VOIP
Growth of Internet Protocol (IP) technology has a significant impact on global telecommunication today. A major thing of this is the use of Internet Telephony or Voice over IP (VoIP). Users demand this application as an alternative of expensive traditional telephone usage. Such in Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN), users can make calls anywhere and anytime as long as they connect to IP connection, but with low cost charge and sometimes the usage of this telephony call is free (Bandung et al., 2008).
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems are now capturing a significant share of the telecommunications market from traditional circuit-switched networks. VoIP allows service providers to integrate voice, data, and other multimedia traffic on a single digital network, offering potential flexibility and cost savings. Several VoIP systems are currently being introduced for both the enterprise and carrier levels. In VoIP speech is sampled, digitized, compressed, packetized, and transmitted over a digital network as digital IP packets. This processing is carried out on a “gateway” computer, which is a multiprocessor computer having numerous specialized digital signal processing (DSP) processors that convert the voice/fax signals from the originator for transmission over the network, and receive packets from the network and convert them to a suitable form for transmission to the destination (Chao, Chinneck and Goubran, 2004).
Adapting the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) to 1 office or several practice locations needs planning, especially if the offices never had a dedicated Internet connection, which is the basis for most of the initial work for the installation of VoIP (Valdes, 2005) just like it is a requirement for the wireless Internetbased applications in an office (Mupparapu, Binder and Cummins, 2005). Access to the Internet can be via cable or existing phone lines (digital subscriber line or DSL). Internet protocol (IP) telephony can yield huge cost savings to offices and consumers in general because it is more economical and versatile than plain old telephone service. With the base station hooked up to the broadband, multiple expandable cordless handsets can be added to the service. A power source is the only requirement for cordless handsets because they act as “wireless clones” of the base station (see figure 1). VoIP technology is poised to undergo huge growth in the years ahead. Quality of service or the long-term functionality is the primary problem that some critics consider an impediment for its growth. IP telephony covers a range of technologies, including VoIP and fax over IP services. IP telephony connects across combinations of personal computers, web-based telephones, and phones connected via public telephone lines to remote gateways. Because information travels in discrete packets, unlike the public switched telephone network (PSTN), it does not need to rely on a continuously available switched-circuit. Consequently, it is both bandwidth- and cost-efficient.
The connection between the telecommunication network and most homes and businesses is called the last loop or the last mile (The future of regional BELLs, n.d.). Typically, the wires run from a home or a business to a neighborhood telephone box called the “central office.” This last mile is capital intensive and has traditionally been constructed with copper phone lines. Currently, 4 basic technologies are available for connecting homes and businesses to the larger telecommunications network: copper or twistedpair lines; wireless, including cellular phone and satellite; coaxial cable (provided by cable TV operators); and fiber-optical lines. WiMAX, the wireless broadband, is expected to be the next major disruptive mobile broadband technology. Considered to be the de-facto fourth-generation wireless broadband technology, it is expected to replace today’s third-generation networks to become the technology of choice for next-generation gadgets. On the other hand, as the availability of broadband over power lines (BPL) becomes a reality for all Americans soon (Lewis, n.d.), VoIP will perhaps become a standard technology in homes and businesses. BPL allows consumers to receive broadband services through their electric outlets. BPL is a revolutionary concept: the broadband signals are sent over regular power lines for consumer usage. Users simply plug a low-cost and widely available power line modem into an electric socket anywhere in a house or an office without the need for professional installation or additional wiring.
Figure 1
References
Bandung, Y., Machbub, C., Armein, Z. R., Langi, S. and Supangkat, H. (2008). ‘Optimizing over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network based-on extended E-model’. IEEE.
Chao, S., Chinneck, J. and Goubran, R. (2004). ‘Assigning service requests in Voice-over-Internet gateway multiprocessors’. Computers & Operations Research. 31, 2419 – 2437.
Lewis, C.A. (2006). ‘New broadband technology and how it will revolutionize paperless offices’. Orthod Cyber Journal.
Mupparapu, M., Binder, R. E. and Cummins, J. (2005). ‘Use of a wireless local area network in an orthodontic clinic’. American Journal of Orthodentics Dentofacial Orthop. 127, 756 – 759.
Valdes, R. (2005). How VoIP works. Retrieved 23rd December, 2010, from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/ip-telephony.htm
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