VOIP Telephones in radio stations

 

British broadcasting corporation (BBC) was struggling with less effective telephone equipment which was unreliable, expensive and static communication platforms. The manager raised the issue and formed a committee to investigate and come up with better and quality communication strategies. I was fortunate to be part of the committee. We settled on Voice over internet protocol as the solution to the problem. A VoIP telephone system improves the audio quality, lowers operating costs and increases call-management flexibility. British broadcasting corporation switched to one of the major provider of VoIP technology known as broadcast bionics PhoneBox VoIP product (Chakraborty et al.2019).

Voice over internet protocol works by encoding voice audio into digital packets which are then transmitted across an IP network like any form of data unlike the previous switched telephone lines. VoIP therefore replaces the PSTN/POTS network that has been used in radio for more than 100 years. The difference between the VoIP telephone appliances and the conventional telephone lines is that VoIP plugs into the internet service provider. Currently the VoIP lines have been integrated into the in-house PBX phone systems. It is no longer possible to find new analog POTS based PBX because we have converted to VoIP from voice networks. Voice over internet protocol permits the users to utilize the benefits of IP transmission by converting voice into data. It includes a global reach at a reduced carriage rates when compared to long distance telephony. It can even be free when using public internet. Audio frequencies are not compressed massively over VoIP because they have conventional switched networks which bring about a good audio quality. VoIP systems are easier to integrate and upgrade with the internal LAN of the radio station because they are software driven. They do not use mechanical hardware systems associated with telephone switched circuits (Chakraborty et al.2019).

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Telephones are basic requirements for radio broadcasters from following advertisement sales, picking calls from listeners and communicating with grassroots reporters and talent in the field. Voice over internet protocols that are radio-oriented are designed to perform all functions like the former switched-circuit system that had a conventional private branch. However the advantage with VoIP is that they are relatively cheaper than the traditional switched-circuit phone lines. For instance a telephone line goes for 30 to 70 United States dollars per month whereas a VoIP line costs 10 United States dollars only and the provider connects to the main phone network. Most VoIP lines are linked with long distance because it does not charge the provider anything to connect data calls over long distances (Haindl et al.2009)

VoIP system has become the de-facto standard for other links made by British broadcasting corporation because of its high tech. It is projected that soon VoIP will be the only system to access telephone service because the world is embracing IP related communications. For example in Europe the switched system lines are scarce implying that carriers are determined to get rid-off ISDN and POTS  and embrace VoIP. It is important to note that Voice over internet protocol capacity is not determined by the physical phone lines. BBC has been able to improve the audio quality and avoid the scratchiness as well as other audio problems characterized by POTS audio. Therefore voice over internet protocol telephone systems which are radio-oriented guarantees the BBC management quality and affordable communication service (Haindl et al.2009)

Analysis

Telephone calls plays an integral role in radio lineup. They give the channel proximity and build up audiences’ anticipation. VOIP enables telephone calls have revolutionized radio stations due to the ease with which they can be stored and accessed.  For instance, airing live mobile calls, or otherwise  recording and playing calls at a later time makes radio stations instrumental and reliable. Other rival platforms such as streaming sites and social media platforms lack the capacity to perform this VOIP feature. VOIP is normally used to respond to telephone conversations together with web browser controlled from a PC. Additionally, VOIP generate a customizable interface for internet-enabled devices.  Numerous controlled locations are designed to permit accessibility to the system’s tasks. VOIP can also be designed to allow trunks on certain output. Caller audio stages can be arranged to fit user-interface and consoles from other sources (Velianitis et al., 2018). VOIP frameworks gain entry to PSTN lines through the FXO entryways. More so, VOIP setup enable the conversion of SIP trunks for usage. Normally, FXO gateways depend on the type of VOIP system. VOIP services are categorized into phone and computer reliant systems. These services facilitates telephone calls made via mobile phones, android applications or other common systems used in the current society. Unlike conventional telecommunication systems where the user only relied on analogue means to make a phone call, the VOIP is made over the internet. The calls are changed into data pockets and transmitted through internet enabled devices and copper wire systems which make the PSTN systems. Most of the VOIP service providers permit international calls made to any location radio stations can communicate with people in different parts of the world whenever one has to put up with more than one location, the VOIP systems can join the location as one and transmit the waves thus enabling communication from one place to another with ease.

