Log in ....Tribune--Feature article

Monday, August 21, 2000		Lead Article

Around the World in 8 MB
The Internet gives you an economical way of remaining in touch, says Vipul Verma.

Things do change fast. Earlier, it was Around the World in 80 days – a novel which generated a lot of interest. Then came Around the world in 8 dollars – a Raj Kapoor film made in ’60s. Today, the latest sensation sweeping across the world is — Around the World in 8 MB.

Well! This is neither a novel nor a film — it refers to the space in the computer, utilised by various software, which makes communication on the Internet possible.

Normally, people hail the Internet for its utilities like, information, e-mails, business & commerce. Yet a popular dimension of the Internet, which is related to real-time communication, is still not a familiar concept among the average PC-user.

A real time communication, effected through the Internet, is called Net Telephony. This concept has revolutionised the whole world, as it is a cost-effective and convenient medium of communication.

Using Net Telephony, you can see a person on your computer screen with whom you chat. However, for sending a video, some specialised hardware, like video capture card and video camera, is required. A telecommunication revolution in real sense, which might make normal telephone redundant, is on the cards.

Technically, Net Telephony or IP Telephony requires a normal telephone line, Internet connection, modem and a multimedia computer with speakers and a microphone. Just like a telephone number, IP telephony also requires a unique number called IP or Internet protocol number (also called an IP address) which works as a virtual telephone number.

However, unlike the regular telephone number, IP numbers are generally not fixed and they change each time one connects on to the Internet. Though you can have fixed IP address, yet at the user level IP numbers are not fixed, normally. This number can be had from the Internet service provider, when he establishes the connection to the Internet for you.

Basically, the telephony function of the Internet is similar to the one used for normal Internet applications as the voice is digitised and transmitted as data packets through Internet protocols. The journey of the voice is routed through several gateways and servers before it reaches the final IP address one wanted to connect with. However, the time taken for the whole journey is at times "faster than the speed of light" as it takes less than a second to connect to the desired IP address.

Net Telephony can be divided into two parts.

1) PC-to-PC calls

2) PC-to-phone calls.

Under PC-to-PC call, the computer works as a telephone. The computer’s sound card (with speakers) and microphone works as earpiece and mouthpiece, respectively. The telephone line works as a normal carrier. The basic difference is that while during a normal telephone call the sound is carried in analog format, in PC-to-PC call through the Internet, the voice travels in the digital data format.

For connecting two computers on the Internet to carrying voice, some specialised software, like Buddy Phone and Internet Telephone, are required. These software are computer programmes and have a normal phone-like interface. On installation, they appear like a normal phone and show the functions similar to a normal phone. In order to make a call using PC-to-PC software, first of all make sure that the person to be contacted is also online.

The procedure for initiating a call depends on the programme being used. For example, PC-to-PC calls software uses the IP address as the method of initiating a call. Whereas some others software use e-mail address or a unique user ID for initiating a call. Basically, the key to all these methods is same i.e. Internet protocol address of the user. Thus no matter which method is used, ultimately IP address is resolved for the user.

There are a number of software available for PC-to-PC call. Some of the popular software programmes are:

1) Buddy Phone: It is a full featured PC-to-PC call software available free and uses the IP number or the user’s e-mail for connecting to another online computer. Using this software phone can be kept on auto-answer mode, so that when someone calls, you may get connected immediately.

This software supports full duplex sound, which means that it will work like a normal phone and both persons can speak simultaneously.

2) Yahoo Messenger: Yahoo Messenger is a popular PC-to-PC call software. For using this software all one needs is a Yahoo e-mail account. Maintain a list of friends and relatives, who also have Yahoo address, through this software. Whenever anyone who is in the list comes online, an instant notification is issued and voice chat can be initiated instantly. Only one person can speak at a time as this software does not support the full duplex sound.

3) Microsoft Net meeting: It is similar to the Yahoo Messenger, except for the fact that it is being provided by Microsoft and uses Hotmail account instead of the Yahoo e-mail account. Anyone who wishes to use this software must have a Hotmail account.

4) Internet Phone: This is one of the best PC-to-PC phone software and supports both voice and video. As compared to the other software, the sound clarity is far better on the Internet Phone and depending upon the line condition, video can be sent and received. The software uses the IP address or the unique number being provided by the company. The software is not free but trial version can be used free for few days.

5) Phone Free: Yet another good PC-to-PC phone software which offers full duplex sound and an overall good communication package.

Apart from these programmes, other telephony and instant messaging applications offer some kind of PC-to-PC capability. One such example is ICQ Hear-me. However, ICQ also accepts third-party plug-ins to offer full, hands-free voice chats. These include NetMeeting, Q-Talk, and Buddy Phone, besides others.

The next part of the Net Telephony deals with the PC-to-phone calls. This is an alternative to the normal communication system available today and has given telecom companies run for their money, the world over. Normally, a call through normal phone goes through the telephone lines and network. Heavy cost is involved to maintain and build such networks, therefore calls made using this network are expensive.

Using the Internet as a medium for placing a call is a cheap and cost-effective alternative.

Place a call to get an account from any company providing these services to place a call. For example, Net2Phone is the world leader in PC-to-phone services and has a global presence. So one can buy an account of any denomination and use it for the purpose of calling. It is worth mentioning here that there are different call rates for different countries. Thus by using the services of Net2Phone, calling USA is cheaper than calling any Asian country. This service is best for making international calls for Europe, USA and Canada. If someone buys an account of $50, then he can use this amount for calling anywhere in the world (subject to limitation of the services) under different pulse rates. Therefore, if the amount is utilised for making calls to the USA, $ 50 account stretches for longer duration. If someone calls any Asian country, the same amount will get exhausted in lesser time.

Unlike PC-to-PC calls, PC-to-phone calls does not require other person to be necessarily on the Net, as this call lands on the regular phone and not on the PC at the other end. This is convenient to. The convenience has a price too. So these services, by and large, are not free.

Technically, these calls are made possible through the Internet. On a broad parameter, all that is required for routing a call through the Internet is placing servers at various places. They transfer a call, which lands on the server to a normal phone of that area. There are many big players like IDT Corporation of Net2Phone, Media Ring Talk, and Note pager etc.

This may interest a lot of persons with business interest in the USA. Normally such persons have to pay a heavy amount on communication in the form of phone calls. By using Net to phone, they can drastically cut down their bills, as a majority of business houses have toll free numbers in the USA. By using Net2Phone, one may get in touch with them without spending any money. Even students can take advantage of this, as a majority of educational institutes and universities have toll free numbers.

Before spending money on these service providers, a person must check the following:

1. The service must be full duplex so that people at both end can talk simultaneously.

2. Look for applications that use the H.323 standard, which most services use already.This accepted standard enables telephony applications and devices to work with each other.

Net Telephony is not just limited to making and receiving calls. This technology presents a wide range of other uses too. In fact, this technology can be used for sending fax from the PCs to any fax machine in the world. Though in majority of cases this service is free, yet in some cases it is available free of charge. Some other applications of Net telephony, like the Advanced Call Centre and Communicate! Pro can turn the PC into a digital secretary, literally. These software work as a complete answering machine and also utilize the Caller ID service to the screen your call. These programmes can also be integrated with e-mail.

Net telephony is a full-featured service, which is becoming fast popular across the globe.