VoIP

About This Book

VoIP For Dummies is written for anyone who wants to reduce or eliminate their toll charges while upgrading the level of computer networking services and calling features they receive. Here you discover not only what VoIP is but how you can implement it in your company or home. (You’ll even find out whether VoIP makes a lot of sense for your situation.)

VoIP has particular appeal to those who want to use their computer network to carry their telephone calls, thereby saving the expense of running different networks for each.

If you’re a consumer running broadband Internet services and you have sig­nificant toll charges each month, you should look into VoIP to make your toll calls. With VoIP running on your broadband line, you can save money each month by reducing your toll costs while still maintaining your traditional tele­phone service for local calls.

If you’re a manager who needs to decide about support or recommend whether to make the switch to VoIP, or if you’re an IT person looking to help your boss make an informed decision about integrated networking, this book provides an excellent place for you to begin.

I explain how VoIP works and how it compares to telecommunications tech­nology that was previously considered irreplaceable. By the time you finish Part III, you’ll see why many businesses throughout the world and consumers in the United States have turned to VoIP and integrated networking as their main system for data, voice, and video.

How This Book Is Organized

Each part of this book focuses on a different aspect of VoIP, as described in the following sections. VoIP is a technology that challenges all your precon­ceptions about telephony and networking.

Part I: VoIP Basics

Part I introduces you to the basics of VoIP. You get the rundown on essential terms and the general workings of the technology. This part describes the basics of IP telephony and how VoIP calls get packetized and carried over external networks. Access services and the lines they run on are defined. You find out how traditional telephony models can become cash cows for the car­riers. TCP/IP, the number one network design model, is introduced as the underlying design for VoIP networks.

Part II: Taking VoIP to Your Network

In Part II, you discover how networks connect to each other. From the public telephone network to the global Internet and all the network types in between, you’ll find out what your networking options are.

The Internet is only one network option for VoIP (it also runs on all the other network types that drive industry). Network types include broadband net­working, which exists mainly as a consumer option for VoIP. Other types cov­ered in Part II are switched, dedicated, and wireless networks. There is no shortage of network types to run VoIP on.

To help set VoIP in a network context, Part II compares the transport lines (where applicable) and services available on each network type. Also cov­ered are bandwidth options and quality of service. With these options, com­panies can support not only VoIP but their data and videoconferencing needs for all their locations.

Consumers are also treated to illustrated coverage on broadband networking options. You can run VoIP out of your home and receive ideal bandwidth options that support not just VoIP but your computer data — and even video.

When it comes to VoIP, all the network options in the world would be of little value if you couldn’t actually talk on the phone! For that reason, Chapter 10 outlines the major VoIP-enabled telephone types: VoIP hard phone, VoIP soft phone, and VoIP wireless phone. It also covers the traditional telephone types that can be used in a VoIP network.

Part III: Making the Move to VoIP

The reasons to switch to VoIP are countless, depending on how far you want to project the future of the marketplace. Part III starts in Chapter 11 by describing the “final four” telephone system models. These are the tradi­tional systems used by consumers and corporate customers. If you’re not yet on VoIP, you must be running with one or more of the final four options.

Through real-world case studies, Part III provides guidance for both single-location and multilocation companies, covering the total cost factors and then applying a VoIP solution that significantly reduces the cost of a VoIP conversion while enhancing productivity.

Part IV: The Part of Tens

In Part IV, I provide specific content and advice for both corporate and con­sumer-based prospective VoIP users. This, of course, is accomplished in the time-honored Dummies format: the venerated Part of Tens.

If you’re a company pondering the move to VoIP, Chapter 15 gives you the top ten reasons why you need to make the move. Consumers find the top ten rea­sons why they should change in Chapter 16. Chapter 17 dispels the top ten myths about VoIP. Get the truth about these myths here and now.

Finally, Chapter 18 provides a quick overview of the best of the best: the top ten VoIP manufacturers. When you’re ready to make the move, you’ll know who to go to for support.

Part V: Appendixes

Last, but by no means least, the final section of this book includes two refer­ence items that you will find helpful in making sense of the world of VoIP. The first, Appendix A, provides an overview of the largest VoIP service providers in the world. These are the companies that you can partner with to realize all your VoIP dreams.

The second item is a handy glossary. Confused by a term you encounter while reading the book? Turn to the glossary and your bewilderment will fade into the past. (It’s also a great tool for understanding VoIP marketing brochures and white papers.)
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