The History of Voice over Internet Protocol
Total views: 418
Word Count: 463
By the end of 2006,
Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) may account for as much as 25 - 40%
of international voice traffic. This prediction is impressive, but it
is even more amazing when you consider the relatively short history of
voice over internet protocol. It began as a hobby for some people in
Israel who were only able to communicate by computer.
Later
that year, in 1995, the first company in the history of voice over
internet protocol to put a product on the market was Vocaltec. They
released Internet Phone Software, which in combination with a home
computer, sound card, speakers, microphone and modem allowed users to
make a phone call over the internet. However, the people on both ends
had to have the same setup, and sound quality was much less than on a
normal phone.
In
1998, there were more milestones in the history of voice over internet
protocol. Entrepreneurs began to recognize the potential of the
technology and soon computer-to-phone and phone-to-phone connections
(still using a computer for the transmission) were possible for making
voice calls over the internet. The service was available using a phone
at a provider's location in North America only.
It
required the users to listen to an advertisement at the beginning and
end of each phone call, but in exchange their long distance calls were
free. In 1998, less than 1% of voice calls were made using voice over
internet protocol.
Businesses
began to use VOIP over their intranets to help communicate within their
company. But with the introduction of switching equipment in 1998 by 3
manufacturing companies, the history of voice over internet protocol
took a turn towards the future.
Now
VOIP could become more readily available to users at home instead of at
a specific facility belonging to the provider. By the year 2000, more
than 3% of voice calls were made over the internet using VOIP.
Today,
there are both hardware and software options for those interested in
business VOIP and for their personal use. You can purchase hardware
that will allow you to use your normal phone handset when making a
phone call.
You
can buy phones that are VOIP ready and need only an internet broadband
connection. Or, you can purchase or download software that will let you
use your computer instead of a phone, provided that you have speakers,
a microphone, and an appropriate sound card.
Many
phone companies have begun to offer packages that include local and
long distance VOIP calls for a flat monthly fee. With the advent of
broadband services, sound quality has become parallel to regular land
line phones for the first time in the history of voice over internet
protocol. And the number of people using VOIP is only expected to grow.
/history-of-voip/the-history-of-voice-over-internet-protocol.html
About the Author
Kevin Bergman
Rating: Not yet rated
Comments
No comments posted.
Add Comment
You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.
|