[SGVLUG] OT: Throughput speed required for VoIP?

[Emerson, Tom]

> -----Original Message-----
> Behalf Of David Lawyer
> 
> On Mon, Oct 10, 2005 at 12:36:59AM -0700, Tom Emerson wrote:
[...]
> > recall the first "reflectors" for voice came around the 
> time 19.2k modems became popular. 
[...]
> 
> Were 19.2k modems very popular?

put the emphasis on "around the time" rather than "19.2" in the timeline of "what modems were even available..."  Prior to the availability of 19.2k modems, it wasn't technically feasible "for the masses".  I think you can get "understandable" voice as low as 4800 baud, but most people wouldn't like the quality.  I just took a look through the "iTunes" radio station list [streaming audio channels, basically] and the absolute slowest ones were 16k, with the majority of "slow" stations actually running at 24k.  Mind you, these are for "music" streams rather than "voice only" streams, but you get the picture.