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Translating voice calls between digital for the Internet and analogue for telephone systems is a challenging task, and that is the task that VoIP gateways perform by switching the calls between analogue and digital. Directing calls to specific users is also a function performed by the gateways. And they are able to translate between different VoIP protocols. This protocol translation is important because it enables different VoIP systems to talk to each other. Because of all of these benefits it is easy to see why VoIP gateways are highly recommended for any VoIP service.

Since VoIP technology is becoming ever more popular, VoIP gateway customers have a lot of products available. Mediatrex Telecom and Cisco System are two examples of manufacturers that produce leading VoIP gateway systems.

VoIP gateways can either be hardware or software based. The hardware gateways tend to cost more than software gateways and can be purchased as a stand alone box. They tend to be viewed as more reliable and do not consume computer power.

Buyers of VoIP gateways can select from products that offer numerous phone, fax machine, PBX and STN support capabilities.

The basic VoIP gateways at the lower end of the cost graph comes equipped with a firewall, a router, and a telephone jack, and can be purchased for a few hundred dollars. This type of device can offer three ports: one for a telephone jack, one for a broadband modem or router and one for a computer or network device. These low end VoIP gateways targets the home user and small business owner.

At the mid range of gateways, additional functionality such as signal encryption and voice compression is offered to ensure security and efficient bandwidth usage.

At the higher end of the market are VoIP gateways that cost several thousand dollars and are widely used by telephone carriers and large companies. These systems have sophisticated functionality such as interactive voice response systems for automated voice response functions, and they can carry thousands of simultaneous telephone conversations. They also offer other functions like conference calling and call recording.

There are new features and functions for VoIP gateways being built all of the time, such as support for emerging VoIP standards and faster translations. Many of these improvements are software based and therefore can be sent to customers very quickly and cheaper in the form of a software upgrade.

One can expect to see many more enhancements and improvements before VoIP and VoIP gateways can be considered a matured and saturated market. The end user benefits from these improvements because quality and range of services increase while overall call costs tend to be constantly driven downwards.

So what do you need in the way of VOIP equipment? The answer is not too much. An essential part of VOIP system is a broadband connection, which we call a high speed internet connection. This is required for anyone who is using or wanting to use a VOIP system in their home or office. The connection can be found through a cable modem, or a high speed service such as DSL.

You can either hook a phone up to your personal computer or you can connect a phone through the telephone adaptor. The telephone adapter is about the size of a wallet and is the go between connecting the telephone and the computer. It can turn the analog signal from the telephone into digital data that can be sent over the Internet.

One of the advantages is that digital phone offers many additional features that a traditional phone is not equipped to offer. If you have a broadband internet connection, there is no need to pay the additional cost for another telephone line just to make phone calls.

A second advantage is that you can talk to people around the world for as long as you want if they have an Internet connection. Also you can talk with multiple people at the same time without any additional cost. Lastly, a third advantage to switching to a VOIP provider is it may significantly decrease the cost of your monthly telephone bill.

The overall quality and reliability of your VOIP equipment and telephone communications are completely reliant upon the quality, reliability and speed of the Internet connection that it uses. If your Internet service or electricity goes down for any reason, so does your telephone service. A major shortcoming with this system-you will be unable to communicate with anyone if this happens.

There is a way to avoid this problem by having a battery back up similar to an uninterruptible power supply, or you can set up your VOIP system in advance to automatically send all telephone calls to your cell phone in the event of a power failure. It may be necessary to keep your traditional analog voice line (your old fashion telephone that you currently have) or a cell phone just in case you need to make a telephone call during an emergency.

The VOIP equipment is basically the telephone, telephone adapter, phone jack, DSL or cable modem and your computer. You probably have most of these items in your home already and it will not take too much effort or cost on your part to make the switch to VOIP.

The bottom line is whether or not you want this new technology in your home and whether or not you need it. If you are a real computer person and want to have the latest and greatest technology at your fingertips, the VOIP equipment will get your started. All you have to do is find a service provider and to get the extra equipment needed to connect yourself and to start talking over the internet.

VoIP services are making waves throughout the business world. You may be curious to find out what all the hype is about. VoIP is new telecommunication services that allow you to send and receive phone calls via the internet rather than using a traditional phone line. The system has been widely marketed in the business sector. It is becoming increasingly popular in homes as well, replacing regular phone services.

