• Business,  Consulting,  Network Infrastructure,  On the Road

    VoIP 101

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal As the name implies, VoIP refers to voice or phone calls that traverse data networks using Internet Protocol (IP). This may mean that the calls are going over the Internet, or it may simply mean calls are traveling over privately managed data networks that are using IP to transport the calls from one location to the other. This represents a fundamental change or shift in transportation and routing of traditional voice services work over analog wires. With VoIP, the voice stream is broken down into data packets, compressed and sent to its destination using the Internet (as opposed to establishing a ‘permanent’ connection for…

  • Network Infrastructure,  On the Road

    Packet 8

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the technology used to transmit voice conversations over data (computer) networks using the Internet. The data network can be T-1, DSL, Cable Modems or any other high-speed Internet (broadband) connection. In the past few years, Vonage took the country by storm, offering low cost unlimited long distance using VoIP. For most residential users, Vonage is perfect. Vonage is easy to setup and use and has all of the features a standard phone would have for a fraction of the cost for most people. ViaTalk, Sun Rocket, ITP, Lingo, SpeakEasy and TalkTimes.net are all competitors to Vonage, but while…