Can you answer DJ bee’s question about VoIP?:

I’m using the X-Pro Softphone with my VOIP Vonage service, but the quality of the calls are unreliable. Often the people on the other end hear nothing but static. It doesn’t happen on every call, but often enough that it’s highly annoying. I went with Vonage because I thought it would be more reliable than Skype, but it’s still no where near as good as a regular phone. I’ve used my softphone from all kinds of different locations, always with a highspeed (often DSL) line, and with different (high preformance) computers. I also have tried closing all but one or two other programs. Any tips?

Free VoIP PC To Phone

In the last couple of years, Internet telephony has emerged as one of the most popular and widely used Internet applications. IP telephony, wherein the Internet is used for regulating the telephony traffic, is making inroads into the organizational structure of several small and medium sized organizations. This is because businesses need all the support that they can get in augmenting profits and reducing the running costs. One way they can reduce their telecommunication costs to a significant extent is through the incorporation of Internet telephony services. With real time voice, fax and video calls being made over the Internet, this specialised service is being favored by business conglomerates having a global presence.

Since the 1980s, certain trends have dominated the telecommunication landscape and are slowly but surely making their presence felt in this context. For one, the digital signal processing (DSP) technology has become cheaper and more accessible. The process of converting voice to digital signals in real time is now possible from any home or professional personal computer.

The techniques for compression and multiplexing have become faster and more economical. The bandwidth space that, even a few years ago, could maintain a single voice call has now become capable of handling anywhere between 5 to 10 calls. Another trend that can be mentioned in this context is the wide deployment of wide area networks such as the Internet.

However, one factor that has remained constant having special relevance to the bottom line of businesses is the high costs of making voice calls over the PSTN networks. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for corporate and individual users to harness the emerging computer and network technology in reducing the telecommunication costs.

However, as of now, there are certain impediments to IP telephony, more so, if we are talking about it in “real time.” And one of these is the availability of proper bandwidth; unpredictable ‘micro-delays’ could result due to limited bandwidth in specific circumstances. Consequently, bandwidth has to be guaranteed; and Internet services of VoIP that ensure the same need to emerge. Latest protocols such as RTP and RSVP are a great help in this context. Business users would need to ensure that all the Internet Service Providers (ISP) that they are subscribing to support these standards.

With time, Voice over IP telephony has become more mature with some of the largest telecoms from across the world using the same. Certain issues that were an impediment like interoperability is gradually being taken care of. Leading names from the communications sector have joined the bandwagon and are contributing to its future growth. This has resulted in phenomenal growth of the VoIP telephony with traditional carriers now offering ‘enhanced’ services. Real time faxing, print servers, fax servers on corporate networks, voice messaging, are some of the specialised applications of Internet Telephony.



Thanks to Kristen for contributing this article to our VoIP blog:

Softphone For Windows

In the last couple of years, Internet telephony has emerged as one of the more popular and widely used Internet applications. Internet telephony also popularly known as VoIP telephony, wherein the Internet is used for regulating the telephony traffic, is making inroads into the organizational structure of several small and medium sized organizations. This is because businesses need all the support that they can get in augmenting profits and reducing the running costs. One way they can reduce their telecommunication costs to a significant extent is through the incorporation of Internet telephony services. With real time voice, fax and video calls being made over the Internet, this specialized service is being favored by business conglomerates having a global presence.

Since the 1980s, certain trends have dominated the telecommunication landscape and are slowly but surely making their presence felt in this context. For one, the digital signal processing (DSP) technology has become cheaper and more accessible. The process of converting voice to digital signals in real time is now possible from any home or professional personal computer.

The techniques for compression and multiplexing has become fast and more economical. The bandwidth space that, even a few years ago, could maintain a single voice call has now become capable of handling anywhere between 5 to 10 calls. Another trend that can be mentioned in this context is the wide deployment of wide area networks such as the Internet.

However, one factor that has remained constant having special relevance to the bottom line of businesses is the high costs of making voice calls over the PSTN networks. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for corporate and individual users to harness the emerging computer and network technology in reducing the telecommunication costs.

However, as of now, there are certain impediments to IP telephony, more so, if we are talking about it in “real time.” And one of these is the availability of proper bandwidth; unpredictable ‘micro-delays’ could result due to limited bandwidth in specific circumstances. Consequently, bandwidth has to be guaranteed; and Internet Phone services that ensure the same need to emerge. Latest protocols such as RTP and RSVP are a great help in this context. Business users would need to ensure that all the Internet Service Providers (ISP) that they are subscribing to support these standards.

