Telecom For Dummies

In this chapter

• Understanding what VoIP does

• Getting a handle on IP protocols and codecs

• Setting up your business with VoIP

• Getting the lowdown on VoIP hardware

• Testing Interoperability

• Transferring local numbers

Voice over Internet Protocol, more commonly referred to as VoIP, is the hottest buzzword in telecom today. The downside of being on the cutting edge, however, is that VoIP is still finding its place in the world. VoIP technology has to be built into the infrastructure, and that takes money and long-term planning. In many ways, the world just isn’t ready for VoIP, because it creates new problems even though it successfully solves older ones.

This chapter covers the general environment of VoIP, its structures and requirements. Figuring out how to program your Cisco router to convert VoIP to Feature Group D protocol is not covered (so it’s cool if you don’t know what I just said right there), but you do discover VoIP’s greatest strength — its flexibility. The possible applications of VoIP are rapidly growing. The technology is used with everything from interactive Web sites to find-me-follow-me phone services that allow one call to attempt to reach you at several phone numbers before it is finally sent to voicemail. The ability to reinvite calls to new destinations: your cellphone, your office number, your home phone number, is one of the great benefits of VoIP, along with the limited government regulation and taxing at this time.

 Tip  If you want a more in-depth look at VoIP that’s written for real people, check out VoIP For Dummies by Timothy V. Kelly (Wiley).