Translating voice calls between digital for the Internet and analogue for telephone systems is a challenging task, and that is the task that VoIP gateways perform by switching the calls between analogue and digital. They can also help direct VoIP calls to specific users. Translation from one VoIP protocol into a different protocol is another function of the gateways. This protocol translation is important because it enables different VoIP systems to talk to each other. These benefits make VoIP gateways an essential part of any commercial VoIP network that must cater for different users and uses.
More VoIP gateway products have become available to customers as the popularity of VoIP as a stable telephone service has increased. Some of the well known manufacturers of gateways include Nortel Networks and Cisco Systems.
VoIP gateways can either be hardware or software based. The hardware gateways tend to cost more than software gateways and can be purchased as a stand alone box. They do not put additional load on existing servers and are generally believed to be more reliable than the software ones.
There are many functional options available for gateway products, including fax, STN, and PBX enabled products that offer more than just simple call handling.
The basic VoIP gateways at the lower end of the cost graph comes equipped with a firewall, a router, and a telephone jack, and can be purchased for a few hundred dollars. This type of device can offer three ports: one for a telephone jack, one for a broadband modem or router and one for a computer or network device. They are suitable for a home or a small office.
At the mid range of gateways, additional functionality such as signal encryption and voice compression is offered to ensure security and efficient bandwidth usage.
The high end gateways are used by large corporations and telecommunications providers to provide complex VoIP infrastructure, and they can cost several thousand dollars. These systems have sophisticated functionality such as interactive voice response systems for automated voice response functions, and they can carry thousands of simultaneous telephone conversations. They also offer other functions like conference calling and call recording.
There are new features and functions for VoIP gateways being built all of the time, such as support for emerging VoIP standards and faster translations. Distribution of these upgrades tend to be very quick and efficient since most of them are sent out over the Internet as software upgrades.
The future sees VoIP gateways customers getting more products and enhanced features. It will allow VoIP networks to build, expand and upgrade their networks and provide better quality and even more inexpensive calls.
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