With time, voice over internet telephony has become more mature with some of the largest telecoms from across the world using the same. Certain issues that were an impediment like interoperability is gradually being taken care of. Leading names from the communications sector have joined the bandwagon and are contributing to its future growth. This has resulted in phenomenal growth of the Internet telephony with traditional carriers now offering ‘enhanced’ services. Real time faxing, print servers, fax servers on corporate networks, voice messaging, are some of the spealized applications of Internet Telephony.



Thanks to Kristen for contributing this article to our VoIP blog:

Deals On Broadband Phones

Peer to Peer technology (P2P) first came into focus through companies like Napster and Kazza, who developed file sharing applications that would allow users to share their own files, as well as search for and download files of other users on the network. Instead of relying on a centralized client server relationship, a peer to peer network gets its strength from each individual node, adding bandwidth and processing power with each new member for the good of the many.

Much like the Borg of the later Star Trek episodes, peer to peer can scale indefinately without the use of expensive central servers, and from a cost standpoint -resistance is futile!

Peer to peer Internet Telephony is, like Napster, a software application that you download on to your computer from a peer to peer VoIP service provider. The softeware, or soft phone as it is called, is free to download and calls to or from anyone on the network are free. The only hardware you need is a headset, or a microphone and speakers. Internet telephony headsets are cheap and come in USB or can plug directly into your sound cards.

For those with web cams, many providers allow you to make video calls to others on the network for free. Services offered with this technology go above and beyond the Telcos, with conference calls, call forwarding, instant messaging and chat - peer to peer Internet telephony literaly turns your computer into a telephone/vidiophone communications center.

Like the traditional VoIP providers, calls within the network are free worldwide, but calls to a PSTN number will usualy cost you if it is an option. You can in some cases, have different numbers in other locations so that people can call you from a land line even from other counties toll free. Even if you do have to pay to get on the PSTN, the rates are so much cheaper than a telco.

Just like the other forms of VoIP, developers have had some technological hurdles to overcome. Quality of Service, NATed firewalls, and centralized directories of members using a dynamic IP address are just a few. Also, as calls and instant messages are routed through the public Internet, encryption is a must for any user.

Internet Telephony in Ecommerce

Probably the best known company and indeed a pioneer of peer-to peer Internet telephony is Skype. Originaly founded by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, two of the innovators behind the P2P network Kazaa, Skype was bought by eBay in late 2005 for 2.6 billion dollars. With over 100 million users according to eBay, its safe to say that Skype is the industry leader in peer to peer Internet telephony. Ebay would like Skype to evolve into a customer service application, allowing potential buyers to communicate directly to Ecommerce enabled web sites online and in real time.

Peer to Peer and the Gaming Comunity

Another area where the peer to peer idea has taken off is the online gaming community. PeerMe is a peer to peer internet telephony company that caters to gamers, offering PC-to-PC and PC-to handheld voice communications, instant messaging, and peer-to-peer file transfer over public Internet connections. They have recently partnered with game distributor Boonty, offering a broad selection of downloadable games in many languages. Gamers can form communities, evaluate and purchase games, and communicate with friends via voice and text online in real time.

P2P Internet Telephony for Small Businesses

The cost effectiveness of a decentalized peer to peer voip solution has not been overlooked in the business community. Market leader Avaya has developed the one-X Quick Edition line of SIP telephones that is a non server based IP PBX system. Connected to your LAN, each phone contains the software necessary maintain the PBX, and knows about every other phone on the network. An ideal solution for small businesses with many branch offices, the stay at home telecomuter, call centers and customer service centers.

Over at the Gizmo Project they have developed a business software solution that supports the open source Asterik PBX software, and has free calling to anyone on the Gizmo peer to peer network. Under the All Calls Free plan.employees make free calls to the landlines and mobile phones of co-workers in 60 countries.

The biggest advantage of a peer to peer internet telephony solution is the economical start up costs (usualy the price of a headset), and the ability to turn your computer into a world wide communications center. While a Soft Phone and a headset is the norm for most providers, hand helds and IP desk phones are rapidly gaining ground in P2P internet telephony. Peer to peer networking for online communication - a technology coming of age for web sites, gamers and the small business community.



Thanks to Michael Talbert for contributing this article to our VoIP blog:

Usb VoIP Phone Adapter

Can you answer Fairy God Mother’s question about VoIP?:

I would like to set up a VOIP call center. We have our own CRM and I am familiar with Vonage. Vonage is too small for our needs. Can vonage integrate to a PBX? Does anyone know a low cost solution, scalable and easy to install.

Usb VoIP Phone Adapter