A dynamic traffic allocation model of voice over internet protocol and public switched telephone network

Abstract

Purpose

Corporations with multiple national and international sites rely on telecommunication services such as public switched telephone network (PSTN) to deal with their customers and with vendors. Over the last few years, the cost of using PSTN for telecommunication has increased, thus adding considerable cost to business. The infrastructure of the internet is well placed now, and the continued growth of information technologies have made it cost effective to route voice calls over the internet, known as voice over internet protocol (VoIP). The purpose of this paper is to advance research, strategies and a predictive decision model that analyzes the cost of routing voice‐based traffic either via VoIP network or PSTN. This predictive decision model is based on the beta‐binomial distribution, and it computes the cost differential in tariff with respect to choice of routing the voice traffic between the VoIP network and the PSTN.

Design/methodology/approach

A call supported by the PSTN involves the establishment of an end‐to‐end circuit that is maintained for the duration of the call. A call supported by VoIP technology, by contrast, involves the transmission of many individual packets over an IP network. The cost of a VoIP call thus depends in part on the number and size of the packets that must be transmitted, i.e. the bandwidth required.

Findings

Great savings are realized when optimal number of calls would be routed through CCS vendors, as determined by the VoIP allocation model. The available bandwidth on the internet is capable of supporting VoIP at much cheaper rate than the expensive PSTN. Business could still buy into PSTN service if they require secured telecommunication services.

Originality/value

The paper tackles one of the most critical problems of minimizing the burden and costs of telecommunications by PSTN and VoIP.

Citation

Lau, W., Pandya, P. and Sherif, J.S. (2012), "A dynamic traffic allocation model of voice over internet protocol and public switched telephone network", Kybernetes, Vol. 41 No. 3/4, pp. 404-413. https://doi.org/10.1108/03684921211229488