoIP is generating significant interest among telecom carriers, corporations and consumers, thanks to significant improvements in quality of service.

VoIP is already being embraced by carriers as a way to cut traffic costs on international and long-distance calls, and it is expected eventually to replace the public switched telephone network as big phone companies convert to IP-based fiber-optic networks. Currently, about 10 percent of all voice traffic is classified as VoIP, although fewer than 1 percent of those calls are initiated on a VoIP phone.

Internet telephony services for now typically promise buyers of telephone service a smaller phone bill, virtually wiping out charges for long-distance and international calls. In addition, connecting phone calls over the Internet opens the door to advanced communications services that tie voice together with e-mail, instant messaging and videoconferencing--something that Microsoft and others are already working to achieve.

Businesses weighing whether to switch to VoIP systems must factor in installation costs, which typically run higher than those for traditional phone lines. But they promise significant savings over the long haul because they can be managed more effectively. VoIP also provides, at no cost, services such as caller ID that are usually considered premium.

VoIP is also slowly gaining attention from consumers, thanks to sharp growth in broadband connections to the home, quality-of-service improvements and hookups that allow VoIP calls over ordinary telephone handsets rather than clunky PC microphone systems. Broadband providers, particularly cable companies, are expected to be among the biggest winners if ordinary consumers switch from traditional phone to VoIP service.

Net2Phone eyes the middle ground

By Matt Hines
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/2100-7352-5088852.html

Story last modified October 9, 2003, 10:02 AM PDT

Voice-over-Internet-Protocol provider Net2Phone introduced a package of services aimed at midsize companies on Thursday.

The service, dubbed Max Private Voice Network, is being sold through the company's Net2Phone Global Services unit and is targeted primarily at companies with 50 to 500 employees in multiple locations. The company said it feels the greatest opportunity to deliver Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to smaller companies lies outside the United States, particularly in businesses with offices in more than one country.

"The midmarket has essentially been underserved for VoIP, as most of the focus has been on catering to the Fortune 1000," said Bryan Wiener, president of Net2Phone Global Services. "It's often much easier to implement the technology in smaller companies, as well, as most tend to have less-complex networks."

VoIP allows people to make phone calls using Internet Protocol (IP), rather than traditional public-switched telephone networks. The technology requires a network connection and typically uses a PC with a speaker and a microphone to convert a telephone's analog signal into IP, and vice versa. Some services allow for use of a traditional phone receiver that plugs directly into a computer.

Net2Phone's Max Private Voice Network offers business users free phone calls within controlled IP networks and discounts on long-distance services, regardless of location or the private branch exchange (PBX) infrastructure of their phone system. It essentially provides most customers with free interoffice calling, an attractive proposition for companies with international locations. Net2Phone estimates that most midmarket businesses stand to get about 40 percent of their phone calls for free using the service and discounts on the remaining 60 percent of their calls.

Wiener said that one industry with good potential for VoIP adoption is the international import/export business, where companies often have smaller operations scattered around the globe. He said Net2Phone would look to package additional services, such as voice mail, into future releases.

A number of other companies in the IP phone market have also launched efforts aimed at small businesses. Cisco Systems has released several less-expensive versions of its Internet phone software and services, and Mitel Networks has announced it was building a VoIP phone console that works with cell phones. Communications technology start-up i2 Telecom International has also put forward a Net telephony product designed for small companies and home offices.

At least one industry expert agreed that the midmarket represents a good opportunity for VoIP services vendors such as Net2Phone. Bob Hafner, an analyst at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner, said larger companies expect high levels of service and functionality from the technology, whereas smaller businesses usually view VoIP as a way to cut costs.

"Large enterprises tend to have long-term capital investments tied up in their systems, while with small companies, it's usually not such a big deal to switch," Hafner said. "Midmarket customers are probably more receptive to the idea that there's good potential for savings and ease of management."

Net2Phone said the Max Private Voice Network package is already up and running in roughly 20 different countries. The Newark, N.J.-based company intends to market the service via its reseller network, which includes corporate bandwidth providers and PBX resellers, rather than sell it directly to customers.