Count me among those uncomfortable with the moniker of VoIP as applied to every possible variation to the point of having no real descriptive value. I thought it might be helpful to look at history so that we might appreciate the value of well-used terms, such as VoIP.
In the early days of telephony technology was central. Users needed to appreciate the carbon microphone that made transmission even possible. My Grandmother only wanted the best in carbon microphones. In the network users were thrilled when the load balancing coils were well applied in circuits. Pity the folks with inadequate load balancing. You can ask your grandfather to hear stories about poorly load-balanced lines. That was what people wanted to read about and understand.
In the 1960’s and 70’s while history reflects that there was much attention to the war in Southeast Asia, what was really on people’s minds was the TDM revolution. That’s Time Division Multiplexing for those who may have a fog about that era. No one wanted to talk on an old analog line over any distance. Around the world, phone companies had to get the latest in VoTDM, because customers would settle for nothing less. Five 9’s of reliability was hot, but give me my TDM. Everyone knows that.
Just as VoTDM was critical and even highly valued today, now apparently it is essential that VoIP be on everyone’s tongue. Users see it coming from everywhere –and they want it now. The great news is that you can read all about it from Reader’s Digest to the Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, most of those who have heard of VoIP are at the liquor store looking for this new brand of Vodka.
If that wasn’t exactly how history was recorded, maybe we need to consider what history we are writing about VoIP and why real people should give a whit.