Many of you are probably familiar with the use of voice chat on Yahoo! Messenger, where you can talk with your chat mate using a headset (headphone-microphone). Did you know that when you use voice that, you're actually using VoIP ?
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Technically speaking, VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a method for taking analog audio signals and turning them into digital data to be transmitted over the Internet. Economically speaking, it's a way of reducing the cost of a long-distance call to I/IOth its current cost. How is this possible? Most phone lines use what is called circuit-switched network. Once communication is established, the line is kept open for the two communicating people until the phone is hung up. You pay for the whole duration although you actually use the line for sending audio signals only half the time (the other half you're listening to the other person speaking.) In addition, when speaking, there are intervals where you don't say anything at all, for example when you're taking a breath.
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With VoIP, the audio signals are rid of these silent intervals, then changed into one digital file. The file is chopped into small packets and send over the Internet. While circuit switching keeps the line continuously open, packet switching opens the connection for a brief moment only when there is a packet to be sent or retrieved. Furthermore, instead of sending the packets over one dedicated line, packet switching sends them through different networks, each time letting the network find the least congested and cheapest line. VoIP calls can be made from PC to Pc using softwares (Yahoo! Messenger, Googel Talk, Skype, etc.), a sound card, a headset and a fast Internet connection (not a dial-up); there's no charge except for the normal ISP bill. You can also call from a home phone using an analog telephone adaptor, or from a special IP phone, with VoIP services from a VoIP provider; thus long distance rates are much reduced, and browsing and downloading services are included.
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With lower prices and flexibility as the upshot, VoIP services can easily win over conventional phone customers. In fact, more and more phone companies offer VoIP services to their customers, specially for business, for example XL, Telkomsel of InfoAsia Telecom. On the other hand, VoIP has a major flaw: reliability. VoIP phones depend on electricity: no electricity, no communication. VoIP is also susceptible to Internet problems like packet loss (resulting in garbled voice), delay, viruses, and hackings. In addition, infrastucture and regulatinos in Indonesia still hamper the development of VoIP and its providers.
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Internet access in Indonesia is still too expensive, not too mention slow. Besides, government regulations restrict the linking of VoIP networks to Telkom's. Hopefully, in the future, all of these problems can be solved so that customers can get the most out of this technology.
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Technically speaking, VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a method for taking analog audio signals and turning them into digital data to be transmitted over the Internet. Economically speaking, it's a way of reducing the cost of a long-distance call to I/IOth its current cost. How is this possible? Most phone lines use what is called circuit-switched network. Once communication is established, the line is kept open for the two communicating people until the phone is hung up. You pay for the whole duration although you actually use the line for sending audio signals only half the time (the other half you're listening to the other person speaking.) In addition, when speaking, there are intervals where you don't say anything at all, for example when you're taking a breath.
---
With VoIP, the audio signals are rid of these silent intervals, then changed into one digital file. The file is chopped into small packets and send over the Internet. While circuit switching keeps the line continuously open, packet switching opens the connection for a brief moment only when there is a packet to be sent or retrieved. Furthermore, instead of sending the packets over one dedicated line, packet switching sends them through different networks, each time letting the network find the least congested and cheapest line. VoIP calls can be made from PC to Pc using softwares (Yahoo! Messenger, Googel Talk, Skype, etc.), a sound card, a headset and a fast Internet connection (not a dial-up); there's no charge except for the normal ISP bill. You can also call from a home phone using an analog telephone adaptor, or from a special IP phone, with VoIP services from a VoIP provider; thus long distance rates are much reduced, and browsing and downloading services are included.
---
With lower prices and flexibility as the upshot, VoIP services can easily win over conventional phone customers. In fact, more and more phone companies offer VoIP services to their customers, specially for business, for example XL, Telkomsel of InfoAsia Telecom. On the other hand, VoIP has a major flaw: reliability. VoIP phones depend on electricity: no electricity, no communication. VoIP is also susceptible to Internet problems like packet loss (resulting in garbled voice), delay, viruses, and hackings. In addition, infrastucture and regulatinos in Indonesia still hamper the development of VoIP and its providers.
---
Internet access in Indonesia is still too expensive, not too mention slow. Besides, government regulations restrict the linking of VoIP networks to Telkom's. Hopefully, in the future, all of these problems can be solved so that customers can get the most out of this technology.
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