d communications, and other features available at low costs from VoIP providers over broadband networks. www.TechnicalPDF.com Large telephone and cable TV companies now commonly offer these features as well. Lower-Priced, Flexible Consumer VolP Services Adopted by Enterprises Many consumers and organizations use VoIP for their phone calls. These calls are often carried over their broadband links. Large telephone companies are transitioning their calling services to low-cost VoIP where voice is just another piece of data on the network. VoIP services include features such as voicemail, audio conferences, video conferencing, and unified communications. See Figure 5-1 for transmission of voice on carriers' networks. Because this results in the need to maintain only one type of network-a data network- increasing numbers of enterprise and residential customers' calls are now carried as packets along with video and data traffic. Without VoIP, carriers are required to support both voice and data networks. VolP Traffic VolP providers equipment Local Telco or Cable TV IP* switches and routers The Internet Cable TVor telephone cabling www.TechnicalPDE.com Local providers as Skype, Microsoft, 8X8, RingCentral, and *IP=Internet Protocol Google offer VolP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services Figure 5-1 Transmitting Voice over IP traffic (VoIP) on carriers' infrastructure. Skype for Enterprises - Microsoft Teams Consumers embraced VoIP calling because of its low prices and sometimes free service. Examples of VoIP providers include Google, magicJack, RingCentral, Skype, and Vonage. Initially, business customers were leery of using these services both because they weren't sure that the www.TechnicalPDF.com quality was up to their standards and because there wasn't sufficient security protection. However, as employees began using VoIP in their homes, that changed. Skype was the first VOIP service that enterprises used in large numbers. Their initial rationale for using Skype was the savings on international calling, and low-co