VOIP

Voice Over Internet Protocol.

VOIP is a way to use an internet connection as a telephone line.

For a corporation, this is a great way to handle calls between facilities that would normally be long distance.

For individuals, it is a way to talk with friends who are far away.

For VOIP, you need a broadband internet connection.
Either a T1 line, ISDN, or SDSL.
With either cable or ADSL, the up-link speed may be too slow for more than 1 conversation at a time.

Then, you use hardware to connect a phone system to the network.
The speech is digitized and transmitted as data in real time.

Chas