VoipSchool is becoming Voxilla

Voxilla is the leading forum on the internet for all VoIP related questions  and comments. They’ve been operating their forum for over  5  years and  have become THE place on the internet for VoIP  professionals  and  enthusiasts to interact with others in the VoIP  community.  VoIPschool  was created to offer an informational resource to those who  were not  well versed in IP communication, but sought to learn more. VoIPschool’s mission has been to VoIPSchool will be merging with Voxilla, in an effort to expand the VoIP knowledge base to a full-fledged resource for all levels of VoIP related inquiries.

As internet connection speeds become faster and faster, VoIP communication is becoming more commonplace, both in the home and in the office. Until now, VoIP has largely been relegated to the realm of IT staff and technically minded people. However the technology has now evolved to the point where anyone can utilize IP telephony, and likewise reap the benefits of fuller functionality and less expensive telephone service.

With the expert minded resources of Voxilla, and the layperson friendly how to guides of VoIPschool, the merger will create a rich knowledge resource for all VoIP related questions. Please visit Voxilla.com to learn more!

HD Voice – The Technical Stuff

What does all this HD technical stuff mean?

As a follow up to the last post about the future of HD voice, this post touches on the more technical side of things, and hopefuilly helps clarify some of the questions that you may have if you are considering the switch to HD. A common term used is in this post is codec, which stands for coder/decoder. When a call is made via a VoIP system the speaker’s message is first coded so that it can be transmitted over an IP network. Once the message reaches its destination it is then decoded for the listener. The relevance of this is in the fact that not all HD phones transmit using the same codec, which can create a problem with compatibility, especially when using HD voice.

HD Codecs

There are a number of different wideband codecs that work with HD voice. Problems arise from the differences in bit rate, sampling rate, and equipment requirements. All of these variations in codecs can make your decision on what HD phones to use a nightmare, and in the long run they can cause compatibility issues. The ITU- standard codec and the most widely used is G.722, which operates at 48, 56, 64 Kbit/s and provides wideband audio at 7 KHz. As HD voice continues to become more prevalent, the industry will push for a single wideband codec. However until then, it’s important to do research on the type of codecs that are integrated into your HD phones.

HD Phones

There is more to HD voice than the codec. While HD compatible phones exist it is probably a better idea to go with HD capable phones. Proper design, HD speakers, and HD microphones are all necessary to get the full HD experience. Most IP phone providers have made a strong push towards HD voice quality phones.

Compatible Equipment and Connections

It’s important to ensure that all your equipment is HD ready and compatible. First, your IP PBX should be capable of reading whatever codecs your HD phone uses. While most IP PBXs recognize the standard G.722 some HD phones incorporate different codecs. If this is the case, upgrades may be in order, but a lot of the time equipment needs to be updated anyway.

Second, it’s important that your service provider can properly transmit HD voice. Any call made outside the company that has to jump on a PSTN won’t be HD quality, but by choosing the right provider calls made in office or between company branches can be guaranteed HD. The trick is to make sure that your provider offers end-to-end SIP. SIP, or session initiation protocol, checks each of the end points to see what codecs they have in common and then transmits the call in the highest possible quality. In this case, the use of different HD phones or soft phones doesn’t have too much of an effect on HD call quality.

Quick Wrap Up

So, what you should take from all this? HD voice is transmitted using a wide variety of codecs , but the most widely used is G.722. To experience true HD quality it may be necessary to buy HD phones, not just phones that are HD compatible. Also, make sure that your IP PBX is HD capable, if not it may be necessary to upgrade. Finally, a provider that offers end-to-end SIP will help guarantee HD quality in the office and between branches, but for calls made outside the office there is no guarantee of HD quality.

HD Voice. The Future of VoIP?

Since HD Voice was introduced to the VoIP community a little over two years ago, it has been feverishly debated. How will it affect the future VoIP? How much better is it really? Is it worth switching to now? This post helps clarify many of the questions people have and provides a brief over of some the specifics of HD Voice.

What’s the Big Deal?

Everything is better in Hi Def. Right? Well, HD Voice does in fact provide a better experience for the listener. Without getting into too much detail, HD Voice can transmit over twice the range of audio frequencies that traditional lines can. So, if traditional lines transmit from about 300 Hz to 3,400 Hz, HD transmits from about 50 Hz to 7,000 Hz. This means that sounds at much lower frequencies and sounds at much higher frequencies can be heard clearly. Are you beginning to see the benefits? Imagine a world where talking on the phone is like talking to someone in the same room as you. Where having to call back someone for clarification or interrupting a speaker in the middle of a conference call because you couldn’t understand something is no longer common place. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

What’s the Catch?

