VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and as the name might suggest, it is all about sending voice over or with the established TCP/IP. That stands for Transfer Connection Protocol/Internet Protocol.
VoIP is often referred to as Internet Telephony or Internet Telephone.
I suppose that the easiest way to look at it is that TCP will attempt to ensure that all data packets are successfully delivered. That is to say, packets are often lost, and in such cases, need to be re-sent.
I.P. is the destination, your computer for example.
Together, they work just fine for general computer duties through the Internet. However, when it comes to speech or voice, not unlike a normal conversation, it must be delivered more or less, on time.
Would you bother talking to someone where the conversation didn't run smoothly and consistently?
Not for long. So the object was to get as many relevant packets sent to their destination. Destinations where voice is concerned, is your computer in a remote location and ultimately, anyone's ear. We can only listen or hear at a certain speed anyway, so perfection is relative.
So, anyone that was familiar with the old telephone system, lifted a telephone, dialled a number (destination), someone (an operator), physically connected a wire/cable/conductor to the wire coming from the destination's home.
A physical path for conduction or transmission of analogue signals was established. This path didn't change much. A windy night could cause a suspended cable to sway, or a truck might physically push an underground cable further into the ground. As simple as it was, it wasn't very reliable for many reasons.
If the truck or wind exerted enough force, the cable and only available route was broken.
With TCP/IP, a range or routes can be taken as long as it gets there. It knows where to go and "headers" with byte numbers will be satisfied that any not delivered, will be re-sent.
Anyone must admit that communication via the Internet and its' components works well, when usage is compared to the old system.
Coupled with other protocols or agreements, voice can/is successfully sent and delivered. The other protocols ensure that the voice is "streaming", if you like. So instead of paying x number of dollars to carriers (your normal phone bill company), the Internet is used and a lot of money is saved.
To put it another way, if I (living in Ireland) want to phone up someone in Australia or California, my phone bill will be high. If want to browse Australian or Californian websites (these can be on a p.c. in those locations), then the price is much less, wouldn't you agree? Audible input/output is different, but most of the other things are the same. Here lie the financial benefits.
At the moment (2004), anyone can access the advantages of VoIP, with many companies offering a monthly subscription to cover their software end. Some companies offer a free trial.
One would expect that these fees would come down. How much though, remains to be seen.

Seamus Dolly is at www.smartwebmarketer.com/cgi-bin/d.cgi/seamus/
His background is in engineering and analogue electronics and studies include A+, iNet +.

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