The science of telecommunications studies the methods for remote transmission. Information of all kinds words, sounds, images or data is transferred in the form of electrical impulses or signals. The AM was the first method of modulation used in telecommunications for the transmission of audio signals over the air, thus creating the radio.
Today it is assumed that, by pressing a few buttons, you can establish a voice connection in seconds with people on the other end of the globe. However, the technology that led to the telephone network, one of the most complex creations of the twentieth century, dates back only about a century ago. Since the invention of the telephone by the Italian Guglielmo Marconi and the American Alexander Graham Bell, there have been many innovations that have led to the current set of telecommunications.
In recent years, the popularization and rapid development of the Internet has lead to much innovation. At the Internets core is the internet protocol (IP) system architecture that has grown to support new services such as Voice over IP (VoIP). Broadband networks and IP based telecommunications networks have become the inevitable trend of development. "Skype and Vonage have made most of us aware of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services" (Callahan, 2008)
In the foreseeable future, IP phones will gradually replace the typical telephone. "If you're not using VOIP now, you will be soon, because the cost savings are enormous compared with your current monthly phone bill" (Mansour, 2010). Development and improvement of VoIP technology to completely replace the typical telephone has become a research hotspot. VoIP in many technical details such as security still need further improvement. Continuous development of technical standards for VoIP will lead to improvement of the technology.VoIP solutions for businesses reduce operational costs, provide flexibility for new business innovation and improve return on investment which all show a good prospect.
Findings
VoIP
VoIP is a technology that enables transmission of voice via the Internet or dedicated networks using IP protocol, often used as a synonym for Internet telephony. VoIP creates a digital representation of voice that is compressed and divided into packets. This packet stream is then transmitted over a network with other data. Through this technique voice is converted from analog to digital, then digital audio signals are encoded, compressed and then converted into IP packets for transmission in IP networks to achieve VoIP. In the receiving device the entire process is played in reverse to receive a normal voice signal.
Compared with the typical telephone, VoIP can make calls under the same amount of bandwidth already being used for internet service.With the increasing popularity of broadband networks VoIP services and applications will continue to have significant growth. VoIP has a real cost savings by reducing operating and infrastructure costs, while also simplifying network management by running on a single IP network platform, and value added services and functionality.
Advantages of VoIP
Cutting Cost and Strategic Business
VoIP call costs is greatly reduced. Call cost over the internet is far below the international long-distance calling costs of typical telephone service. A benefit of VoIP technology is that voice can be reliably transmitted on a IP network with voice and data collaboration. The key here is collaboration, because with IP voice communications employees can communicate with critical enterprise applications such as groupware, meetings, information processing and interaction. These applications use the network to achieve integrated voice and data capabilities. It is the use of these applications that the company's staff can be more mobile, flexible and can better respond to customer needs to provide better services. "Internet telephone technology, rapidly displacing the traditional kind, isn't just inexpensive. It's revolutionizing the way companies coordinates people and information, connect with customers, and compete with one another" (Werbach, 2005, p. 1).
The main advantage of VoIP is that the transmission of voice services over the Internet reduce costs, and IP voice communications can be used for the following. The company can achieve growth by cutting costs, staff are more capable, more powerful features are available and the result is better performance. IP phones can communicate through the enterprise to achieve these goals, so it is directly related to the company's economic benefits.
Moreover, The most important advantage is that VoIP can help business to reduce typical phone service charges. "If the VOIP call takes place between two computers (PC, PDA or smart phone) connected to the Internet, you avoid any transit through the normal telephone network (PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network). Therefore, nothing is due to telephone operators to realize the communication between the parties and, apart from the costs already incurred by either accessing the Internet, the call is totally free" (Kumar, 2009) The advantages of IP telephony is not limited, it can also improve efficiency and reduce costs, thereby creating a competitive advantage for the business.
