Internet telephony in India

Internet telephony is a novel and cheaper method of communication and conducting business over the Internet. The paper presents an overview of Internet telephony, its methods, viz. PC-to-PC, PC-to-telephone, telephone-to-telephone and telephone-to-PC; benefits in cost advantage, simplification, consolidation, higher efficiency and reliability, etc., quality issues, protocols and drivers; challenges and regulatory framework; and status of Internet telephony in Asia Pacific region. Further, highlights its potentiality for India, implications of guidelines of Internet telephony, issues of concern, etc. Concludes that Internet telephony cannot make compromises in voice quality, reliability, scalability and manageability, and work seamlessly with telephone systems all over the world. Internet telephony will prove to be a boon for a price-sensitive market like India and rural telephony will receive an impetus. The Government of India may further deregulate the market and allow phone-to-phone telephony through the Internet and open long distance calling within the country for ISPs to realize “telecom for the common man” or “telecom for all” a reality.