Session Initiation Protocol and Short Message Service (SIP and SMS respectively) refer to frameworks that allow devices to communicate directly with one another without the need for a central routing computer. It seems rather surprising that a mere framework can so radically change the face of communication, but in the few years since their explosion onto the communications world, SIP and SMS have done just that.

The brilliance of SIP and SMS is that they are able to bypass the traditional telephony model whereby a line had to be routed through a telephone hub and maintained for the duration of a call to complete the conversation. The process of routing and establishing connection as well as maintaining connectedness throughout the call in increasingly congested phone lines is quite an expensive venture. And like all good for profit businesses, telephone companies were happy to pass the costs of operation on to consumers in the form of high long-distance bills. That has all changed, however, since the advent of SIP and SMS.

Because the SIP and SMS code is based on computer communication and not telephone communication, it is able to work much like the internet itself. That means that when you place a call through SIP or send a message through SMS you do not have to pay the cost of a router connecting your calls, but rather the technology automatically finds the person you are trying to communicate with and rings their line. What is established is a stable but temporary connection in between you and the person you are speaking with. When you are done speaking the connection is severed. That means that unlike traditional telephone companies, SIP and SMS providers do not have to maintain millions of lines that are not being used, but rather they simply rely on the very precise code built in to the phone to create and sever connections as needed. This creates a perfectly efficient system, which consequently explains why SIP and SMS providers are able to offer long-distance communication so cheaply.

SIP and SMS were designed not only with efficiency in mind, however, but also integrated ease of use in the model. Because the designers were fully aware that telephone users have become used to having a handset and phone number, this has been integrated into the SIP technology. Under the system SIP users can make calls from their number through a regular handset just like they would ordinarily. However, because the system is based on internet and not telephone line communication, the benefits do not stop there. Rather, SIP allows users to take their phone and plug it in wherever there is internet access. And when they do, they can make and receive calls on their very same phone number. So for instance, a business traveler can take his office phone with him on a trip and receive calls to the same number, on the very same phone, although physically he may have moved across the country or even across the world.

The fact that the system is based on internet communication also means that users get the benefit of paying their bill and adjusting their services all from a single website. That is not to mention extra services like conference calling, which is significantly cheaper with SIP than with traditional telephony.

SIP and SMS allow users to send messages and phone calls from around the world with the ease of making a local call. Because the system is internet based it is able to offer a wide array of services and features that typical providers are simply not able to touch. But by far the most important benefit of both SIP and SMS is the cost. Due to the fact that the system is peer-to-peer, users are able to save tremendously on long-distance charges over their much more costly land-line competitors.

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About the Author

Jim Sherman writes about interesting topics such as Internet phone service.