VoIP & ATA Comparison

ATA enables ordinary telephones to access VoIP.

Voice over Internet Protocol is commonly known as "VoIP." It's a method of carrying sound over data networks. An Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA) gives you access to VoIP services from a standard home telephone.

Features

Traditionally, A VoIP service requires a computer running special software, which converts sound picked up by an attached microphone into a digital signal. This signal is then transported over the Internet. Protocols involved in this process include Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which emulates the call creation functions of a regular telephone system (ringing, busy tone, etc). The ATA protocol is the reverse of this; it converts a regular telephone's functions to VoIP by emulating a computer.

Function

People who don't have a computer are unable to use traditional VoIP systems. You may feel uncomfortable making calls on any equipment other than your familiar home telephone, in which case an ATA would allow a VoIP provider to offer its services to you.

Convergence

Providers of VoIP realize that the general public is more comfortable with a product that looks like a telephone, and so they produce their own handsets with VoIP software and modem built in. This removes the need for a computer for VoIP and removes the necessity of installing an ATA as a separate device to use a conventional telephone.

References

• Skype: About Skype
• VoIP Service Providers Resource: VoIP Telephone Adapters