Versatility of VoIP Systems
VoIP provides strong support to achieve the harmonization and simplification of various types of communications regardless of location, time or equipment. Without additional wiring of a typical telephone, adding a new user by installing another VoIP connection is simple. IP telephone networks can be inserted anywhere within the network with a common (RJ45) port. In addition adding the appropriate software offers flexibility to provide various services. "Every time a new employee arrives at a company, or another employee moves to a new office, hooking up that person's phone service is simply a matter of changing a setting on a Web page" (Werbach, 2005, p. 3). Furthermore, VoIP effective use of the Internet's infrastructure and IP addresses allows the technology to be more versatile then the typical telephone. VoIP can be a huge advantage because of the extensive use of Internet and global IP interconnection environment that enables a suit of better services for businesses. VoIP services offer mobile telephone numbers that can be used from any VoIP compatible device. If someone decides to move to VoIP, they can still retain their number. Number portability makes it possible for the number to remain the same. The Internet environment provides many value added services such as virtual phone, virtual voice mail, Voice mail to email, Internet call centers, video conferencing, E-commerce, and forwarding services and other emerging features. With VoIP, users can use a variety of equipment to get more new features and functionality, these devices, include IP phones, PC, personal digital assistant (PDA) and mobile phones. In addition, users can also set their favorite mode of communication, if they want others to contact them via e-mail, instant messaging or voice communications. In addition, VoIP capabilities enhance staff. In this way, employees can, through their PC, take full advantage of all enterprise IP telephony features such as one-touch dialing access, multi-caller ID, conference and corporate phone book, and whether they are at home or on the road. For example, users can now use their laptop or PDA to call the office from a remote PC, providing the tools, including e-mail, customer databases, and voice communications. VoIP communication is completely different then typical telephone service because it can provide a variety of new features to help achieve the current virtualized work space and in many ways enhance the ability of staff to enable them to be be more productive.
Drawbacks of VoIP
VoIP Security
Internet based VoIP brings enhanced efficiency to business operations, but also brings security risk. "Lower cost and greater flexibility are among the promises of VoIP for the enterprises, but VoIP should not be installed without careful consideration of the security problems introduced" (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2005, p. 3). VoIP is an enterprise communications application deep into all management processes, in addition to cost savings, the integrated communications capabilities directly enhance the efficiency of business operations. Enterprises in the deployment of VoIP systems, in addition to service quality concerns, most attention is on security issues. VoIP faces a series of safety problems and a number of Internet security issues. "The potential security threats to VoIP are real but are no more worrisome than the security issues that are that are an accepted part of using the internet in business" (Werbach, 2005, p. 5).
Today a typical enterprise VoIP system is vulnerable to attacks. A range of potential threats on VoIP systems include denial of service attacks, viruses, worms, trojan horses, packet sniffing, spam and phishing. The VoIP system is no more secure than other web applications or data transmissions across the public internet because it is susceptible to interception or eavesdropping without the proper security measures. In fact, the occurrence of this situation is because the VoIP system itself largely lacks standardization, interoperability between various vendors and the difference between the many linked devices.
However, new problems can be solved with old methods. Additional investment may be required to protect enterprise VoIP systems from security threats. For example, using a firewall to filter incoming packets, deters external attacks, and the implementation of an Internal Prevention System and Internal Detection System solution to ensure VoIP security.
Discussion
In conclusion VoIP makes a great cost-effective way of communication. It is not a temporary fad or restricted to Skype to talk to your friends on the computer. Many companies are aligning themselves with modern technology and are aiming towards this technology to enhance their productivity and reduce operation cost. "Most telling, this year for the first time, U.S. companies bought more new internet phone connections than conventional phone lines" (Werbach, 2005, p. 1)
However, VoIP quality is still far behind the typical telephone quality. In recent years, IP network technology with the wide range of applications and services has endured quality of service issues. More researchers are concerned about how to provide reliable voice quality of service. VoIP can not tolerate network delays, jitter or any interuption. Voice and data can not be handled the same way, because VoIP services and traditional data services are transmitted on the same network. "However, VOIP adds a number of complications to existing network technology, and these problems are magnified by security considerations. Quality of Service (QoS) is fundamental to the operation of a VOIP network that meets users' quality expectations. However, the implementation of various security measures can cause a marked deterioration in QoS" (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2005, p. 3). Most networks are not ready for the end to end VoIP implementation to provide the same voice quality and reliability as the typical telephone. Few concerns and limitations of the technology are being dealt with, and overall quality is being improved. This will eventually lead to acceptance of the technology and will be preferred in comparison to the typical telephone.
