Not just a sound effect on Teen Girl Squad, VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. Internet Protocol, or IP, is the way that information is sent over the Internet. Information is broken into short bursts called packets. These packets can then be sent to the destination through many computers across the world. The way VOIP usually works is by connecting telephones to a box that is connected to the Internet. Since many people already have high-speed Internet connections in their homes the cost of connectivity is usually zero. A regular telephone can then be used to talk at a far-reduced rate by sending the information over the Internet for most of its journey and then only getting on the regular phone lines close to the destination. For more information about VOIP, what it is, how it works, and how it can benefit you click on the VOIP link near the top of this paragraph.

I haven’t used any of the pay services yet, but I have used Skype which is similar, but is free. The free version of Skype isn’t as convenient as paid services, however.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 6th, 2006 at 9:47 am and is filed under Links, PPP, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.