Voice Over Internet Protocol Information

Hardware Based VoIP

If you're turned off by the hassle of persuading all your friends to use the same VoIP software, then the hardware alternative might be more appealing. Unlike the strictly software method which requires you to be logged on to the same chat program, the hardware approach allows you to call your friends the same way you use a standard phone.

Yes, you can dial a landline or mobile phone numbers and it works just the same, except it's actually VoIP. So the hardware option is better choice if you're the type who has many friends to call. It also works pretty well if you're running a home office and would like to ring your clients every now and then. But such convenience comes at a price.

Firstly, the hardware path involves subscribing to a VoIP service provider, which means it will cost more than the almost free software based VoIP. In addition to subscription fees, you'll also need to make an initial investment in a special VoIP device.

VoIP Device

The hardware comes in a few flavors, most popular being the Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA). What an ATA does is act as "middleman" to connect both your standard telephone and modem/router together, so when you make a call, it is translated into VoIP form and goes through the Internet.

To do this, you'll first have to unhook your phone from the wall jack and plug it into the ATA. You'll also need to configure the device to work with your phone and computer system. The configuration part may be little tricky, but if you carefully follow instructions from the ATA's manual, you should be fine.

Another popular hardware choice is the IP phone, which combines the ATA and standard telephone into one nifty device. Some modem/routers may also come with built-in ATA functionality, so all you need to do is just attach a standard telephone to it. Of course, none of these hardware would work alone without software to drive them. Some of these devices will require additional software, so make sure you ask for details before subscribing.

Apart from pricing, an important consideration when choosing a device is it compliance to Internet protocols. The device you choose should preferably support the Session Initiated Protocol (SIP), a signaling protocol protocol used to initiate, manage and terminate interactive sessions between one or more users on the Internet. In simple terms, SIP makes VoIP calls possible.

There are other signaling protocols as well, but currently SIP is the accepted standard and is also the most wisely used protocol. Another cool thing about SIP is it also support a variety of multimedia elements such as voice, video, gaming, text chatting and virtual reality. This means if VoIP becomes a household necessity in the future, people might start using video conferencing to communicate with each other o the telephone.

Then again, the possibility of this happening depends whether or not your VoIP service provider supports the hardware based voip functionality.

Contact Webmaster
Copyright © 2005-2006. www.all-voip-guide.com - Hardware Based VoIP. All Right Reserved.
All trademarks, registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respectively owners.