CATEGORIES Auto & Trucks Business & Finance Computers & Internet Education Family Food & Drink Gadgets and Gizmos Health Hobbies Home Improvement Humor Kids & Teens Legal Marketing Men Music and Movies Online Business Parenting Pets and Animals Politics and Government Recreation & Sports Relationships Religion and Faith Self Improvement Site Promotion Travel & Leisure Web Development Women Writing Keyword Search Article Title Author's Name SITE MENU Search Submit An Article Submit Articles in Bulk Submit Press Release Syndicate Articles Distribute Articles Privacy Policy Terms of Use Link To Us Contact Us Site Map Home

The History of Voice over Internet Protocol  by: Van Theodorou The History of Voice over Internet Protocol 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. About The Author Van Theodorou will help you slash your telecom expenses over 43% and assist or even become your telecom department at no cost to you. For a free analysis or phone consultation go his site at http://www.worldnet-long-distance.com. This article was posted on March 15, 2006 Read More Articles from the "Computers and Internet" Category: Digicam File Formats by Jakob Jelling Router Commands by Fiza Ali Time for a Web Wash? by Penny Archer Good Computer Maintenance - Part One by Marv Ko New Iomega Tera Series: Desktop Hard Drive with 1TB capacity by Michael Hanna Is Your PC Crowding Your Desk? by Ismael D. Tabije Anti-Aliasing for Great-Looking Text Graphics by Granny's Mettle Got a Small Business? Choose the Right Domain Name by Blake Kritzberg Instantaneous Recovery From Virus Attacks With Rollback Rx by Jacob Henderson Learning Management Systems by Dan Noyes << Back to "Computers And Internet" Index

Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent the views of ArticleCity.com and/or its partners.

	Web www.articlecity.com