| IP telephony uses VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology to achieve voice communications through an IP network. A major feature of IP telephony is that communication costs are significantly lower than with conventional subscriber phones, which use the local carrier's phone lines. |
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| Increased construction of data communications infrastructure is the primary reason behind the recent increases in the adoption of IP telephony. With the rapid spread of broadband, such as ADSL and FTTH, telecom carriers have been expanding the IP networks that serve as the backbones of such services. More and more companies are using wide-area Ethernet*1 service to build a high-speed wide-area network (WAN) at low cost. If these IP networks are used in not only data communications, such as Web browsing and the transmission of email and files, but also voice communications, it becomes possible for companies to reduce communications costs and for carriers to provide more sophisticated phone services. |
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| IP telephony first became available through Internet service providers (ISPs), as inexpensive phone services for their individual subscribers. At the end of 2002, however, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. announced it would introduce IP telephony to replace its entire internal phone network, and the size of the cost reduction the company was able to realize caused a sensation. Since then, IP telephony has been in the spotlight as a way to build larger solutions for companies where a high level of reliability and security is required. An increasing number of companies are now starting to introduce IP telephony. |
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*1 Ethernet is a registered trademark of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. |
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