 Over time, the function of VOIP changed due to the emergence of the internet and numerous ways of communicating with the people. Some VOIP can only allow one to make a call to another person only when both have the same service but others can allow people to make call regardless of the service being offered. Therefore, VOIP can be used from any location. There are three connections that can be generated from VOIP systems- a unicast, multiple-cast and conference. One on one communication can be attained through the unicast VOIP. At the same time the multiple-cast can be used to move data to a single IP location. Thus, the three connection option enable radio stations to cover a vast area from one vocal point. All the connection option are viable and reliable or radio programming and shows. In the meantime people have to be keen and develop the means through which they can use the three to keep up with their favorite radio show (Velianitis et al., 2018). One of the advantages that comes with VOIP is that they can be dispatched from any location. The interconnectivity has led to listening to more than one way of recovering from the monotonous radio which did not offer its audience a live experience. Nevertheless, it is ideal for numerous installation to be kept in place and then enabled whenever on makes a call or needs a new installation to be aligned with the radio coverage. Hence over the years, radio stations have found it easy to run their stations with few expenses due to the ease VOIP systems has generated over the years. Some of the common steps that have been used by operators to actualize VOIP systems in radio stations are- the replacement of UHF linkages in-between repeaters, substituting a leased line with a repeater. Lastly, connecting people to radio signal mostly rely on internet framework than traditional radio wave which could also be used for communication. In the meantime people have to be able to call, connection from social media platforms and keep the conversation going through radio stations and other meaningful ways.

Recommended Solutions and Implementation

 The functions of VOIP telephones within radio stations ranges advanced call management to VOIP caller identification. Advancement call management should be always prioritized due the number of audience calling in to ask questions and contribute to the radio discussions (Beritelli et al., 2013). It is advisable for radio stations to have numerous VOIP telephone features so that most of the work is easily coordinated and done by the VOIP telephone’s inbuilt system which in the long prevents clogging and delay within the system. If the voice quality is not good enough, other edition tools can be added to the system to cater to target audience. Radio stations have to use VOIP telephones in line with their own workload and expectations. The most common types of VOIP telephones have to communication capabilities and they deliver quality audio. Quality audio is mandatory for the placement of orders and even sending messages to a larger audience via the VOIP telephone.

VOIP telephones improves connectivity. A key factor in the selecting VOIP telephones is to workplaces purposes. Telephones which have wireless internet come in handy when one wants to communicate with one or two people at the same time as they do not lose the connectivity as one communicates with another. These telephones do not require a router for them to have a strong connection (Xiao & Liu, 2014). Additionally, VOIP with inbuilt Bluetooth are valuable due to the ease with which it connects to other devices and issues out the necessary tools needed to perfect the communication with more than one person. Also, the compatibility of the telephone has to be considered before purchasing the item. The voice compatibility has to be aligned with the rest of the radio system and other machinery that might be used to record the audio. 

 While implementing most elements of VOIP telephone components are to be matched with the needs of the radio station. Some radio stations need VOIP telephone only for calling purposes while others need them for locating caller identification for the purposes of keeping records and ensuring that most of the services offered are streamlined according to the objectives of the radio stations. Before the implementation, the network bandwidth has to be of high-speed and the low latency is key in the implementation of VOIP frameworks which in the long run assist in administrative work (Xiao & Liu, 2014). Low latency enables information to safely reach other internet enabled places with ease. Therefore low latency is centered on quality and heavily relies on a steady connection. Additionally, data prioritization is assessing the network condition and improving systems that might be weak in the system. Before setting up a VOIP, one has to reach out to the communication expenses used to keep the VOIP operational.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

Chakraborty, T., Misra, I. S., & Prasad, R. (2019). Overview of VoIP Technology. In VoIP Technology: Applications and Challenges (pp. 1-24). Springer, Cham.

Velianitis, G., Adel, K., Kotrba, S., & Manavalan, B. P. (2018). Comparison of VoIP and TETRA Regarding Security in a Safety Critical Environment. JCP, 13(3), 279-286.

Haindl, B., Kampichler, W., & Prinz, J. (2009, October). VoIP in ATC communications—where are we today. In 2009 IEEE/AIAA 28th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (pp. 1-B). IEEE.

Beritelli, F., Gallotta, A., & Rametta, C. (2013, July). A dual streaming approach for speech quality enhancement of VoIP service over 3G networks. In 2013 18th International Conference on Digital Signal Processing (DSP) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

Xiao, J., & Liu, F. (2014, January). Railway Freight Dispatching Telephone System Based on VoIP in Wireless Networks. In 2014 International Conference on Computer, Communications and Information Technology (CCIT 2014). Atlantis Press.