Your VoIP services are based on computer-to-computer calling. People are choosing to change to VoIP from their regular phone service because of the quality enhancement of the product. Local calls, long distance calls, and even International calls come in very clear. The higher the speed of your internet service, the clearer your calls will be. At least 64 Kbps are required. A bandwidth of 128 Kbps will provide you with top of the line service results. Your VoIP provider can assist you with determining your Kbps as well as recommend any updates that might provide you with better service.

Some are skeptical to use the VoIP system because they are worried about the reliability of the system. In the past, if the power went out, then the system wouldn’t work. I can definitely see why that would be a concern. In a time of emergency, you need to feel comfortable knowing you have phone access to call for help

The solution to that problem is the introduction of a smart system. This system is a tool used to redirects phone calls to a different number, if the system detects your phone system is not responding. Incoming calls will be transferred to your required alternative during such occasions.

Other than the quality of the product, the price is a big seller. You can choose the options you want to use including caller ID, call waiting, and call forwarding. Types of plans include basic service, best value, unlimited access, and business plans. There are no long distance charges. This means you can make out of town and International calls at no additional cost. This alone is a great selling point, especially for businesses that often end up with huge phone bills on a monthly basis. For those wanting to maintain a budget, knowing how much your phone bill will be on a monthly basis is an added bonus. In addition, the cost of VoIP with all the features and long distance access is cheaper than most people were already paying for regular home phone services.

The Internet is a valuable resource for finding a VoIP provider in your area. There are several good information sites. You can get specific questions answered, review the types of plans, and look at the phone styles available. If the trend continues, then VoIP may soon replace home phone service plans worldwide. Look out, there is another huge technological change for most of us on the horizon!

VoIP has changed the way we communicate. By using the internet as the medium by which voice and video travels, making long-distance and international calls can cost as much. If you’re calling a fellow VoIP user, the call may cost nothing at all. Today, there are a number of VoIP providers that offer “free calls” worldwide. The beauty of VOIP is that it costs a lot less than plain telephones. VOIP or Voice over Internet Protocol uses the internet as the medium through which voice travels. It costs up to about 0 percent less than traditional telephone lines and can save a whole deal especially on long distance phone calls. In fact VOIP would practically cost nothing more in addition to your Internet service fees if it did not have to go through traditional phone carriers when connecting to conventional phone subscribers. If you were to connect to fellow VOIP users, it would not cost anything at all.

Almost half of the call centers in Asia will use voice over Internet Protocol systems by the end of next year, according to new research. A report from the Yankee Group says that despite VoIP adoption lagging behind earlier predictions, the call center market is embracing the technology. Forty-seven percent of call centers are expected to roll out VoIP by 2007, compared with just 17 percent in 2005. The key reasons for using the new technology are to manage multiple call center sites cheaply and flexibly, and to be able to place agents anywhere, including at home. The largest call centers-those with more than 500 seats-will see the greatest increase in VoIP adoption from now until the end of 2007, the analyst firm predicts. Though VoIP for the enterprise has been much hyped in recent years, Yankee Group said adoption has not met its predictions.

“This lackluster performance of VoIP products and services in the enterprise and more specifically in the contact center marketplace indicates that much more than technology and end-user perception are involved in driving the market for VoIP applications to a higher level,” the report said. The biggest concerns for contact centers looking to roll out VoIP are costs, including fears of high upfront costs. Overall, respondents believed they would see savings of 6 percent to 15 percent from using the technology. Other concerns include voice quality a worry for 46 percent of the market, and security and reliability. Call centers are looking to buy VoIP systems from telecommunications companies and telephony hardware and software vendors rather than system integrators and value-added resellers, the report said. And though data-networking vendors are still in the minority, they’ve made progress in capturing market share, the analyst firm said.

The new VoIP platforms offer appealing features, such as a quick connect function. This feature helps to reduce abandon rates by connecting the call with the agent prior to connecting with the customer, thus eliminating the lengthy pauses associated with dialer-generated calls that many customers associate with incoming sales calls. Another function that many VoIP switches support is automatic recording, so a company can capture 100 percent of its calls. Consequently, calls can be automatically tagged and categorized for use to either streamline business actions or resolve disputes. Companies can also automate many of their internal processes, and use the customer intelligence captured to refine and enhance its customer service and sales initiatives. Contact center agents can be trained via best practice interactions, which are captured and later organized via the VoIP recording component. As a result, improvements in contact center service quality and frontline supervisor productivity become more possible.

