IP TELEPHONY Elliot Devine
INTRODUCTION
"IP Telephony is taking a firm hold in the world telecommunication market for a wide range of applications". The world of communication and IP Telephony grows daily at an overwhelming rapidity.
The increased demand for voice and data transmission in large organisations and businesses has generated research and development for new methods of the simultaneous provision of these services through a common medium. The dominant method for meeting these needs is one that utilizes the TCP/IP protocol (Transmission Control Protocol /Internet Protocol) for voice transmission. The primary benefit of this integration of voice and data networks is the realization of savings in financial and managerial resources.
However performance and voice quality considerations, Network architectures to support voice over IP and Social impacts directly related to IP Telephony still delay the implementation of this relatively new technology.
IP TELEPHONY
The financial benefits emanating from the implementation of IP technology are of primary importance for its selection. By using IP Telephony in the Wide Area Network (WAN) of an Enterprise or Organization, the cost of phone calls is reduced, since the public telephony service providers are by-passed by the use of data network that is essential for the Organization's operation.
The cost of deployment of an IP Telephony network is constantly reduced in relation to that of the traditional methods of telephone network development. This is due to the steady evolution of the Local Area Data Network (LAN), which results to the reduction of the cost of these products.
One of the most significant advantages of IP Telephony is the cost reduction of management and network expansion. By utilizing this type of technology, the PABX based telephone network is virtually eliminated, thus resulting to the need for handling of a single type of network, by using tools that are now used for the management of TCP/IP networks.
The unification of voice and data networks and the introduction of integrated voice, video and data applications, which are realized according to the requirements of each special case, open new horizons to business activities.
IP TELEPHONY APPLICATIONS
- Voice Mail, Unified Messaging. Allows the storage of voice messages. In case of adopting the unified solution, in addition to the voice calls also have integration of e-mail and fax calls. Unified Messaging provides the ability to listen to the e-mail message through the phone (by using Text-To-Speech technology) and to send a voice message through e-mail.
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Automated Attendant (AA). Automatic response to incoming calls, giving the user the ability to choose the service or the location with which he /she wishes to communicate with. Scheduling of this application is accomplished with a simple graphic editor by using the "Drag and Drop" method.
- Intelligent Call Distribution (ICD). This is an automatic priority queuing system for the incoming calls. This system is used when the company receives more calls than it can handle. The priorities given (Caller-In or PIN based) ensure faster servicing of important customers. Scheduling of this application is carried out with a simple graphic editor, by using the "Drag and Drop" method (same to that of IVR).
- Web Attendant (Secretary/Receptionist Monitor). A JTAPI - Java Telephony Application Programmer's Interface - application, which allows the secretary to operate the handset and handle the calls with the mouse of her computer.
- Soft phone. This is a TAPI based application, allowing the user to control and manage his /her handset or to convert his computer to a phone (requires the use of a sound card, speakers and a microphone) without the use of a standard handset.
- Web Services. By using the "Services" key of an IP handset you can have access to interactive applications of the Web Server. These applications are defined by the network manager and may be common to all handsets or specialized, depending on the handset.
- Call-Centre (Cisco IP Contact Centre) Applications. This application provides the ability to add Call-Centre features to IP telephony. The system's agents may be local or /and remote. In addition, the application may be supplemented with databases (Oracle for example) or/and CRM applications (Oracle, Siebel, etc). Furthermore, the application may also use simultaneously traditional telephone exchanges, thus ensuring the protection of the investment.
- Web & E-mail Cisco Collaboration Servers. In addition to the Call-Center application, which controls phone calls only, with the Cisco Collaboration Servers, it is possible to manage calls through the Web and E-Mail. The agent in this case can gain the control of the customer's browser and assist him/her to fill a form or to indicate what he/she is looking for, etc.
1. Original Telephone
Initially, the main and most prominent method of communication was the Telephone. The Telephone originated in the 1870s, two inventors Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell both independently designed devices that could transmit speech electrically (the telephone).
Bell's greatest success was achieved on March 10, 1876, marked not only the birth of the telephone but the death of the multiple telegraph as well. The communications potential contained in his demonstration of being able to "talk with electricity" far outweighed anything that simply increasing the capability of a dot-and-dash system could imply.
2. Cellular Phone
"People want to talk to other people - not a house, or an office, or a car. Given a choice, people will demand the freedom to communicate wherever they are, unfettered by the infamous copper wire". A cellular phone is a type of two-way radio that gives people the freedom to communicate from any destination around the globe, unaffected by the copper wire.
April 3, 2003 marked the 30th anniversary of the first public telephone call placed on a portable cellular phone. We are now moving into a new era of communication and the age of IP Telephony. However like cellular phones IP Telephony will take several years before it is widely accepted by the commercial and social sectors.
3. Internet
The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location.
"Once a guest on telephone lines, the Net now threatens a take over its host’s principal function: voice-to-voice communication".
The internet has opened new doors for means of communication and IP Telephony has successfully designed a product that allows people to communicate over the internet at a cheaper cost. This emerging technology has attempted to become the direct line to Internet telephony answers.
4. Desktop Computer
"Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention. The use of computers in to days society span a wide range of applications including emailing, word processing, networking and now voice-to-voice communication.
The introduction of Desktop computers revolutionised the world that we live in. Computers are used for a wide variety of applications throughout all sectors of society. The integration of voice-to-voice communication over the internet would not be achievable if the desktop was not invented. The future of both IP Telephony and desktop computing depend on one an others success and development in the fields of networks and the capacity in which voice can be transmitted.
The desired result is the culmination of your PC, TV and telephone (data, video and voice) are fully integrated into one digital unit with the your desktop computer and the Internet giving you something similar to the current Web plus full access to entertainment--games, TV shows and cheap telephone calls when you want them.
See also:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Minoli, Daniel, (1998) Delivering Voice over IP Networks, Third Avenue, New York.: John Wiley and Son Inc,ISBN 0-471-25482-7
• Rossi, Sandra, Thursday, 12th August (2004) Broker goes cautiously to IP Telephony, Computerworld, http://www.computerworld.com.au, 07/08/04
• Khasnabish, Bhumip, (2003) Implementing Voice over IP, Lexington, Massachusetts.: John Wiley and Sons, Inc ISBN 0-471-21666-6
• Phillips, Gary, Monday 9th August (2002), IP Telephony Basics, Commtech, www.dialogic.com/solution/internet/4070web.htm, 06/08/04
• Goncalves, Marcus, (1999) Voice over IP Networks: An introduction, New York, USA.: McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-913783-0
• Alexiou, Stergios, Wednesday, 3rd April (2001) Cisco IP Telephony, Strategic,International,http://www.strategic.gr/publications/TelecomsObservatory2001/Alexiou.htm, 05/08/04
• Muller, Nathan, (2000) IP Convergence: The Next Revolution in Telecommunications, Norwood, New York.: Artech House, ISBN 1-58053-012-5
• B. Farkas, M. Figallo, T. Kiehn, A. Miner, H. Wang, Thursday, 12th August (1999) The Titanic and the Iceberg: the PSTN Meets IP Telephony, http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is224/s99/GroupF/proj1.html, 07/08/04
• Collins, Daniel, (2003) Carrier Grade Voice over IP: Second Edition, Two Penn Plaza, New York.: McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-140634-4
• Zhao, Yonggua, (2002) Journal of Medical Systems, Portal, Volume 26, Issue 4, http://portal.acm.org.gateway.library.qut.edu.au/citation.cfm, DOA 08/08/04
Elliot Devine 14:39, 13 Sep 2004 (EST)
