Internet telephony which has existed for some time in India, has been legalized only now. Judging from its low cost benefits, it is party time for consumers and hard work for operators who have to clear the quality glitches.

April 1, 2002 marks the legal entry of Internet telephony into India and also the end of state monopoly on international long distance telephony. For the cost conscious consumers, it is a cheaper option for making long distance calls though the clarity may not be as good as basic telephony.

Internet telephony integrates voice and data communications. It routes the communication services voice, facsimile and voice-messaging applications through the Internet, rather than through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). When an Internet call is made, the analog voice signal is converted to digital format and compression or translation of the signal takes place into Internet Protocol (IP) packets for transmission over the Internet. This is termed as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), which is the next revolution in telecom. It marks the next phase of technology evolution and ushers in an era of convergence. Despite its enormous potential, VOIP as a technology still has some way to go before it emerges as an effective substitute for telephone lines.

IP telephony means a gamut of possibilities. Voice mail can be managed from PCs and dialing can take place from Microsoft Outlook. Other VOIP benefits may include new applications like Web-enabled call centers, remote telecommuting, "follow-me" services where one phone number is accessed worldwide via the Net, and unified messaging.

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