
the making of telephone calls by digitizing the sound and transmitting it through the Internet. This is often a much cheaper alternative to conventional long-distance or international calling, but there can be delays or loss of quality when the requisite parts of the Internet are congested with heavy traffic.
Originally, Internet telephony was only possible when the people on both ends were using computers with soundcards, microphones, and special software. More recently, Internet telephony gateways have been established that allow calling from and to ordinary telephones.
Industry Associations
Enterprise Computer Telephony Forum
Suppliers, developers, systems integrators, and users of computer telephony technologies. Seeks to bring interoperability to computer telephony. Serves as a forum for the discussion and evaluation of emerging computer telephony ...
Founded: 1995
Dues: passport, $99 annual; user, $1,500 annual; auditing, $2,500 annual; small company principal, $6,000 annual; principal, $12,000 annual.