Of course, if HD Voice were so great it would have already taken the VoIP world by storm, but like all new technologies there are bugs to work out. First of all, if a call made using HD voice has to travel over traditional land lines or a regular VoIP service the HD call quality will be lost and the listener will not experience HD voice. Additionally, since HD voice transmits more frequencies it takes up more bandwidth. Therefore, offices that have multiple people making phone calls will probably have to increase their bandwidth to avoid problems with queuing, buffering and other complications with WAN or LAN equipment. Also, users may have to invest in HD phones to get their full money’s worth. While HD compatible phones do exist, some argue that they don’t deliver full HD voice quality. Another problem with HD phones has to do with what type of codec is integrated with the particular phone system. Codec stands for coder/decoder, and VoIP systems use them to transmit audio data. Currently, there are a number of different wideband codecs that support HD. They all have different bit rates, sampling rates, and system requirements. The ITU-standard wideband codec is G.722 and this is in fact the most widely used one. Even so, the multiple variations create problems with compatibility when audio data is being transmitted between systems that don’t support similar codecs. As HD voice becomes more prevalent the industry will push toward using a single codec, but until then compatibility problems will still be a major issue. Finally, how much do you really want to hear of what’s going on over the phone? Better yet, how much do you really want the person you‘re on the phone with to hear? All of a sudden that private conversation a cubicle over isn’t so private anymore and every pencil tap is heard loud and clear.

What’s Next?

Online posts from notable VoIP opinion leaders, like Jeff Pulver, claim that HD Voice for VoIP is the wave of the future. It’s true that the technology is there, but for it to truly take hold quickly there will have to be a unified movement toward HD voice. Users will have to be willing to upgrade equipment and infrastructure. Even then HD to HD calls will be worthless if they have to travel over a traditional land line. This doesn’t mean that you should totally write off switching to HD. It’s sensible to make upgrades if the time is right and HD calls made between office branches can be useful for productivity. Overall, HD voice is not something that you should worry about upgrading to right now. However, in order to avoid being behind the curve, it’s sensible to make plans to switch in the next few years as HD calls become more common place.

Forbes, Mainstream Media, and VoIP

Last week Forbes magazine wrote up a case study of a small business owner in Cincinnati who had switched from a tradional phone system to a VoIP installation. The biggest benefit outlined in the article is the professional presence that a VoIP PBX creates, and the leverage that a small business gains from this presence when dealing with larger corporations. Unfortunately, Forbes only highlighted the benefits of an in-house VoIP system, which cost  “$12,000, financed over three years–not a trivial investment for a small company in a recession, but one that continues to prove its worth.”

The article is written for those who have no knowledge of Voice over IP whatsoever, and does a good job of explaining the technology, which is relatively new. Many readers of this site may still be new to VoIP and may not fully understand the technology. The failure of the Forbes piece however, is that it doesn’t examine the fuller scope of the VoIP industry, and makes no mention of Hosted options whatsoever. Most small businesses can’t afford a $12,000 investment in their phone system, especially not one that would cost extra to maintain. Hosted solutions provide identical benefits, but with drastically lower up front costs, and no maintenance fees.

A 5 person business like the one spotlighted in the article would have gained the same valuable professional presence, but with even lower costs had they chosen a Hosted option. While we are impressed that VoIP is forging its way into the mainstream, it seems there’s still a disconnect between the benefits enjoyed by the early adopters of VoIP and the understanding of the established media.

New FCC Rules Help the VoIP Consumer

The FCC has announced new rules for the time in which a losing carrier must release numbers to port, reducing wait times to a single day. Until now providers had 4 business days before they were required to release a number that they controlled. In the past, some telecoms have taken advantage of this wait time to make it harder for their customers to leave. This is great news for the consumer, as it means a much smoother transition to a new service provider.

The news was applauded by mobile carriers Verizon and T-mobile, who embrace the rules that make it easier for mobile users to change providers. Likewise, the VoIP industry should be celebrating this new development. One of the major concerns with switching to a new VoIP service in the past has been keeping your current telephone number. Customers that switch close to the weekend have had to wait up to a week before their number could port over, assuming that the transition went seamlessly. More often than not, several checks are necessary to ensure that all the information is accurate, and the wait time can easily grow to 10 business days. This new development will make porting a much more painless process for the end user.

In addition to faster transition times, the trickle down effect will most likely result in better service for the end user. Instead of relying on the difficulty of transitioning to a new service, service providers will need to keep their customers by providing a superior product, instead of a painful withdrawal process. The VoIP industry will benefit greatly from the new FCC regulations, and the VoIP consumer will come out ahead in more ways than one.

