Agencies move toward routing calls over the Internet
Traditional land-based phone lines are being replaced by Voice over Internet Protocol.
Government agencies are moving away from traditional land-line-based telephone services to technology that routes calls over the Internet, a panel of experts and a congressional staffer knowledgeable on the issue said Wednesday.
Speaking on behalf of Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., legislative assistant Dana Lichtenberg said that the technology known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is replacing the long established method of connecting over the telephone because of its power as an technological application and its convenience.
Lichtenberg spoke at an event hosted by the Information Technology Association of America.
VoIP delivers voice calls digitally to computers with high-speed Internet connections. It is considered less costly and more convenient because an employee's telephone needs only an Internet connection and forgoes the traditional land-line.
Lichtenberg said legislation encouraging agencies to move to the new technology is unneeded at this point because "they are doing it on their own."
Panel member Alan Balutis, president of INPUT Government Strategies, a Reston, Va.-based market analysis firm, said that about a quarter of all federal, state and local phone calls now are routed through VoIP.
The Defense Department has been the most significant user of the technology, Balutis said. Service members in remote locations are able to gain telephone access through satellite Internet connections, and calls to warships are routed through VoIP connections.
Balutis said he believes civilian agencies are quickly catching up with their military counterparts because VoIP is an estimated 30 to 40 percent cheaper than traditional land telephone service.
Agencies considering VoIP include the Treasury and Veterans Affairs departments, the Homeland Security Department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the Health and Human Services Department's National Institutes of Health and the General Services Administration.
"It's clear that Voice over IP … now competes on a more equal footing with traditional telecom services," Balutis said.
Because of the significant financial investment in land-line infrastructures, agencies will not make the change quickly, Balutis said. Rather, it will occur over the next decade, he predicted.
David Jarrell, director of GSA's Center for Information Infrastructure in the Federal Technology Service, said that agencies will have to prepare their internal networks for the switch, and the technology will introduce new complications in managing IT.
According to Jarrell, telecommunication companies have gradually reduced their long-distance service prices to compete with technologies such as VoIP.
"The challenge is delivering high value," Jarrell said. "The best price isn't always best value."
Another concern in switching to VoIP is security. He said security risks on the Internet will afflict VoIP.
Robert Leach, another panelist and the Education Department's information technology services director, said the technology isn't prepared for the security threats.
"I am flat out telling you right now: The security doesn't exist for a system like that," Leach said.
Jim Kohlenberger, a panel member and executive director of the VON Coalition, an advocacy group that promotes VoIP, said security must come first in implementing VoIP.
"Security threats are like the Bigfoot," Kohlenberger said. "They're big and hairy, but hopefully you'll never see them."