1. Introduction

It seems everywhere you turn, you're bombarded with pitches to dump your local phone company and make all your calls via your broadband connection. (Actually, the cell phone folks also make a similar pitch, but that's another article.)

The thing that makes this all possible is a technology that's actually been around awhile called Voice over IP or VoIP. In this NTK series, I'll attempt to turn down the hype and give you information intended to help you to understand what VoIP will and won't do for you. I'll also show you how to choose the right solutions, should you decide to take the plunge.