Internet telephones have the potential to change the rules for long-distance telephone companies, open the way to increased electronic commerce, and make corporate intranets more useful and productive. This is because Internet telephones can improve communication while cutting travel and long-distance costs. These benefits have already led more than 500,000 people to use Internet phones daily.
This is all possible thanks to simultaneous voice and data links between two parties who are connected by the inexpensive computer network links of today, not the expensive long-distance lines of yesterday. This means two things. First, it means that two people can talk through their computers at the same time-and on the same "line"-as they work on a shared electronic document or "whiteboard." Second, it means that Internet phone users save money because the computers they use to transmit their voices back and forth are hooked together using inexpensive local calls to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), not high-priced long-distance calls.
Recent developments in firewall software have opened the world of intranet phones to intranet users. It is thus important for intranet users and managers to understand how Internet phones work, what their costs and benefits are, and how they can improve corporate productivity.
In a nutshell, an Internet telephone is a computer software program that converts voice into data for transmission over the Internet, compresses that data for faster transmission, transmits the data in small "packets," and then reassembles those packets, decompresses the data, and converts it back into voice at the other end. Thus, the current Internet phone technology requires two users, with two computers and two copies of Internet phone software.
The minimum recommended hardware configuration for using Internet telephony products is a 486 PC operating at 25 MHz with 8MB RAM, a 14.4 Kbps modem, a sound card, a microphone, and speakers (these plug into the sound card). The minimum supporting software required is Windows 3.1 and a Winsock 1.1-compatible TCP/IP Internet connection.
Currently, to complete an Internet phone call, both users must be running the same Internet phone software program. Additionally, both users must be logged onto the Internet concurrently to initiate a "call."
The reasons for these requirements are twofold. First, each Internet phone software program uses its own protocol, so if the users' protocols don't match, they cannot communicate with each other. Second, even when the two users are able communicate with each other, they must be able to find each other on the Internet-and it's not as simple as knowing each user's e-mail address or telephone number. This is because most users do not have dedicated IP (Internet Protocol) addresses; rather they are assigned a new address each time they log on to their ISP's server. To solve this problem, the popular Internet phone software packages have each user call an "operator." This operator then posts each user's address to an online "phone book," which other users can utilize to find the addresses. This system is referred to as IRC (Internet Relay Chat).
Given the limitations that these requirements place on widespread Internet phone use, computer companies are cooperating in new ways to eliminate them. For example, 10 of the major Internet phone software providers, including VocalTec, Netscape, Intel, and IBM, intend to adopt RTP (Real Time Protocol) as a "standard" protocol for Internet phone software. This standard is expected to promote communication not only between Internet phone users, but also between audio/video-on-demand systems and video-conferencing software. (Video-conferencing software already has its own standard, called "H.320.")
Similarly, both private and public organizations are working to connect conventional telephones with Internet telephones. In the public arena, a nonprofit organization called Free World Dialup (FWD) has volunteers around the world who have set up their computers to serve as "gateways" to connect incoming Internet calls with outgoing conventional calls in their local calling area (that is, it's a free local call for the volunteer). In the private arena, VocalTec's new Internet Phone Telephony Gateway software can be coupled with a special card from Dialogic and a 28.8 Kbps modem to accomplish the same result. It calls a VocalTec server on the Internet, which acts as the gateway.
The following figures show how the path that a phone call takes will change with the advent of Internet phones. In "Today's System," shown in Figure 32.1, the caller uses a conventional phone. Regardless of whether the caller dials a local or long-distance number, the call is routed to the switch of the local phone company (the RBOC-Regional Bell Operating Company). If the caller is making a local call, the switch routes the call to the person being called. If the caller is placing a long-distance call, the switch hands the call over to the network of the long-distance carrier, which routes the call to the local phone company serving the person being called. That company's local switch then routes the call to the ultimate location for com-pletion.
In "Tomorrow's System," however, shown in Figure 32.2, you will notice that the Internet essentially replaces the long-distance company. The local switch serving the dialing party routes the call to the dialer's ISP (usually a local call). The ISP, in turn, puts the call on the Internet. The IP address of the receiving party is used to locate that person's ISP, and then the receiving ISP routes the data to the recipient's local RBOC switch, which completes the connection.
Figure 32.2: The path that a phone call takes will change with the advent of Internet phones.
The amount of system bandwidth used by Internet telephony conversations varies directly and proportionally with the number of simultaneous conversations, and inversely with the amount of data compression used. Unfortunately, the tradeoff for additional compression is compromised audio quality.
