Certification - October 2008 - (Page 32)

JOB ROLES VoIP Technician: Answering the Call of the Network DEANNA hARTLEY Believe it or not, there’s a technology-related job role that has been around for more than a hundred years. What is it, you might ask? When the telephone appeared on the scene in the late 19th century, the world witnessed the birth of the voice technician, said Mary Ng, senior manager of the Unified Communications Portfolio at Cisco. Today, that role is a little more diversified thanks to the emergence of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines VoIP, also known as IP telephony, as technology that enables voice calls to be made using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular analog line. “Voice over IP is still a very hot market — particularly in emerging markets,” Ng said. Voice technicians primarily are responsible for installing and testing VoIP networks, meaning they need in-depth understanding of how they work. Ng maintains that there are two specific entry-points into the profession. The first is through working with traditional analog phones or TDM (time division multiplexing) of technology. “[Typically, this job role is suited for] somebody who begins with a help-desk kind of function and realizes they really like the voice technician or the voice role [because they] typically like to work with people,” Ng said. “Voice is unlike wireless or some of the other specialty skills because you deal with people constantly.” The second way to get into VoIP is by working the IT or datacom angle. “From the datacom side, it’s [not uncommon for] somebody from a junior technician or a help-desk kind of function to realize that the network is the platform now, and the Voice over IP infrastructure 2 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE October 2008 As customers increasingly move from analog to new VoIP technology, the role of the voice technician is changing — perhaps for the better. http://www.fcc.gov/voip/ http://www.techterms.com/definition/analog http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/T/TDM.html

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Certification - October 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Virtual Village Tech Careers Dear Techie Troubleshooting Academic Connection What We Like Look Ahead Elect IT: Technology and the Democratic Process Managing Relationships in the Nonprofit Realm Interface VoIP Technician: Answering the Call of the Network Inside Certification Ad Index Endtag

Certification - October 2008

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