The potential benefits that unified communications offers include improved productivity and lower operating costs. Employees will be able to respond to messages instantly regardless of where they originate; businesses will be able to cut their communications cost because they will rely on fewer components. Unified communications meshes well with the growing variety of user inputting devices. While there has a great deal of progress with using VoIP in the call center, there are still a few barriers to adoption. Many companies do not have the infrastructure to support the new devices. In many cases, CRM hardware is a long-term investment, one spanning several years, so companies may have to wait months or even years before being able to re-examine their infrastructure. Yet, those shortcomings are viewed as short-term issues. Many companies are now using VoIP to enhance their CRM deployment and many more will be joining them during the new year.

VoIP is an advance and better way of making calls which supports versatile list of devices including PC’s. So, when it’s about PC you definitely need to have a kind of application which acts as a terminal to connect your calls with your destination. You might be familiar that computer is a multitasking but to perform multiple activities you only requires additional software in spite of hardware and that’s what the best part I like about computers. With PC you can get better performance and due to it you can make an effective voice and video calls to anyone you want, distance will not be barrier.

This softphone belongs or let says provided by a service providers and they all carries different functionality and features depending upon qualities and types of services offer by the belonging service providers. If you want to make PC TO PC Calls then this service is free from almost all the VoIP service providers and many commonly used are Skype, Yahoo Messenger, Gtalk etc. But the cost barrier arises when you expect to create a communication between different devices like PC TO Phone calls, Phone to PC Calls, PC To Mobile Calls.

List and brief of 6 chosen Free VoIP Softphone:-

1. Ninja Light
Ninja Light supports almost all the features such as voice, video and conference calling. Furthermore you can also maintain your calls history, record your calls and check out for dial, missed and receive calls by maintaining and updating your address book.

2. FireFly Softphone
If you are looking for a softphone which consumes less and capable to perform more then sufficient in requirement then FireFly is what you need. Being small and faster on installation it will not let you download when it’s about features. With this softphone you can make voice calls and also maintain and update your contact with easy drag and drop feature.

3. eyeP Media.
EyeP Media is good solution for IMS and FMC and it also allow making calls directly from your local address book contact or Microsoft Outlook contacts.

4. PhonerLite Softphone
This softphone is free and supportive for windows users. With this application you can access internet telephony and also create a SIP profile which can be organized separately.

5. Twinkle Softfone
Twinkle Softphone is also a best application for making VoIP calls, in fact this application is well known for instant messaging and dealing with SIP protocols. Very ordinary looking interface helps you on easy operating.

Like any new product, service, or technology, one of the most important factors for the expansion of VOIP technology and use of VOIP phone systems is the need to offer a strong enough package of services to displace whatever is already taking up their potential space in the market place. Not only do VOIP services have to be impressive enough to convince people to switch off of land based lines and cellular phone towers, but to win consumers over rival VOIP companies.

The development of VOIP phone services has lasted long enough, and developed enough strong positives, that it is not likely to be just another flash in the pan, here today and gone tomorrow bout of technology. Unlike eight-tracks, VOIP is here to stay. The spread of VOIP has been successful enough that there are several large competing companies, as well as many smaller ones, vying against one another and traditional telecommunications companies in an attempt to win more consumers.

While different companies are obviously going to have different service plans, prices, and optional features; there are a number of general advantages that virtually all VOIP service companies will have in common, as all of them need to keep a leg up on the older and more established technological systems.

One notable example is that all of these companies will offer an abundance of extra features that come included in the basic service plan with no additional costs or hidden fees. Many of those service plans will also be comparable in cost with what you would usually have to pay for a normal land based phone line.

Some of the extra features and services that most VOIP companies offer to customers for free that traditional phone companies charge extra for include voice mail, caller ID, last number dialed calling, call transfers, call forwarding, call waiting, and voice mail. Obviously different companies have different packages, so before making a decision always be sure to check the offers of each individual company you are considering.

Additional VOIP services focus around the flexibility that having VOIP allows. Many of the aforementioned bonuses are even better because since VOIP uses the Internet, the settings on your VOIP phone can be changed and used from anywhere you can access your account online. For example, you can use any computer with Internet to use call forwarding.

If you are an independent businessman or just anyone who finds themselves in a situation where you need to have calls to your home or office number forwarded to your mobile phone, this feature allows you to still set that up via online, even if you forgot to set it up at your office or back home before leaving. Some company’s plans allow you access to voice mail through your online account or have it forwarded to your email.

