Switching to VoIP

This is the Title of the Book, eMatter Edition

Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

1

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Voice and Data:

Two Separate Worlds?

Telephony is the communication of spoken information between two or more partici-

pants, by means of signals carried over electric wires or radio waves. Ever since Alex-

ander Graham Bell invented the telephone circuit and first envisioned the public

telephone system, consumers and businesses have relied on telephony as a staple of

human interaction.

With the advent of Internet technologies and high-speed data connectivity in the

enterprise, a new family of telephony technologies began taking hold. Voice over IP,

or VoIP, has significant appeal for the enterprise, for service providers, and for end

users, because it allows the Internet and commonplace data networks, like those at

offices, factories, and campuses, to become carriers for voice calls, video conferenc-

ing, and other real-time media applications. VoIP-savvy organizations are discover-

ing that they can apply the paradigm of distributed, software-based networking to

voice applications and enable a new generation of telecommunications features, cost-

savings, and productivity enhancements.

VoIP can replace business telephone systems, or it can add value to existing tradi-

tional telephony devices. For instance, long-distance connectivity between two

offices with traditional ...