Internet Telephony

Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks,services, and applications. The rapidly developing technology can convert analog voice input todigital data, send it over available networked channels, and then convert it back to voice output.Traditional circuit-switching networks such as telephone lines can be used together withpacket-switching networks such as the Internet, thereby merging communication modes such as email,voice mail, fax, pager, real-time human speech, and multimedia videoconferencing into a singleintegrated system. Because Internet telephony allows the interchangeable and seamless use of phones,computers, personal digital assistants, TV cables, wireless, and Web technology, myriad combinationsbecome possible.The transformation of the Internet from a network application using phone lines to ageneral communications infrastructure through which voice is but one of many data types offered hasa wide impact on applications, architectures, networks, economics, public policy, industrystructures, regulation, and service providers. This book explores these and other issues, andconsiders future scenarios as Internet telephony continues to alter the communicationslandscape.Contributors David D. Clark, Daniel Fryxell, William Lehr, Brett Leida, Terrence P.McGarty, Lee W. McKnight, Philip Mutooni, Husham Sharifi, Marc S. Shuster, Marvin Sirbu, DavidTennenhouse, Kanchana Wanichkorn, Jonathan Weinberg.

William Lehr is an Associate Research Scholar at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and Associate Director of the MIT Internet and Telecoms Convergence Consortium.