VoIP Questions
 

Ok, I'm completely new to this VoIP stuff so please if you dont have anything useful to say, keep it to yourself because I will have what you may think are dumb questions.

My first of many questions is, Do I need a "land line" to do VoIP?

Re: VoIP Questions
 

watch the first couple of eps http://www.techcentric.org/episodes.php

this covers alot of topics http://revision3.com/systm/asterisk

Re: VoIP Questions
 

k thanks.

Re: VoIP Questions
 

If you know what VOIP stands for, and apply a bit of thought, you will have the answer to this question.

Simple answer: all you need is an internet connection. You can, in theory, use any internet connection, but in practice, you'll want something that's reliable, low latency, and that supports the necessary bandwidth (this depends on the sample rate used by the VOIP system in question for the digital voice samples, but generally means dial-up internet access won't cut it).

Re: VoIP Questions
 

I do know what VOIP stands for, but i wasnt sure if it was like networking the internet where you need 1 line in, and can branch it off to as many computers as you want. or in this case one land line in and network it off to more than one phone.

Re: VoIP Questions
 

Ahh. No. Think of it as sort of a hybrid between an instant messenger, in that it allows point-to-point communications mediated by a central server of sorts, and streaming audio.

Re: VoIP Questions
 

Ok, now does VOIP allow you to comunicate outside of the network? For example, can I call you on my VOIP phone from the other side of the planet?

Re: VoIP Questions
 

have you heard of Skype?

Re: VoIP Questions
 

Computers can have microphones and speakers attached, and many of them are connected to the internet. They can thus send and receive data from hosts located in arbitrary locations around the planet. This data may be voice.

VoIP isn't a special cable or service. It's voice over internet protocol, which is exactly what wikipedia, a google search, or the person sitting next to you could have told you.

I use Skype every day. Because I pay a flat rate for internet access, using Skype is effectively free. I also sometimes use Google Talk. If I buy credits, I can use Skype to make or receive calls to/from land line phones. In that case, I'd be charged for the use of one of their gateways located all over that are connected to both the plain old telephone network as well as the internet. IP phones are becoming popular in workplaces. I'm sure you've seen the Cisco units. Calls within and between branches use the existing computer networks. It typically makes sense for a company to pay for some form of gateway provider to communicate with everyone else.

Vonage wants to use VoIP technology to provide traditional phone service. Their main product _is_ the gateway functionality, not calls between other Vonage customers or the internet at large. They actually charge extra for the use of a softphone (software phone) -- the typical customers connect the nifty Vonage box to their intraweb tubes, and get service for their existing phones. You are paying for a traditional phone number which just happens to get routed over the internet.

VoIP isn't Vonage or Skype or Google Talk or that shiny phone on your desk. Those are specific applications which fall under the rather broad VoIP category, which is itself just a rather straightforward application of pre-existing technologies.