Function and Reliability with VoIP

Functions of VoIP:

VoIP can ease tasks and provide services that may be more difficult to implement or more expensive using the PSTN:

• Addition with other services available over the Internet, including video conversation, message or data file exchange in similar with the conversation, audio conferencing, managing address books, and passing information about whether friends or colleagues are available to involved parties.
• The ability to transmit more than one telephone call over the same broadband connection. This can make VoIP a simple way to add an extra telephone line to a home or office.
• Advanced Telephony features such as call routing, screen pops, and IVR implementations are easier and cheaper to apply and combine. The fact that the phone call is on the same data network as a user’s PC opens a new door to potential.
• Conference calling, call forwarding, automatic redial, and caller ID; zero- or near-zero-cost features that traditional telecommunication companies (telcos) normally charge extra for.
• Location independence. Only an Internet connection is needed to get a connection to a VoIP provider. For example, call center agents using VoIP phones can work from anywhere with a sufficiently fast and stable Internet connection.
• A major issue avoiding VoIP’s acceptance by more users is mobility. This is being addressed with new (Wi-Fi)-enabled cordless phones available on the market. With the beginning of new technologies such as (WiMAX), it is supposed that the mobility issue with VoIP shall become extinct.
• Secure calls using standardized protocols (such as Secure Real-time Transport Protocol.) Most of the difficulties of creating a secure phone connection over traditional phone lines, like digitizing and digital transmission, are already in place with VoIP. It is only necessary to encrypt and authenticate the existing data stream.

Reliability with VoIP:

Conventional phones are connected directly to telephone company phone lines, which in the event of a power failure are kept performing by backup generators or batteries located at the telephone exchange. However, IP Phones and the IP infrastructure connect to routers and servers, which typically depend on the accessibility of mains electricity or another locally generated power source. Therefore, most VoIP networks and the supporting routers and servers are also on broadly presented and relatively cheap Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) systems to maintain electricity during a power outage for a prearranged length of time. The amount of time typically ranges from as little as an hour and up from there, depending on the quality of the UPS unit and the power draw and characteristics of the communications tools.