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VoIP:
The Technology
Not So New
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone services are not as
new as you might first think. Internet Protocol based telephony
has existed for many years on the Internet, but the quality and
reliability were often poor and typically required the user to make
and receive calls using special software on their personal computer.
Significant strides in technology and the rapid infiltration of
broadband Internet connections into many homes, has made VoIP a
viable competitor to traditional "Bell" company voice
services.
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VoIP By Any Other
Name...
is still Voice over Internet Protocol.
However, you may also hear it referred to as "Broadband
Phone," "VON" (Voice on (the) Net), "Digital
Telephone," "Internet Phone," "Net Phone,"
among others. |
What's Required?
First and most importantly, to take advantage of VoIP services,
you must have a broadband Internet connection and a special piece
of equipment that connects your phone to your broadband connection.
This equipment is often a separate device provided by the VoIP service
provider, into which your existing telephone connects. However,
many providers are starting to offer phones with this equipment
integrated into the telephone.
How's it Different?
VoIP, in many ways, looks and works just like a regular phone. The
primary difference between the two is how your voice is transported
from "here to there."
With traditional telephone service your conversation, for the most
part, is analog and is connected over a single static pathway over
the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
In contrast, VoIP telephone conversations are almost entirely digital
and may take one or more different paths over the Internet, or private
network, to reach the called party. At the other end of the line,
the packets are reassembled and converted back into analog voice
signals, and sent over the PSTN to the telephone device. If everything
works as it should, the call participants will never be aware of
the dynamic call routing and audio conversion that is taking place.
Access to 9-1-1 Emergency Services
Not all VoIP service providers
are
created equal when it comes to
emergency
calling.
Most people who use traditional telephone service have
the reasonable expectation that when they make a call to 9-1-1,
the call is routed over a dedicated 9-1-1 network and arrives with
location and callback number information at a local 9-1-1 dispatching
center.
Currently, there are three ways in which VoIP service providers
approach emergency calling.
- No emergency calling option is included by the VoIP provider.
- With VoIP Basic Emergency Calling,
the call is routed to the general access line at a Public Safety
Answering Point (PSAP) - dispatch center without location information
and possibly without your callback number.
- VoIP
Enhanced 9-1-1 Calling is routed over a
dedicated 91-1 network and arrives at your local 9-1-1 dispatching
center with both location and callback number information.
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