Bandwidth consumption with Internet phones runs as little as 6720 bps per conversation, meaning that even 9600 baud modems can support Internet telephony. This level of consumption is efficient for standalone desktops using a dedicated telephone line, but for intranets that are local area network (LAN) based and wide area network (WAN) based, multiple conversations can quickly eat up bandwidth capacity. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that Internet telephony software is designed to run in the background to allow multitasking, meaning that the same user can transmit other data to the network at the same time.
For example, on a network with 100 users, 50 concurrent Internet phone conversations can eat up 350 Kbps or more of bandwidth, in addition to the current load on the network. Because many networks do not operate well with sustained loads over 30 to 50 percent of capacity, this level of consumption can be significant. Indeed, it equates to almost 25 percent of a WAN T1 connection.
Techniques are available for managing this increased traffic, however. One such technique is called buffering. In buffering, data is pretransmitted by a brief amount of time to allow the system to maintain transmission during peak periods by delivering data from the buffer rather than in real time while the network performs its normal tasks. Such a technique is usually acceptable for data transmission but is not acceptable for voice transmission, which is time-sensitive. A second technique for traffic management is called prioritization. This involves prioritizing the type of data packet that will be transmitted first. Like buffering, prioritization can interfere with time-sensitive voice communications.
Most Internet phone software sends and receives audio directly between the users without going through a central server, although the server might track who is online. This means that Internet phone calls are very hard to trace or listen in on.
The basic Internet telephone software has been around since the early 1990s, when VocalTec introduced a program called VocalChat. The initial version of VocalChat allowed LAN users to conduct real-time audio conferences over the network. VocalTec then introduced VocalChat WAN, providing the same service to larger organizations with decentralized offices. Then, in early 1995, VocalTec introduced its first Internet Phone package, which provided the same service at slower speeds, permitting connections over the Internet. Although the initial version of Internet Phone was more like a CB radio than a telephone, because it didn't permit simultaneous talking and listening, this feature was quickly added.
Since Internet Phone hit the market, other vendors have jumped on the bandwagon, adapting digital audio software to the task of real-time voice communication. Most recently, the big boys in the computer world have made it clear that they too will be getting involved. By March of 1996, in fact, IBM, Netscape, and CompuServe all announced that they would distribute Internet phone software to all of their users at no additional charge.
Although the precise number of Internet users (currently about 8 percent of Americans) and the future growth rate (as much as 100 percent per year) are widely debated in the industry, it is generally accepted that use is growing fast and continues to grow. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 helped spur this growth by getting big phone companies such as AT&T, Bell Atlantic, and Pacific Bell into the ISP business, as did the recent creation of the Microsoft Network. Further, all this new competition is bringing down the price of Internet access, which in turn leads to more users. Also, the growth in use leads to growth in advertising and content, which gives even more incentive for new users to sign up.
The increased number of users, as well as the advent of industry software standards that allow a user of one vendor's software to talk to a user of a different vendor's software, increases the likelihood that Internet phone software can be used to connect users who want to talk to each other. This makes the Internet phone a useful tool rather than a toy or an experiment. New applications such as Internet fax (using the Internet to send long-distance faxes), Web page voice links, and video-conferencing further increase the number of interested users.
Also leading to the popularity of Internet phone software is the improvement in sound quality since its initial introduction. Early Internet phone software had the sound quality of an AM radio, not a telephone. This was the result of three factors: slow modem speeds, no audio compression, and no provision for simultaneous transmission and reception, also known as talking and listening or "full-duplex audio." Today's software overcomes all three of these factors and is comparable in sound quality to cellular phones. Despite these gains, the sound quality of Internet phones remains inferior to that of conventional phones. Therefore, the major software companies are continuing to develop improvements to the technology to make Internet phones more competitive. "You have the best minds out there working on Internet calling. They will make it work," says U.S. West's chief strategist Catherine Hapka (Business Week, 4/22/96). Other areas for improvement include the replacement of microphones and speakers with telephone handsets, particularly the ones people already own.
Larry Darby, a former chief economist for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), said in a 1996 report that he doesn't think that the Baby Bells will pay for expanding the Internet as traffic grows without finding a better way to be compensated. Indeed, he argues that data transfer rates are now the primary barrier to the growth of Internet use and will remain so until technology finds a solution. One potential solution GM Hughes is working on is a satellite-based Internet service.
