What is IP telephony?
IP telephony refers to telephony applications whose information (voice and fax) is transported over TCP/IP-based networks as packetized data. This is a distinct departure from the traditional telephony voice network whose analog or digital signals traverse dedicated circuit- switched connections of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Because IP telephony is based on open-standard technologies and can run on any IP network, it enables voice and data convergence on a single, business network infrastructure. IP telephony breathes a new dimension into a staid telephony system, weaving telephony into employees’ daily desktop computing routine. With IP telephony, the phone system is finally at parity with the computer system in the areas of features, usability, and business productivity. Employees are accustomed to interweaving desktop computing around their daily business routine and processes. With IP telephony, voice, too, is integrated into the business’ computing environment to facilitate business workflow. IP telephony enables phone calls over a business’ private local and wide area networks (LANs and WANs).