Future of Voip Technology

Future of VoIP Technology

VoIP is a relatively new technology and so the benefits are just beginning to be realized. VoIP technology has the ability to completely change the telephone industry as we know it. Big changes are in store for the way we use telephones and this section will address some of the changes to expect. Obstacles still stand in the way of progression and there are problems that need to be addressed before this technology can take over.
Individuals have some great things to look forward to. Many already communicate over the internet for free (not including ISP cost) in a simple fashion by chat rooms, instant messaging, and email. Some are already using VoIP to replace their current telephone provider due to the lower costs available. Almost everyone in the United States has a cell phone that connects wirelessly to cellular networks located in nearly every city. Wireless internet is becoming rapidly mainstream now and this offers new opportunity for VoIP technology. New pocket PC phones are being developed to incorporate support for Wi-Fi as well as cellular networks. These phones will be able to switch from the users Wi-Fi connection to cellular networks and visa versa on the fly. Currently phone calls are directed to a location, but in the future phone calls will be directed to a person. Phone service will switch totally to VoIP once Wi-Fi networks are available to the extent of current cellular networks.
Businesses are already currently reaping the benefits of VoIP because of savings in service charges. The technology offers far more than cost savings especially for the business world. Companies can get multiple locations serviced and communicate to each of the locations as if they were all located in the same building; with only an extension number. Digital music can be uploaded to a server and replayed for calls that are on hold. Eventually each employee will be able to use their PDA cell phone for both business and personal calls. The phone will connect to the Wi-Fi network in the building and all calls will be forwarded to the IP address of that phone. "More than half of network managers from organizations with 500 or more employees plan to implement VoIP products or services during the next year." (VoIPWatch.com) Businesses have some great opportunities to gain from switching to VoIP and should start to look and determine whether it is right for them.
One of the largest obstacles VoIP needs to overcome is the issue of security. Just taking a look into the email of any person can show why this is the case. Spam is rampant in email and VoIP phones would be subject to the same spam problems. Scripts could be written to call numbers and speak or play the ad on the user's cell phone. This could wreak havoc without proper laws and measures implemented to prevent this. There is also the issue of hackers gaining access to calls over the Internet. "VoIP devices such as IP phones, Call Manager, Gateways, and Proxy servers inherit the same vulnerabilities of the operating system or firmware they run on top of." (Intrusion Prevention) This means that VoIP communications can be compromised based on flaws in the operating system that running the application. There are many things to overcome before VoIP can become the standard, but the future looks very bright.

"Intrusion Prevention: The Future of VoIP Security." 2004. TippingPoint Technologies, Inc. Retrieved 7 August 2005 http://www.infosectoday.com/Articles/VoIP%20Security.pdf
"VoIP Company News." 2000. VoIPWatch. Retrieved 7 August 2005 http://www.voipwatch.com/article.php3?sid=128