Another potential solution is moving the Internet to the cable system, which has far greater bandwidth than the telephone system. Cable companies are quite aware of this advantage but are equally aware of its main disadvantage: cable systems were designed to send data in only one direction (to you), not two directions as is required for interactive data or voice communications. The hurdles to switching over to a cable system are technical, because two-way traffic flow on coaxial cable is susceptible to interference, and the amplifiers and routers required to permit two way pre-addressed traffic would cost billions of dollars to install. Nevertheless, cable companies know that they have the ability take both data and voice communication away from the telephone companies as soon as these problems are solved.
Several differences between intranets and the Internet are relevant to a discussion of Internet phones. These differences include the speeds at which they operate, the communication protocols both support, and the bandwidth available.
Internet connections usually operate at modem speeds of 9.6, 14.4, or 28.8 Kbps. Intranets, by comparison, often operate at much higher speeds. They can involve LANs and WANs linked at speeds of 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps internally, and operating in real time over leased lines with remote offices. This speed range is fast enough to support Internet telephony, because uncompressed voice communication consumes only about 7 Kbps of bandwidth per conversation. Faster speeds, of course, are recommended for better performance.
The Internet supports two communication protocols, whereas most intranets support only one. These protocols are TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol). TCP/IP uses relatively large "packets" of data, guarantees that each packet will arrive at its destination, and controls packet traffic. Because it guarantees delivery, TCP/IP resends lost data packets, resulting in transmission delays that interfere with time-sensitive voice communication. Nevertheless, for more common data transmission, TCP/IP is the most commonly used protocol.
UDP, in contrast, uses smaller data packets, doesn't guarantee delivery, and doesn't control its packet traffic. This "best efforts" delivery approach is better suited to Internet telephony applications than TCP/IP because it avoids the delay that results when a missed packet must be resent, while minimizing the loss by using smaller packets.
Unfortunately for intranet users, most firewall software, and therefore most intranets, do not support UDP. Hence, UDP-based Internet telephony software cannot be used on most intranets. Recently, however, CheckPoint Software Technologies, a leading firewall software provider, announced that it has added UDP support to its latest release. Thus, intranet use of Internet telephony is expected to grow as the new UDP support software proliferates.
As mentioned earlier, UDP lacks the traffic control mechanism that TCP incorporates. This means that UDP traffic can get out of hand if large amounts of data are being transmitted, absorbing excessive amounts of bandwidth. Whereas Internet bandwidth problems are the responsibility of phone companies and ISPs, intranet administrators must deal with such problems as they arise. Luckily, Internet telephony involves short bursts of data, and it should not overload a TCP/IP-controlled system, such as an intranet, unless used for a large number of simultaneous conversations.
The uses of Internet phone software for intranets will include all the benefits of Internet phones available to general users, plus the added benefits that arise from the use of this technology in a commercial environment. This is because the commercial environment that supports an intranet has already recognized the need for greater internal communication by setting up the intranet in the first place. The addition of voice and real-time video capabilities will only increase the benefits that the intranet brings to the organization.
Currently, the main benefit to using an Internet phone is the
avoidance of long-distance charges. Indeed, because long-distance
charges are time- and distance-based, whereas Internet access
charges are usually fixed per month, the marginal cost of an Internet
call is negligible, versus the $.25 or more per daytime minute
charged by long-distance companies. Therefore, the more intranet
calls displace conventional long-distance calls, the greater the
monetary savings to the organization. Because international calls
traditionally carry the highest long-distance rates, especially
when initiated from outside the United States, firms with international
offices connected to their intranet stand to save the most by
rerouting this traffic to the Internet or to the company intranet.
| Note |
The discrepancy in rates is due, in part, to subsidies and other fees included in the long-distance rate structure that do not really relate to the cost of service. These include local access fees, which pay the local phone company for handing off a long-distance call to long-distance providers, and universal service subsidies, which require customers who can be served at a low cost to help pay for service to customers who can be served only at higher costs. The FCC is in the process of reviewing these rate structures and subsidies in light of the increasing use of local ISPs to handle what are essentially long-distance communications. |
A second way to benefit from Internet phones is to link them to Web pages. To a visitor, the page would appear as it always does, but one (or more) of the hypertext links would include an Internet phone link to the page owner's designated agent. For example, a Christmas home page could have a link that would call Santa Claus. Further, because the Internet phone "packet" approach supports simultaneous voice and data, the Christmas Web page would continue to be displayed on-screen while you and Santa converse.
