Where did VoIP start?

Guest

Who was the first? Some chatroom?

Posts: 492 · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 4:49 pm Post subject: Where Did VoIP Start?

I can't tell you exactly where it started, but I can put you in the ballpark. I first saw what today would be called a cell phone in 1969 aboard a US Navy ship. It stood six foot tall and a bit less than three foot to a side. It had satellite capability so as to communicate anywhere in the world. Later, in the late 1970's computer telephones were used by companies to communicate with other companies via landline. Computer networks were limited to within the college campus and companies with a large enough number of slave computers. The Ethernet made it's debut about this time. The ethernet also provided the ability for the IP phone within companies. Soon after, still using landlines, the technology for the Netmeeting arrived. In the 1980's the Federal Government began to encourage what we know today as the Internet. There was a rush to take advantage of it. Many lost most or all of their money (first rule to investing in the stock market). The dust settled in the mid 90's. With more planning and more caution investors began to venture forth and try their luck on the internet again. By the end of the century IP phones were in considerable use, but limited to business. Now comes Jeffrey Citron with the idea to sell IP phones renamed Voip to private citizens. It's a hit and here we are.

Posts: 22 · Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2005 3:31 pm Post subject:

I love it. I just spent over an hour on the phone to Germany for a few dollars. AT&T slammed me almost $3 per minute when I had them. Needless to say I dropped them and my local carrier like a bad habit after that.
How long till Vonage has their IPO, would you guess?
I don't think Voip is going anywhere fast. I belive it is the future.

Posts: 249 · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:55 pm Post subject: Re: Where Did VoIP Start?

mbhn5204 wrote:

I I first saw what today would be called a cell phone in 1969 aboard a US Navy ship.

What ship was that?? I retired in 1975 and never saw or heard of such a thing. In 1969 I was on an ammunition ship, (AE 30), mostly in Viet Nam. I was on a Salvage ship, (ARS 39) in 1966 when we got the crypto alteration that removed us from morse code "Fox" to on line teletype. I retired in 1975 off a new LST that was supposed to have "State of the art" comm suite, but did not have a phone as such. Didn't even have satellite navigation, but did have the antenna for it. Equipment wasn't available yet.

Posts: 164 · Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 3:50 am Post subject: Re: Where did VoIP start?

areyoukiddingme wrote:

Who was the first? Some chatroom?

The first that I used was Vocaltec InternetPhone (no longer supported) over a dialup connection. That was about 1991. You would log on to a type of "Lobby", and chat away. Video was possible, with the best view using an adapter with a video recorder camera. There were a lot of wierd folks, naked folks on cam, perverts of all types, pedophiles....etc. Quality was good at times, but limited by software and bandwidth. The worst Voip today has better reliability. We were running 3.1; Win 95 was a groundbreaking upgrade.... haha.

It worked similar to netmeeting with the directory.

Pepperoni

Posts: 492 · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 5:55 pm Post subject:

At the time I was the Senior ET (1st class) aboard the the U.S.S Spiegel Grove LSD-32. After 35 years, now, I've forgotten the nomenclature for the beast. If you've ever been inside the comm room, there is yet a deeper inner chamber where they kept the devices that they would rather not put on display. If you've read my description of the conglomeration of receivers and transmitters that went into its construction you would know exactly what I was talking about.

You mentioned crypto gear. Thanks, I'll have nightmares tonight.

Posts: 249 · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:13 pm Post subject: Crypto

mbhn5204 wrote:

You mentioned crypto gear. Thanks, I'll have nightmares tonight.

Nope, Nightmares were TBL-13 transmitters and KLB 47 crypto devices. You were probably enjoying a URC 32 transmitter and SRR 17 receivers. I was a Chief Electrician's Mate when I took over the radio room on Conserver. I got it by default because the only ET on board got transferred to the hospital on a cruise and I was already the radar fixer. BUT.. No telephone underway except ship to shore along the US coast

Posts: 492 · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:45 pm Post subject:

We had a special vault in which crypto gear was repaired and stored. Ahhhhhhh! TBL-13's, KLB-47's I'm getting queasy. Oh, wait one, gotta run to the head. I had the clearance, but only went to crypto if there was a problem that no one else could fix.

I knew quite a few Chief Electricians mates when I was just third class. At the time, they were the last of the WWII Navy. They could tell sea stories all day long. Loved those guys.

My Radar ET was similarly whisked away by chopper in the middle of the night. I was quite short handed as it was. I had no Chief ET to support over me. I was alone except for the Division Officer who was rarely of any help.

If you needed to communicate, say with your pregnant wife at home, you could put in a chit and usually get it granted. If the CIC, or the Captain wasn't using it you stood a good chance of phoning home. A PRC-something or other. It may come back to me.

Posts: 49 · Full Forum Member Joined: Jan 28, 2005 Posts: 49

areyoukiddingme wrote:

Who was the first? Some chatroom?

As far as I know, Speak Freely aka NetFone was the first.

Posts: 492 · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 1:03 pm Post subject:

As I said, the U.S Government was first to use it. Who designed it for Government use is Secret. The first commercial use of Voip was the Computer-to-Computer type. Used in the the first used computer networks in University Libraries and Campuses. The Ethernet standard grew out of this to connect Universities together. The Ethernet Standard expanded from that to what we use today. So, the first Voip was used in Universities as a program to communicate from one computer to another.