The challenges of Internet telephony

The still young field of Internet telephony is receiving considerable attention from many players in the telecommunications sector. This is not surprising, given that this field is considered to be the forerunner of new computer-assisted interpersonal communications. In this context, the Internet is the most natural medium, because as a single network carrying all types of data, it meets the need for service integration and offers the opportunity for massive reductions in infrastructure costs. In terms of applications, the use of the Internet makes it easy to combine voice communications with other modes of communication, whether synchronous or not: World Wide Web browsers can interface with telephony applications to enable a user to initiate a communication simply by clicking on a particular hyperlink (e.g. calling a sales agent for further information or to place an order). Shared applications,...