Everything VOIP

Back in the day, I was very, very interested in phone systems. My interest in phone systems came about not long after I got my first modem, back in 1982 or 83. I began calling BBS's and realized some of the best ones were outside of my free calling range. So I figured out how to tell which BBS's were free local calls, with a chart in a phone book. The chart had NPAs and Prefixs. And that was when I learned my first telco jargon; NPA is Number Plan Area or Numeric Prefix Area, which is your area code & prefix which is the first 3 numbers after your are code. Using this info I could see what other NPA and Prefix were in my local calling area. So I had lots of (818) and (213) numbers that were free to call and lots of BBSs I could call. And on some of these BBS's were telephone sections. Soon I was learning all about ESS (electronic switching systems) and old crossbar systems, basicly pre ESS phone systems which, at that time, still exisited in many rural areas. Later my attention turned to cell phones. Taking a Motorola 550 flip phone, for example, and putting it in tech or service mode just by grounding a pin between the battery and the phone. In this mode you could do all kinds of neat tricks like see the transmit and recieve signal strength, switch to differnt cell channels and even listen in on active calls.

Now we have a whole new world of voice communications using the internet as the backbone. Programs like Asterisk & Freeswitch which are a free, open source software PBX system, have sparked my interest in voice communications. People are even setting up voice confrences again, now using VoIP.

VoIP is Voice over Internet Protocol which is basicly using the internet to make phone calls. If you have a broadband connection, and who doesn't these days, you can make free phone calls using your internet. To take it one step further you can even make video phone calls. Now there are lots of VoIP solutions. A popular one you may have herd of is Skype. However, there is tons of other options out there as far as hardware, software, protocols, etc.

Now we come full circle. The reason I posted this long winded message in the first place. While I was researching VoIP, I came across one site that is a great leaping off point. If you're looking for info about all things VoIP check out voip-info.org for the latest news, info, protocols, and where to get started. Just thought you might like to know.