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VoIP: Will it deliver?

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PCQ Bureau
New Update

On

April 1st this year, the Indian government legalized Internet telephony

and Voice over IP, throwing up an array of opportunities for the telecom

sector companies. At the same time, there has been a spate of offerings

for everyone. For corporates whose telephone bills come to a few lakh

rupees every month, voice over IP could be the right solution. We look at

the solutions available and how to implement them. We also look at the

various calling card options available today

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On April 1st this year, the Indian government legalized IP telephony and Voice over IP, throwing up an array of opportunities for the telecom sector. Since then, there have been offerings for just about everyone; be it individual users, small to medium businesses or large

corporates.

Voice over IP is the underlying technology. Internet telephony is just one of the applications of

VoIP. Voice networks the world over are or home already shifted their backbone networks to IP.
 
Talking over the Internet



IP Telephony calling cards can lower your ISD bills, depending upon where you call
Deploying VoIP



You don’t need to throw out your old voice network equipment for VoIP
To IP or Not?



VoIP promises convergence of your voice and data network, better mobility and huge savings
Micronet IP Telephony Products



An IP-telephony gateway and phone for establishments moving to VoIP
Net Whisper (Terminal)



A good terminal application for IP telephony

Something for Everyone



“Call US for just Rs 5 a minute” seems to be the slogan of most nowadays. After “off-the-shelf” ISP accounts, it’s time now for IP telephony calling cards flooding the markets. Most of the existing ISPs have upgraded their infrastructures to support IP telephony services. Apart from which ISP to choose, users now face the question of which IP telephony calling card to buy. Plus, there are free IP telephony service providers like Buddyphone, phonefree and Nashphone, promising to offer equally good voice quality.

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With calling cards, supporting equipment is also gaining ground. This includes everything from headsets to instruments that allow you to use your regular phone for IP telephony.

The best thing about VoIP is that it promises something for everyone, and not just large companies. IP gateway products are available for smaller companies, which promise to reduce their telephone bills. Large companies can either integrate VoIP equipment with their existing voice networks, or deploy a total VoIP solution.

Will it Deliver?



Though enough noise has been generated on VoIP and IP Telephony, the question of whether it will deliver remains. In this story, we analyze all segments of the market; from calling cards for individual users to deploying a complete VoIP solution to the VoIP equipment out there. Where calling cards are concerned, the issue of bandwidth still exists, as the voice quality in IP telephony is only as good as your Internet connection. On the corporate side, phone-to-phone IP telephony is still not

permitted, unless it’s on a company’s private network, and is not connected to the PSTN in any way.

The ultimate promise of VoIP will be met when the Internet and telephone combine. And telecom operators today are already working feverishly to make it a reality.

Anil Chopra

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