What Is Voice over Internet Protocol?

Sidebar to the article Communicating Across State and County Lines: The Piedmont Regional Voice over Internet Protocol Project by Philip Bulman.

An increasing number of businesses and consumers are using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as an alternative to standard telephone service. VoIP converts voice signals to a digital format, which allows the signals to travel over the Internet or private networks that use Internet technology. At the receiving end, they are converted back to ordinary voice signals. The technology allows both voice and data to travel on the same networks. A variety of VoIP products are available, including standard computers.

Open networks such as the Internet have inherent security problems, such as vulnerability to computer viruses, so most public safety organizations that adopt VoIP products elect to use private networks.