23. A computer-readable medium storing computer executable instructions that when executed, causes a processor to: extract a plurality of features of a speech signal, the plurality of features being used for voice recognition; detect voice activity within the speech signal, divide the speech signal into speech frames and non-speech frames, wherein speech is detected in the speech frames and speech is not detected in the non-speech frames, provide an indication of detected voice activity, and generate output including the speech frames and excluding the non-speech frames; and transmit the indication of detected voice activity and the output that includes the speech frames and excludes the non-speech frames over a wireless network to a voice recognition device in a distributed voice recognition system, wherein the indication of detected voice activity is transmitted over a separate channel than the output to identify the non-speech frames that were excluded from the output.
27. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the instructions upon execution further cause a processor to: transmit the output at a lower bit rate during silence periods than during non-silence periods.