View source for Software:Softphone

{{Short description|Software program for making telephone calls over the Internet}}
A '''softphone''' is a software program for making [[Engineering:Telephone|telephone]] calls over the [[Internet]] using a general purpose computer rather than dedicated hardware. The softphone can be installed on a piece of equipment such as a [[Engineering:Desktop computer|desktop]], [[Engineering:Mobile device|mobile device]], or other computer and allows the user to place and receive calls without requiring an actual telephone set.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://s594098268.online-home.ca/what-is-a-softphone|title=Citation from article entitled - Softphone initiation|website=S594098268.online-home.ca|accessdate=14 October 2017}}</ref> Often, a softphone is designed to behave like a traditional telephone, sometimes appearing as an image of a [[Engineering:Handset|handset]], with a display panel and buttons with which the user can interact. A softphone is usually used with a [[Engineering:Headset (audio)|headset]] connected to the [[Engineering:Sound card|sound card]] of the PC or with a [[Engineering:USB phone|USB phone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SoftPhone|title=SoftPhone - Community Help Wiki|website=Help.ubuntu.com|accessdate=14 October 2017}}</ref>

==Applications==
See [[Software:Comparison of VoIP software|Comparison of VoIP software]]

==Communication protocols==
To communicate, both end-points must support the same [[Engineering:Voice over IP#Protocols|voice-over-IP protocol]], and at least one common audio [[Codec|codec]].

Many service providers use the [[Session Initiation Protocol]] (SIP) standardized by the [[Organization:Internet Engineering Task Force|Internet Engineering Task Force]] (IETF). [[Software:Skype|Skype]], a popular service, uses proprietary protocols, and [[Software:Google Talk|Google Talk]] leveraged the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://freetring.com|title=Freetring - Free calls online|website=freetring.com|accessdate=22 July 2021}}</ref>

Some softphones also support the [[Inter-Asterisk eXchange]] protocol (IAX), a protocol supported by the open-source software application ''Asterisk''.

==Features==
A typical softphone has all standard telephony features (DND, Mute, DTMF, Flash, Hold, Transfer etc.) and often additional features typical for online messaging, such as user presence indication, video, wide-band audio. Softphones provide a variety of audio codecs, a typical minimum set is G.711 and G.729.

==Requirements==
To make voice calls via the Internet, a user typically requires the following:
* A modern PC with a microphone and speaker, or with a headset, or USB phone.
* Reliable high-speed Internet connectivity like [[Digital subscriber line|digital subscriber line]] (DSL), or cable service.
* Account with an Internet telephony service provider or [[Engineering:IP PBX|IP PBX]] provider.
* Mobile or landline phone.

==See also==
{{div col}}
*[[Software:Auto dialer|Auto dialer]]
*[[Engineering:Chatcord|Chatcord]]
*[[Software:Comparison of VoIP software|Comparison of VoIP software]]
*Computer telephony integration
*[[H.323]]
*[[Software:List of SIP software|List of SIP software]]
*Mobile VoIP
*[[Videotelephony]]
*VoIP phone

{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Telecommunications}}

[[Category:VoIP software]]

{{Sourceattribution|Softphone}}