Voip White Paper

VoIP over Satellite Internet A White Paper from Galaxy Broadband Communications

Voice over IP or VoIP is rapidly becoming accepted as a platform for communication. Visit here http://vonagevoipcalls.blogspot.com

The aim of this paper is to describe the particular challenges with VoIP by satellite, including the inherent latency of satellite connections and their effect on the quality of VoIP.
At Galaxy Broadband we have been involved with VoIP via satellite for many years and understand the unique advantages and disadvantages users of this technology are facing. We experimented with various hardware and software configurations and service providers over the years with success and failure. This will form the basis of issues and present our recommendations.

Who should consider using VoIP satellite
If you are considering purchasing a satellite Internet system so that you can eliminate your phone company and save $ 35.00 per month, we advise you to reconsider. Voice over Internet by satellite should be considered a viable option if you do not have a reliable wired telephone line. In remote areas where cellular telephones, satellite phones or are the only options to communicate with the outside world can benefit from this technology and should seriously evaluate the benefits, including cost savings.

VoIP as a technology
VoIP begins when a regular phone is connected to a local device called an ATA or VoIP router. This device converts actual sound waves into packets of data through a process called a codec. Not all codecs are equal, and it is very important that the user uses the good, especially if you use a satellite connection. These packets travel the same way as data packets to a destination (VoIP Service Provider) where they are converted into data packets of sound waves to the call number to hear.

An amusing story we like to say about Internet VoIP over satellite is a geologist working on a drill site in northern Alberta. Before installing the new system, the geologist had to drive several miles to the summit of a hill to make a cell phone call that was usually all or nothing if it connected at all. Given its billing rate per day was an expensive proposition, not to mention the annoyance factor. The newly installed satellite Internet configured for VoIP offered calling from the comfort of his camp, but if the connection is broken or has failed anyway, even missing a single syllable, and we complain about CUSS technology! Why would he react this way when 99% of his calls were good enough to sustain a conversation? You will not see himself or someone else to launch a mobile phone by the window at frequent "burps", so why the lack of tolerance in VoIP? The answer lies in a particular perception about VoIP created by a combination of confidence in new technologies and popular culture.

VoIP over Satellite Internet works, but it is not perfect. In fact, VoIP is a technology developed by itself, let alone the additional complications due to the satellite link. The voice quality can be very good, often better than a cell phone call, but it is certainly not the quality of the toll modern terrestrial telephone networks.

Satellite latency and its impact on VoIP
Latency is the term that describes the time it takes for a packet to its destination. It is usually expressed in milliseconds, or MS. Since the satellites are positioned to 23,000 miles above the equator, and satellite signals travel at the speed of light, the trip takes about 540 ms. You then add the latency of different Inte.