This application of Internet phone technology is expected to be particularly useful for online commerce. Indeed, a browsing customer could place a call for assistance, or to order, while sharing the same "catalog" page as the sales rep answering the phone. Or a bank customer could ask about his statement or loan application while he and the bank officer both look at it.
For intranet users, these external applications available through Internet links are but a small part of the fun. Internal help desk applications are another example of intranet phone applications, as are internal legal, finance, or engineering discussions. The possibilities are endless, limited only by what the company needs to accomplish. A whiteboard even can be substituted for the shared document or Web page, thus enabling inter-office brainstorming and internal education sessions.
A third application of Internet phone technology is in the area of real-time video transmission. In 1995, Cornell University developed the CU-SeeMe program, the first real-time video-conferencing link that ran on the Internet. (For more details on CU-SeeMe, read Chapter 33, "CU-SeeMe: The Next Wave.") This software requires slightly more computing power than an Internet phone does, as well as a small video camera that costs about a hundred bucks. Also, like Internet phone software, it requires a platform that supports UDP.
White Pine Software licensed the CU-SeeMe technology from Cornell and added some improvements. These improvements make the technology even better suited to intranets. Indeed, White Pine introduced a "traffic cop" to make sure that the bandwidth requirements of CU-SeeMe don't take over the network. (Some ISPs banned the original version of CU-SeeMe because it lacked such traffic controls and required large amounts of bandwidth.)
White Pine calls this traffic cop "reflector" technology. Reflector technology involves software that resides on network servers and provides the data addressing management function that is already incorporated into TCP/IP. Reflector software also minimizes the amount of bandwidth required for video "broadcasting"-transmitting video over a network for viewing by multiple users-by eliminating the need to send redundant packets of data to each viewer.
The applications of video-conferencing by intranet are numerous. The technology can be used to facilitate inter-office meetings, to reduce travel costs, to improve internal communication between workers, and to enhance employee education programs.
Any intranet operator is concerned not only that system users enjoy as many benefits as they can, but also that the system continues to operate smoothly so that one application or user doesn't degrade system performance to the detriment of other applications or users. The system operator utilizing Internet phone applications has two concerns: server bandwidth allocation and server software application.
As indicated previously, Internet phone or video-conferencing software does not present a bandwidth consumption problem unless multiple sessions are occurring simultaneously. If this becomes a problem, the cure can be either managerial or technical. The managerial solutions are to instruct users to reserve video-conferencing times or to designate times when Internet phone applications can be used. The technical solutions are to assign data priorities or to implement a data buffer.
Two types of server software may be needed to provide effective Internet phone services to intranet system users while maintaining bandwidth control. The first of these is the "operator" or IRC software. The IRC software acts as an address book that Internet phone callers use to find the network address of the party they want to call. If, however, the intranet is set up so that each terminal is always online or always has the same network address, this type of software is unnecessary. Instead, network users could keep a local file with a list of all addresses and simply enter the desired address into an IP-based Internet software package called DCT (Direct Connection Telephone).
The second type of software that might need to reside on the server is the "traffic control" software. This software ensures that numerous packets of phone data do not consume an excess amount of bandwidth. It does not require significant server space or resources.
Finally, the administrator must select firewall software. Firewall software connects the intranet to the Internet, but it has a security function that permits unauthorized users to access only designated files. Thus, an employee at home, for example, could call the company's Web site on the Internet and then enter a password to get the same degree of access she would have at her office terminal. A customer, in contrast, could have access only to public information, such as a product catalog. Because there are benefits to having an Internet gateway to an intranet, firewall software is common. Unfortunately, most firewall software today does not support UDP and thus is incompatible with Internet phone and video-conferencing software. One firewall maker, CheckPoint Software Technologies, however, has released a version that supports UDP. Other firewall vendors are sure to follow as Internet phone software gains wide acceptance in the marketplace.
In response to the competition presented by Internet phones, some long-distance companies, primarily resellers (companies that buy large blocks of time from true long-distance providers and then resell that time to individual customers), have petitioned the FCC to make new rules subjecting Internet phone software companies to regulation as telephone companies.
The big three long-distance companies, AT&T, MCI and Sprint, have sat out this battle on the sidelines, yet the telecommunications giants actually see Internet phones as big future business. MCI's head of data architecture, Vint Cerf, says, "We are very interested in real-time services-telephony and video-over the Net" (U.S. News & World Report, 4/15/96).
