Voice over IP( VoIP)
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ATA � The most common form of VoIP is ATA, which stands for Analogue Telephone Adaptor. This involves connecting a standard telephone to the computer via a small piece of equipment. Once connected, you make calls in the normal way but the Internet connection is used to transmit the call. A service provider supplies the ATA box which converts the signal from analogue to digital. You simply plug the telephone into the box, as you would into the wall socket, and then plug the box into the PC. In some implementations, software is also supplied to add advanced features.
An IP Phone
� An IP Phone is like a normal telephone but with the addition of an Ethernet( RJ45) plug instead of the usual RJ11 plugs found on a normal phone. Using an RJ45 plug, an IP phone can be connected directly to the Internet as you would a PC. IP Phones have network cards built into them and can be configured with IP addresses in the same way computers are. Many new IP phones come with wifi capabilities and can connect to any wireless network in the same way as a laptop or mobile phone.
Computer-to-computer
� Computer-to-computer connections don’ t require any additional hardware. In this scenario, one would simply use the microphone and speaker on their PC or laptop and make phone calls that way. In fact, these days any networked device can make and receive VoIP calls in this way via a number of different apps. The most commonly-used is the popular video calling software Skype.