These are just some of the great VOIP services that are offered by various companies, and can be a great blessing to someone who needs those extras but hates paying extra for services that have become necessary.

The use of computer to computer calling has come a long way in recent years. You no longer are tied to your computer in order to receive or make telephone calls. The new VOIP services make it possible for your regular phones to call landlines or even mobile telephones via your internet connection. Sound strange? Well, with any new technology is at first. So, if you want to take the time to learn about this new advancement.

VOIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It allows your company to make phone calls over a data network, such as the internet. The VOIP then converts the voice signal from your telephone into a digital signal that travels over the internet then converts it back at the other end so that you can speak to anyone with a regular phone.

In recent years the requests for VOIP services has been increasing in demand. It is no longer a question of “if” but “when” every business will switch from a traditional telephone services to a VOIP service provider. With most of the featured services, you can check your voicemail from any web browser in the world. You can also have your messages automatically sent directly into your email account. Think about it, you can check your voicemail and internet at the same time if your company has VOIP services.

The goal of VOIP services is to make everyone’s lives easier. The Internet was just the first step in the technology arena and we now making even more advancements that will make operating a business or working in a business much easier and faster.

There are many different vendors that provide services to the public and private sector. What once started out as a service geared toward companies is now going main stream with many consumers wanting this same service in their own homes or small businesses!

You are on the forefront of this new technology. You use it daily in your office and you like the speed and versatility of it and you want it in your own home. So, now you have to decide which service provider to purchase your VOIP serves from.

A good way to start is to see what company your office uses and to check with them to see if they have a market for individual consumers. If not, they should be able to tell you who might be able to provide you with this service. Or, better yet, read the Consumer Report on VOIP services-they are the one unbiased source of information on just about any topic.

Whether or not you decided to get VOIP services for your home, you should know something about them. They are the latest and greatest technology on the market today for telephone services. Who knows, eventually, technology may advance enough that everyone will have VOIP services for their telephones.

Do not laugh-it was not that long ago that people thought that the Internet and cable television was a passing fad.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) has emerged over the past few years as a cost-effective and extremely valuable resource for businesses making conference or business calls over an internet connection.

Whether you make calls using your computer’s built-in microphone and speakers or you choose a dedicated VOIP phone, indistinguishable from a regular landline, VOIP can instantly cut up to 50 per cent of phone costs as well as eliminating the need to install a Private Branch Exchange network to connect workers across your office.

Because you will be paying for your internet service rather than the pay-per-minute charges of traditional PSTN lines, VOIP makes both local and international calls much more affordable, which can be great news if you’re growing your start-up business and looking for ways to reduce expenditure in the recession. Calling overseas can be up to 90 per cent cheaper using VOIP.

All that’s needed to carry out VOIP calls effectively is a strong broadband connection, something that can be considered a mandatory requirement for businesses today. Choosing a dedicated business broadband service can guarantee faster speeds and greater connectivity, meaning your VOIP calls won’t cut out due to insufficient bandwidth. However, there are further advantages to VOIP over traditional phone lines, beyond just cost savings.

Unlike regular landlines, which only permit two people to speak at a time, you can host conference calls quite simply over a VOIP connection, allowing whole teams in different locations to communicate in real-time. You can also benefit from additional features such as caller ID, contact lists and voicemail with your VOIP account, meaning VOIP has all the advantages of a regular phone, but none of the drawbacks.

That doesn’t mean VOIP is just a substitute for a landline, however. During a VOIP call you can also send packets of data, such as images or documents, meaning everyone involved in the call will have instant access and can collaborate on projects in real-time. You can also hold face-to-face calls using webcams, and with modern strong broadband connections the quality of both image and sound can be much clearer than in the past.

Even if you don’t choose to invest in handsets for your VOIP calls, you can reduce costs and clutter by speaking directly through your computer. All you will require is a sound card and speakers to hear what the other person or people are saying, and a microphone - usually built-in - to speak yourself.

The world of business seems to be king these days. Big companies are prospering and making millions in profit whilst continually looking for the next technological solution that could save them more money and increase their profit margins. Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, has been one of the more recent innovations to hit businesses all over the world and has revolutionized call centres and offices everywhere! The VOIP headset and the benefits that it has introduced into the marketplace has certainly exceeded everyone’s expectations and infinitely helped the work environment to improve.