Will the FCC regulate Internet phones? Several Washington lawyers don't think so. They believe that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was designed to spur competition, not hinder it. They also believe that software providers are not subject to FCC jurisdiction because they don't own or operate any communication lines (InfoWorld, 3/18/96). Finally, the lawyers say that the FCC is reluctant to regulate Internet service based on the data content-that is, whether it is voice data or non-voice data-because this would open the door to a plethora of other issues, including privacy.
The FCC's unofficial response is that "[It] is not interested in refereeing between technologies" (U.S. News & World Report, 4/15/96). However, the FCC has taken actions which indicate that it will not regulate Internet phone software providers, but will instead change the universal service subsidy structure to require ISPs or local telephone companies to charge universal service fees for ISP access. The FCC also has indicated support for permitting free broadband (24 Mbps) wireless access over a broadcasting spectrum frequency range provided that use is for a limited range (distance), such as within factory complexes or college campuses. This shows that the FCC is in support of expanding, not restricting, low-cost information and multimedia access.
After the basic hardware requirements previously outlined have
been met, each intranet client will want to lay hold of several
tools. The first tool is the Internet phone software itself, and
the first thing to know about choosing between vendors is whether
the particular intranet is set up with permanent network addresses,
thus permitting the use of DCT-based software, or whether a central
operator will be required to keep track of each user's address
while online, thus necessitating the use of IRC-based software.
Table 32.1 lists the major phone vendors.
| Company | Product | Price and Availability | |
| ITEL | WebPhone | Retail stores, about $50 | |
| VocalTec | Internet Phone | Retail software, about $50 | |
| Quarterdeck | WebTalk | Free trial download from http://www.qdeck.com | |
| Freetel | Freetel | Free download online at http://www.freetel.com |
In addition to these dedicated software packages, Internet phone software soon will be available from major vendors such as IBM and Netscape. IBM has announced that its product, IC Phone, will be incorporated into all new IBM personal computers starting in mid-1996. Netscape plans to incorporate Internet phone software into version 3.0 of its Netscape Navigator software, based in part on its acquisition of InSoft, an Internet video-phone company. Both IBM and Netscape are expected to make the basic program versions available for free download on the Internet. Additionally, CompuServe has announced that it will provide free copies of VocalTec's Internet Phone software to all of its members.
The second client tool to consider is video-conferencing software. The use of video-conferencing also requires a digital video camera, such as the Connectix. Both Connectix and White Pine offer video-conferencing software. A company called VDOLive also puts out a video product that is useful for intranet users, but it provides video broadcasting, not video-conferencing.
The third client tool is the appropriate firewall software. As of May 1996, the only major firewall software vendor that supports Internet telephony applications is CheckPoint Software Technologies.
The fourth client tool is bandwidth management software. This software will be dictated by the type of network being run, such as Ethernet, FDDI, or token ring. For systems running on Cisco equipment, the operating system can be programmed to manage the traffic. For other types of systems, White Pine's reflector software might do the trick.
Of course, if you're still wondering where the sound comes out of your old PC, there are a few tools you will need before all others: a sound card, speakers, and a microphone. Kingston Technology Corp. has announced a new sound card that will include a modular telephone jack that will permit Internet or intranet users to use a stand-alone modular telephone in place of a microphone and speakers. This will make Internet phone conversations feel more like conventional ones and will offer more user privacy than speakers.
Internet telephony and video-conferencing are great tools for businesses and consumers, whether run on intranets or over the Internet. Although low-cost long-distance telephone service might or might not happen, depending on how long-distance rates are set in the future, improved commerce, education, and worker productivity are certain.
Companies not yet familiar with the benefits of these applications should begin becoming familiar immediately or prepare to be outsold and outperformed by their competitors. As Internet usage greatly increases among the consuming public, companies that don't provide Web-based voice links will be seen as less customer friendly, with less customer information and with less time and fewer resources with which to make sales. Internally, companies that don't hop on the Internet phone bandwagon might find a lack of communication between geographically separate offices or divisions rather than an emerging national or international team of workers. Finally, increased business efficiencies, as well as the attendant cost and time savings of those efficiencies, will come easier and quicker to companies that master the multimedia applications of their computer networks.
Use caution when implementing and distributing Internet phone and video-conferencing software to a large number of employees. The novel level of interactivity permitted by this software might make it prone to abuse by employees (in terms of time), resulting in unnecessary bandwidth consumption. Therefore, we suggest seriously considering traffic management through both consultations with the software provider and internal usage regulations. With a few simple rules and precautions, the transition to real-time multimedia communication will prove a terrific investment.