Most corporate VoIP users are focused on running voice over secure intranets, usually via a VPN. VoIP on the Internet is often viewed as difficult or risky.

"We didn't even try to do IP voice outside our corporate network," says Doug Haluza, director of engineering and new technology at Lexent, an electrical services firm in New York. "There are just too many security hassles associated with opening the network up to the Internet, and with long-distance costing just 5 cents a minute, there's no ROI worth the hassles."

True, VoIP over the Internet is riskier, says Steven Taylor, president of Distributed Network Architects, but, he adds: "The bad news about staying off the Internet, though, is you don't have connectivity to everyone in the world. It's definitely a trade-off."

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