Global communications has become a must for all sectors of business and life for our world today. With the spreading use of the Internet, people across the globe are able to communicate. This paper will address the growing use of a technology to upgrade our old PSTN system of voice communications. This technology builds off the same technology we use today with our computers and the Internet. To begin I will give an overview of the Global PSTN infrastructure from regions across the globe. Next moving into a more technical look at the technology. And finally, seeing how this new technology will affect our current Global PSTN. This technology that will change voice communications is Voice Over IP or VoIP.
             Today's global economy is starving for information transmissions. Timeliness of that speed is a must. With the old PSTN networks limited to just voice, and not able to send Data/Voice/Video, a need for a new way has grown. Flexibility is also available with VoIP systems compared to PSTN, so that future technology can be adopted and implemented with less troubles. Now let's look at a few countries and regions.
             Egypt, the second most sophisticated economy in Africa, has been taking major steps to improve their communication networks. First steps were to begin the process of privatizing their telecommunications and industries. This has been a slow process, but positive results are beginning to emerge. Egypt's PSTN capacity is at about 4,800,000 with only about 3,650,000 actually connected. Egypt's Internet has seen a recent growth not only in the industrial sectors, but also among the private sector. With Egypt privatizing their telecommunications, room for advancement is sure to grow with future investments. (African Connection)
             Western Europe like most western cultures is growing fast in the communication sectors. Growth in the use of cellular has give Europe a head start on the United States wh...