VoIPing For The US Military

VoIPing For The US Military

VoIP services globally are being used by military more and more. Just recently, the decision to block South Korea-based U.S. military community members from making phone calls via the Internet has been put on hold.

In the Philippines where the bases are large and expand into the local community, VoIP services are becoming popular. 3-4 times a week I receive emails from soldiers in Iraq looking for VoIP services in Iraq and potentially satellite internet providers.

How many US military bases are there in the world? This vast network of American bases on every continent except Antarctica actually constitutes a new form of empire, one that has individuals on it who require communication. People who have family far away. Back in the days of the Roman empire or World War 1 or 2, we may have had Mail, Radio, and messengers, but now we have Internet and with it comes cheap real time communications with VoIP, Email, and Instant Messengers. The Pentagon currently owns or rents 702 overseas bases in about 130 countries and has another 6,000 bases in the United States and its territories. The military high command deploys to our overseas bases some 253,288 uniformed personnel, plus an equal number of dependents and Department of Defense civilian officials, and employs an additional 44,446 locally hired foreigners. Thus, the number easily exceeds an active market of 500,000 people who could use this form of communication to talk to family and friends.

Soldiers say it’s a very popular way for them and others they know to call families left behind in the States. Each service is different, but generally the companies allow people to make unlimited calls to the States for a package price, and give their families a local number to reach them. Saving them money and their families.

VoIP is in essence the life line of US Military during their one year or two year assignments.

Within these countries, Telecom and VoIP providers still monopolize the market, with no unlimited plans and no cheap monthly fees, it’s all double, triple the prices – and in most cases do not offer US phone numbers. In some ways, the US military bases are upholding the American way of fair competition by side stepping most laws and desires to keep VoIP out of the Country by importing their Lingo, Vonage, or own system using Asterisk.

Instead, if soliders used the local services their VoIP to call America would pay the same rate, about 13 cents a minute, as they would using a normal home phone. And calls from the States to customers here would be billed at normal international long-distance rates.

Protecting the right for Military bases internationally to use VoIP and internet access freely is an important initiative for the sanity of the soldiers on assignment.

One suggestion would be setting-up a gateway on each base, all 702 overseas bases with the local telephone provider, and possibly the other 6,000 bases. With POP’s in over 6,000 cities in the United States and 702 internationally, communications would be relatively free in all areas, basically lowering the costs to all military personnel. You never know, this could be the development of a Global VoIP Service provider.

For the US Military and security, each one of these POPs and the individual users should really be put into a virtual private network and encrypted. In this manner, threats like those from South Korea to block US soldiers ability to use VoIP would be next to impossible as they could not tell the encrypted packet for VoIP from any data encrypted packet. Thus, the US could freely use service that they control internationally without ever discomforting their soldiers.

If you were to ask me how I would do it, well, here is the simple explanation:

- Robust database servers to set-up all of the soldiers

- A cluster of SIP servers and Gateways in each location, with the Gateway connected to the local telecommunications company to terminate local calls directly from the military bases to the local lines.

- Deploy analogue telephone adapters to each of the soldiers homes with internet access or deploy a WIFI encrypted access for the entire base, and use VoIP/WIFI phones. (You local VoIP Cell Phone basically, allowing them to walk the base with a home phone.)

- A web server for them to access their data and services, see their calls made and keep track of billing.

- A CISCO VPN cluster of servers to be placed with each gateway to ensure the world is not listening to our soldiers and can not block there communications in the encrypted data packets.

This is just a snap shot, but that’s what I would suggest for just about any military. Vocalscape has all of this available technology and knowledge deployable for any use globally. Give us the project, we will build the empire.

Author: Ryan Gibson, Gibson@vocalscape.com

The Future Is Hear!

Comments

[Allie]

Hello Ryan:

I am working on a research paper for my communications class. I am curious if you are still in contact with any marines. I want to know how accesible contacting home is with all of our technological advances. I know that Cisco IP Phones are "the best." I need to know if these phones work and how well.

If you could offer any information or contacts I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

Regards,
Allie

[anonymous]

For the longest time I am using tringotel VoIP service because they are so much cheaper than any other service, and the shipping charges are absolutely free and I guess tringotel have merged with Sunrocket.

[Garv]

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