Talkswitch 48-CVA manual 1Introduction to VoIP

1Introduction to VoIP

The TalkSwitch 48-CVA is a hybrid PSTN/VoIP phone system. The addition of VoIP to the TalkSwitch product line adds the ability to use a broadband IP connection for voice calls.

The TalkSwitch 48-CVA can be used in many different applications. The most popu- lar configurations are multi-branch, teleworker integration and service provider integration.

How does VoIP work?

Voce over IP, or VoIP, sends calls over the Internet or any Internet Protocol (IP) net- work by converting voice traffic into data packets. These packets are then routed over the IP network in the same way as other data, reassembled at the point of arrival, and then converted back to voice.

Does a VoIP call sound like a regular phone call?

Under the right conditions, VoIP calls can sound as good or even better than regular phone calls. Voice quality is affected by numerous issues, including how it is com- pressed for delivery over the Internet, decompressed, and how packets are processed. A few steps can help ensure call quality.

1)High-speed connections on both ends of the call: Good quality VoIP is not pos- sible over a dial-up modem connection. To support more simultaneous VoIP calls, a broadband connection is required. Please visit our site at www.talkswitch.com/voip/voip_test.php to determine what your Internet con- nection can support.

2)Choose the right CODEC for your location: TalkSwitch supports 3 CODECs (compression algorithms). The default CODEC is G.729 which uses approxi- mately 20Kbps bandwidth upstream and 20Kbps bandwidth downstream for each call. G.729 provides very good call quality while minimizing bandwidth usage.

1.0 Introduction

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