The invention of the telephone revolutionized the world in the late 19th century and provided communication between two people over long distances, modernizing the way humanity interacts today. However, in its historical judgment, there is still no conformity as to who actually invented the telephone. Maybe it was Bell, maybe it was Meucci.
In 1973, the first mobile device appeared - the DynaTAC. Almost 100 years after the discovery of telephony, Motorola presented the prototype invented by Martin Cooper. For 10 years the company was developing the device, marketing the first cell phone in 1983 - the DynaTAC 8000X.
With the advance of the internet and high-speed communications, the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) concept was born in 1995. For the first time in the history of telephony, this technology allowed the use of the internet infrastructure as a means of voice communication. Its development became very attractive, especially to companies and service providers for its scalability and infrastructure cost savings.
VoIP converts the analog signal (our voice) into a digital signal. Using IP protocols, multiple data packets are sent to the recipient, making it possible to communicate to mobile and fixed devices such as cell phones and computers. Video transmission with image and audio quality has also become possible.
Some important VoIP protocols to keep in mind are SIP, SDP, ENUM, H.323, PINT, RTP, SIMPLE. Later on, articles will be published about some of these protocols.
There are several ways to make VoIP calls, such as:
- Computer or smartphone applications (e.g. MsTeams, WhatsApp, Zoom, and Skype);
- Softphones installed on computers or smartphones (e.g. 3CX, Linphone; Bria);
- IP phones (e.g. Cisco, Snom, Grandstream).
The versatility of the functions available in VoIP equipment has attracted attention in the business world for its greater integration, cost reduction, flexibility, mobility, and better centralized management providing a revolution in the digital age.
