Overview

VoIP (Voice over IP) offers a flexible, cost-effective and secure alternative to expensive traditional leased lines, and are an especially effective and efficient means of communication for companies who have multiple sites, are adding additional branches, or for the scheduled replacement of existing networks. VoIP can also enable organizations to extend secure and cost-effective connectivity to teleworkers who can become part of the office LAN via a Virtual Private Network (VPN). However, unlike traditional telephone networks it can be integrated with text and video based IP services, and can be offered in a wide range of desktop, laptop and mobile devices and appliances.

A broad range of services, including voice, video, and data, can be enabled to ride on Internet Protocol ("IP") networks. These digital networks require less financial investment, are cheaper to build and operate than traditional circuit-switched networks, and are better suited to provide a range of improved, innovative, and economic service offerings to users of all kinds.

With the new capabilities supported in the IP enabled world, new services are more easily provided to the end user, both in the enterprise and in the publicly offered services.

The recent development and improvement of performance, functionality, standards, security and quality of service (QoS), now make VoIP a very attractive option and the benefits speak for themselves:

• Reduced phone bills and operational costs
• Reduced network management overhead and more integrated systems
• More intelligent call handling
• Increased employee mobility, flexibility and productivity
• Greater organizational and change flexibility
• New ways to communicate with third parties
• Multimodal communication including voice, text and video