CCS VOIP

VOIP

BY IAN DIEZ

VOIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol is the routing of voice conversations over the internet or through any other IP-based network. VoIP can facilitate tasks that may be more difficult to achieve using traditional networks:
- incoming phone calls can be automatically routed to your VoIP phone, regardless of where you are connected to the network.
- Call centre agents using VoIP phones can work from anywhere with sufficiently fast and stable internet connection.
- VoIP phones can integrate with other services available over the internet, including video conversation, audio conferencing, managing address books and passing information about whether others are available online to interested parties.
- But unfortunately, one of the few tasks it cannot perform is the sending of faxes, due to the software and networking restrains in most home systems. An effort is underway to remedy this by defining an alternate IP-based solution for delivering Fax-over-IP, namely the T.38 protocol. An other solution could be treating the fax system as a message switching system that does not need real time data transmission – such as sending a fax as an email attachment.

Another drawback of VoIP is the reliance upon another separate service; the internet connection. But they can also utilize regular phone lines and business grade connections like T1 for voice service.

Many VoIP users still maintain a traditional (business line) which allows them to dial emergency numbers and send faxes.

The nature of IP makes it difficult to geographically locate network users. Emergency Calls, therefore, cannot easily be routed to a nearby call centre, and are impossible on some VoIP systems. Sometimes, VoIP calls can rout emergency calls to non-emergency phoneline at the intended department. In the event that the caller is unable to give an address, emergency services may be unable to locate them in any other way. Following the lead of mobile phone operators, several VoIP carriers are already implementing a technical work-around.

But one of the most interesting features that VoIP technology will be developing is the use of mobile phones in the following cases:
- public or community wireless networkshave similar geographic covarege to cellular networks (there by enabling mobile VoIP phones, so called Wi-Fi phones), or
- VoIP is implemented over legacy 3G networks

However, “dual mode” handsets, which allow for the seemless handover between a cellular and a Wi-Fi network, are expected to help VoIP become more popular.