Voice over Internet Protocol
From Saferpedia
Voice over Internet Protocol is an alternative technology to traditional voice networks allowing users to talk over the Internet, after downloading the computer application. Calls can be free for users calling from the same VoIP client (for example: Skype, Voicebuster, etc.). Usually this kind of computer applications offer chat services too and file exchange services.
Voice-over-IP implementations enables users to carry voice traffic (for example, telephone calls and faxes) over an IP network.
Voice over Internet Protocol refers to communications services — voice, fax, SMS, and/or voice-messaging applications — that are transported via the Internet. The steps involved in originating an VoIP telephone call are signaling and media channel setup, digitization of the analog voice signal, optionally compression, packetization, and transmission as Internet Protocol (IP) packets over a packet-switched network. On the receiving side similar steps reproduce the original voice stream.(Source: Wikipedia)
Protocols
Examples of technologies used to implement Voice over IP include:
- H.323
- IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)
- Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP)
- Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
- Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP)
- Session Description Protocol (SDP)
The H.323 protocol was one of the first VoIP protocols that found wide-spread implementation for long-distance traffic, as well as local area network services. A notable proprietary implementation is the Skype protocol, which is in part based on the principles of peer-to-peer networking.
Benefits
There are 4 main causes for the evolution of the Voice over IP market:
- Low cost phone calls;
- Add-on services and unified messaging;
- Merging of data/voice infrastructures;
- Flexibility.
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