| 摘要 |
<p>A dedicated appliance for packet-switched voice communication is provided with a mechanism to ensure that both the caller and a recipient of voice communication having a similar appliance have a connection to the packet-switched network. Such an appliance eliminates the need for complex and expensive multimedia computer systems and Internet telephony software which requires a pre-existing network connection for both parties prior to initiating communication. In one embodiment of the invention, a caller's appliance may cause a recipient's appliance to connect to the packet-switched network through the access medium of the recipient. Another mechanism which enables switching between circuit-switched and packet-switched voice communication allows for both kinds of communication to be used by the same appliance. Once connected to the network, the caller and recipient may establish a connection therebetween over the packet-switched network to permit communication. Network service providers (NSP) which provide access to the packet-switched networks for users do not need to dedicate connection ports to voice communication and therefore can allow use of any connection port for any purpose with the existing infrastructure.</p> |