Read more about the announcement here

Fring Secures New Funding

Mobile VoIP provider Fring has secured $10 million in new funding. Fring currently provides and ad supported free mobile VoIP platform, and rumor has it that they are gearing towards targeting Google’s Android model. They still lack a coherent business model, but with the wave of widespread wifi and increased accessibility of affordable data plans, more and more mobile users seem poised to switch to VoIP.

Read more here.

VoIP Hardware Resources

If you are in the market for VoIP, you will also need IP telephony equipment. Here are several of the top web resources for acquiring the hardware you need.

Voipsupply is the biggest supplier of voip equipment via the internet. They have a very large selection of phones, but not necessarily the lowest prices across the board. They are the most likely to have what you are looking for in stock, but some of their equipment can be found for a lower price from other vendors.

888 voipstore

The layout is not as polished as VoipSupply, but the prices can be a bit more competitive. The selection of phones is fairly diverse, and if they carry what you are looking for, you can find some good deals through 888 Voipstore.

IP-Phone Warehouse

Has a great selection on a range of VoIP related hardware. They have a wide variety of VoIP hardware and are specifically geared towards supplying small to medium sized businesses. Their prices are very competitive and are a good resource for your VoIP hardware needs.

AT&T’s CallVantage VoIP service to be discontinued . . .

AT&T will be disconnecting its CallVantage VoIP service in phases throughout the year. The company stopped taking on new subscribers to its residential service in 2008. CallVantage rivaled residential VoIP services, like Vonage, but couldn’t keep prices low enough to maintain viability. Verizon recently shutdown it’s VoIP service, VoiceWing as well.

VoIP: from Utility to Application

VoIP is most commonly thought of as a replacement for POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service). However, the platform provides for a much more diverse range of features and applications. DialMyCalls.com is an automated mass Voicemail Distribution and calling service that uses VoIP technology. The service caters to both personal and professional needs, allowing for distribution to lists from 2 to 20,000 numbers. There is both a free and paid option, the free version limits users to 30 second messages, 1 time per day to up to 25 numbers, with branding at the end of the message. The paid option, which is priced on a credited basis, has none of the branding, message length, or call list restrictions.

We tested the free trial, and were successful at sending a test message within 10 minutes. Recording messages to send is easy (although the directions to record from a phone are a bit misleading, as the option to record a message from a phone is listed as “touchtone phone,” even though it is possible to use a cell phone) and adding contacts is equally simple. There is also the option to type a message which an automated voice will read, as well as uploading an mp3.

For marketing purposes, this type of service has a lot of potential, if used correctly. For personal use, it remains to be seen if friends will tolerate having twitter like updates dropped into their voicemail boxes. The premium service also offers text messaging, with downloadable reporting available. In our trials the phone would ring, and upon answering the message would play, but simultaneously a “New Voicemail Received” message would appear. This type of redundancy may help to get the point across, but could simultaneously be excessive.

VoIP has long been a utility, like phone service, but now more and more applications are emerging that harness the full power of the VoIP platform. This application works well and could be put to use in a wide range of time saving situations that both increase the efficiency and quality of communication. Many companies and individuals could benefit from this service, and it will be interesting to see what the future of service holds.

Vocalocity Announces Dashboard Feature

Today Vocalocity announced a new Dashboard feature which gives its customers a live view of their own PBX, allowing them to see the extension activity of their entire account in real-time. The Dashboard is an additional free feature that is now available to all users of Vocalocity’s service. Administrators are able to assign permission to users to limit the visibility of extensions as they choose. 

Vocalocity’s take is to make this feature available to all customers for as a free improvement to the feature set. Packet8 has had a similar ‘Switchboard’ option for sometime, intended more as a receptionist feature with one Switchboard available per account. Packet8 currently offers this feature as a monthly add-on for $19.99, and it will be interesting to see if the price of this goes down in the near future, with this new development from their competitor.

Additionally, there is talk of another dashboard feature in the hosted voip space from Junction Networks. In this Garrett Smith interview from several month’s ago, Junction Networks CEO Mike Oeth  announced that his company planned on being the first to roll out a dashboard feature to their customers,

Lastly, we are very excited about our own ‘dashboard’ application due to launch in 2009. It incorporates presence, instant messaging and real-time call indication. It is revolutionary in a hosted environment. (Remember that you heard it here first.)

So far there haven’t been any announcements as to a firm release date for the Junction Networks Dashboard, but we eagerly await seeing it’s release, as well as other developments in this type of feature in the Hosted VoIP field.