VOIP is the communication technology to have in the workplace today. Instead of having to operate a switchboard to make and receive calls, which was a massive drain on the financial efficiency of many call centres, you can do it all through the computer! As soon as the necessary software is loaded onto a system or computer, the individual working on that machine can take and make calls until their heart’s content! Of course, VOIP can be used at home as well to make calls to your friends and family as and when you want to, but it is essential to have the necessary headset to enjoy the full features and benefits of VOIP wherever you are at any given time!

There is a vast array of benefits associated with VOIP headsets, some of which are outlined below:

• VOIP headsets are more efficient than regular telephones - The headset that is associated with VOIP can make you and your business far more efficient than you probably thought possible. With a regular means of communication, like a telephone for example, you have to be able to do two things at once, and concentrate on both if you happen to be using it for work. It can be a pain holding a phone, whether a regular phone or a mobile phone, and writing, typing or searching for information at the same time. There is absolutely no way that you can focus on the conversation and the task in hand because holding the phone itself is inconvenience! With a VOIP headset, you have both hands free and can be far more efficient as a result.

• If you’re using VOIP at home, you can chat with someone over the Internet via the headset and browse too - It may be that you are looking at something at the same time your friend is. Whilst this applies to VOIP in general, the headset allows you to have both hands free to browse. This is a major benefit to those using VOIP outside of the office.

• The headsets associated with VOIP are actually multitalented in terms of what they can do - Not only can you make calls over them, you can also listen to music and make voice recordings, amongst other things, so they serve many purposes. As a result, you do not have to buy another set of headphones for everything else. This can save you a lot of money.

• There are extensive health benefits, such as posture and a better level of hearing - For example, you can move around freely with a headset instead of being chained to your desk whilst on the phone. You can stand up, walk around a little (especially with the cordless variety) and stretch whilst still connected to your VOIP call. This reduces the chances of you slouching. In terms of your hearing, there are extra features added on to the most hi-tech of headsets that allow you to reduce background noise so that your hearing is not affected. There are also regular volume controls, which are also beneficial to your health.

• Ease of use - The headsets are infinitely easy to use. All you have to do is plug them into your computer, or add the software if it is a cordless headset, and away you go! The majority of them simply plug in at the side of your system and work right away, so the initial set up takes literally seconds. There is nothing complicated about how they work. Even if they have extra features, they are easy enough to figure out and so can be used by even the worst of technophobes!

In summary, VOIP headsets are easy to use, great for improving efficiency and extremely convenient. What more could you ask for? They can be used at home or in the office and can be plugged into to various forms of technology, as well as your computer! However, before purchasing a VOIP headset, be sure to check whether or not it has operating system requirements because some headsets only work on certain systems. Providing you purchase the right one, the headsets, and VOIP in general, can make your work and home life so much easier and so much more enjoyable that you will wonder what you ever did without this technology!

Codec is an algorithm, usually installed as a program on a server or placed w/in a hardware piece, that is utilized to change voice (in the case of Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP) signals to digital data to be broadcasted through the Internet or other network throughout a VoIP call.

The term codec comes from composed words compressor-decompressor or coder-decoder. Codec normally get the following 3 tasks:

Decoding - Encoding Decompression - Compression Decryption - Encryption

Decoding - Encoding

When you call through normal PSTN phone, your tone is transmitted over the telephone line. But with Voice over Internet Protocol, your voice is changed into signals. The conversion is called encoding, and is obtained by a codec. When the digital voice goes to its destination, it needs to be decoded back to its original state so that the correspondent could understand and hear it.

Decompression - Compression

Bandwidth is a limited commodity. So, if the file or data to be sent out is created lighter, you could send more in a particular time amount, and thus enhance performance. To make the voice less massive, it is packed together. Compression is a difficult procedure whereby the similar data is saved but making use of lesser space. Throughout compression, the file or data is saved to a structure proper to the algorithm of compression. The compressed file is sent to the network and once it goes its destination, it is decompressed to its original state before decoding. In a lot of cases, but, it isn’t needed to decompress the file back, because the compressed file is in a ‘consumable’ condition.

Decryption – Encryption

Encryption is the best tool for achieving protection. It is the procedure of changing the data to such a state that no one could understand. In this way, if the encrypted file is stopped by unauthorized individuals, the data still stays confidential. Once the encrypted file reaches the destination, it is decrypted to its original state. Usually, when the data is compressed, it is encrypted to a specific extent, because it is changed from its original state.