e Quicknet Technologies' Internet PhoneJACK. This is a full duplex voice card designed for IP telephony which integrates with Microsoft NetMeeting, VocalTec Internet Phone, IDT Net2Phone and other IP phone applications designed for full duplex sound cards. The card sells for under US $200 and includes DSP based compression/decompression, on board echo cancellation, and full duplex audio. A telephone or PBX connected to these card thinks it is connected to a normal POTS line. Another vendor in this space is Sphere Communications. They make an ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) NIC card with dual voice/data capability. The only downside with this solution is that a company must migrate to ATM to use the product effectively. Stand-Alone IP TelephonesSelsius has created a breakthrough product with their IP telephone handset. This is a telephone, which connects directly to a company's Ethernet infrastructure, and transports calls entirely via the network (using the H.323 protocol). At US $500 per phone, this product is a bit expensive, but these prices will inevitably come down over time. This is a great idea for companies who want to outfit key personnel with IP phones throughout an organization as part of an internal intercom system. The main problem right now is that these phones require a separate gateway in order to place calls over normal phone lines. Comparison ChartAttribute/FeaturePC Server (Generic)PC Server(Optimized)Stand-AloneApplianceMultipurposeNIC CardIPTelephoneHandsetAudio QualityVariesGoodGoodVariesGoodLatency (Delay)Poor (*100ms)GoodGoodVariesGoodPOTS to IPConversionYesYesYesYesNoPrice Per PortUS $1000to US$2000US $500 toUS $4000US $500 to US$1000US $200 to US$500US $500ScalabilityPoorGoodUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimitedIdeal ApplicationHopoff(ITSP)GatewayServiceGatewayForIPhoneUsersCorporateWAN,inter-officecallingWAN telephony,replacementfor PBXWAN intercomsystem for selectusersWANintercomsystem forselect usersVendors Usin...
