VOIP Broad Band Phones and web conferencing

Voice on Internet Protocol (VOIP) Phones are referred to as just Broad band Phones. The main function of a Broad Band phone using VOIP is to convert voice data (analog) into digital data for transmission over the Internet. They are connected to the high speed internet through computers to enable voice communication. By this innovation VOIP Broad Band Phones have turned internet into a carrier for free phone calls, by going around the normal phone companies.

VOIP Broad Band phones are a product of revolutionary technology which can change the entire way people speak to each other around the world. There are a few VOIP service providers who are growing by the day now, and major phone companies are busy setting up shop in various markets around the world with different calling plans with free VOIP Broad Band phones bundled in. FCC and other regulatory bodies all over the world are fervently busy investigating and predicting the ramifications and future risks in usage of VOIP Broad Band phones and their prevention.

We will look into the basic technology of VOIP Broad Band phones working and it’s potential in replacing the traditional phone systems.

The most intriguing feature of VOIP Broad Band phones is that they look just like their predecessors with cradle, buttons and handsets. A normal telephone is connected to wall socket using a RJ-11 connector, whereas VOIP Broad Band phones are connected to your computer or router using a RJ-45 connector. All VOIP Broad Band phones come with preloaded software to handle any IP calls. Technology is already moving towards Wi-Fi VIOP Broad Band phones which can used to make calls from any Wi-Fi hotspot. Are you thinking of replacing your cellular phone???

In addition to usage of VIOP Broad Band phones, VOIP can also use ATA sets i.e. simple telephone like boxes that connect to your computer and convert your analog voice data into digital signals. VOIP also connects computer to computer calls where you do not need any extra hardware apart from a standard computer system with headphone and internet connection. Except for what you pay for your internet connection, there is no extra cost involved in both these options. VOIP Broad Band phones are dedicated instruments used only for making calls over VOIP.

If you want to have a go at VOIP Broad Band phones features, you can sample the free versions on the internet to check out connectivity and sound quality. Once place I can suggest is the latest version of Yahoo Messenger Version 7.0 which is Voice enabled. You can make computer to computer calls using yahoo messenger. It is very easy to implement, just try it out. One other place you could take a look at is www.skype.com. VOIP Broad Band phones are certainly here to stay despite the internet sops and other devices available.

If you are a long distance caller you could be involuntarily making VOIP calls without using a VOIP Broad Band phones and at normal cost. Most phone companies around the world are trying to reduce their bandwidth by routing a few thousand calls through circuit switches onto an IP gateway. On the receiving end, they just reverse the process, somewhat similar to multiplexing.

Given sometime all the current phone technology involving circuit switched networks will be replaced by packet switching technology. VOIP technology is efficient on financial and infrastructure needs, it costs less and takes lesser infrastructure and is more efficient. VOIP Broad Band phones have made their way into most corporate houses; it is only a matter of time before they barge into our homes.

More than 5 million households will be using VOIP Broad Band phones by the end of 2006 says the Forrester Research Group. One cannot escape the VOIP Broad Band phones as a means of communication.

VOIP Broad Band phones score on the basis of cost and flexibility. It can be said that they are free to use, unless you use your broadband connection only for your VIOP Broad Band phones. You can virtually call from anywhere in the world where u can access a broadband internet connection. You can carry your VOIP Broad Band phones anywhere on use your laptop to make PC to PC calls.

VOIP companies are offering rate plans similar to cellular phones for customers who want only VOIP Broad Band phones. They vary anywhere from $30 to $80 per month. They are also offering a lot of freebies including free VOIP Broad Band phones to go with them which make these rates further economical.

Can Network Infrastructure Cope VOIP Adoption?
VoIP technology is more efficient by combining data and voice transmissions into one system that is connected to the Internet. VoIP service is currently free from most, if not all, state and federal taxes and tariffs that are typically imposed on POTS (plain old telephone service) providers.

This means that VoIP service is anywhere from 10 percent to 30 percent less expensive than traditional POTS service.

But the underline fact is that the VoIP infrastructure must be strong enough to support the seamless movement of data packets.

With the POTS, data transmission via facsimile is unidirectional rather than bidirectional or multidirectional. This means that, while someone is sending, the other side is locked up and cannot transmit, resulting in slower data transmission or no transmission, since data re-routing is not automatically available as in the Internet context. Voice transmissions through POTS are bidirectional, but the routing of the traditional telephone call is static or fixed, preventing automatic rerouting if a particular pathway is blocked. Moreover, POTS does not allow for simultaneous transfer of data with voice transmission.

As with any new telecommunications technology, government regulation always becomes a question, especially when the telecommunications technology involves the Internet. Indeed, the courts, Congress, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are still hashing out jurisdictional issues in the regulation of VoIP.

As a practical matter, VoIP technology continues to develop rapidly. For instance, the development of the Internet has long contained a promise of video phones being available. With the implementation of VoIP technology, video telephone calls are now a reality within the grasp of businesses and consumers alike. Video phone units that require broadband access and constitute a form of VoIP are available from $ 269 per unit to as much as $ 599 a unit, depending on the features and specifications of the particular user. The only drawback with these systems, at the moment, is that the units work only with each other and one brand’s phones are not yet designed to integrate with another brand of video phone. So at least in the short-term, businesses are required to buy multiple units for branch offices, or individual consumers are required to buy sufficient units for family members, who are spread out among vast distances.

Another recent development concerns the adapter technology for linking or connecting a telephone device to a computer device for sending and receiving VoIP. Two leaders in home networking equipment, Netgear and Linksys (a division of Cisco Systems), recently announced plans to build phone jacks into wired and wireless equipment. The jacks are designed to provide an instant link to the commercial VoIP network developed by Vonage. Furthermore, there are additional products from these companies that allow home system broadband routers to work with the VoIP phone jacks so that multiple computers within the home can participate and enjoy VoIP phone calls with a wireless configuration. Thus, one broadband connection can be shared by all PCs within a household for VoIP usage.

On the negative side, the advent of VoIP technology also means introducing new risks to the user. These risks include the interception of VoIP communications through industrial espionage or the theft of trade secrets transmitted over VoIP. Indeed, as companies seek to implement VoIP as part of wireless networks, the threat to interception by third parties other than law enforcement is very real. Developing proper network security protocols and a strong infrastructure network is a constant problem given the plethora of circumvention efforts by programming experts.

Audible spam over VoIP presents another problem. Because VoIP systems are grounded in the TCP/IP protocol of the Internet, the ability to design software programs that make multiple phone calls with pre-programmed announcements and unsolicited sales offers already looms on the horizon and threatens to be as ubiquitous and pervasive as visual SPAM on a computer screen. The development of VoIP SPAM filters and other related software protection products will no doubt follow. VoIP also creates an opportunity for designers of viruses to infect computer systems. Therefore, antivirus software will have to address this threat.