Method And Apparatus For Performing High-Quality Speech Communication Across Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Communications Networks

A method performed by a terminal device for receiving speech which has been transmitted across a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications network, the method comprising:

• receiving a sequence of Internet Protocol (IP) packets from the VoIP communications network, the IP packets comprising data representative of speech;
• directly converting the received sequence of IP packets into a corresponding sequence of encoded audio signal packets, wherein said conversion from said sequence of IP packets to said sequence of encoded audio signal packets is performed without the use of a speech decoder;
• and
• transmitting the sequence of encoded audio signal packets across a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) using a wireless transmitter.

A terminal device for communicating speech across a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications network, the device comprising:

• a wireless receiver which receives a sequence of encoded audio signal packets, the encoded audio signal packets comprising data representative of speech, the encoded audio signal packets received from a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN);
• a packet conversion module which directly converts the received sequence of encoded audio signal packets into a corresponding sequence of Internet Protocol (IP) packets, wherein said conversion from said sequence of encoded audio signal packets to said sequence of IP packets is performed without the use of a speech encoder;
• and
• a packet transmitter which transmits the sequence of IP packets across the VoIP communications network

A terminal device for receiving speech which has been transmitted across a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications network, the terminal device comprising:

• a packet receiver which receives a sequence of Internet Protocol (IP) packets from the VoIP communications network, the IP packets comprising data representative of speech;
• a packet conversion module which directly converts the received sequence of IP packets into a corresponding sequence of encoded audio signal packets, wherein said conversion from said sequence of IP packets to said sequence of encoded audio signal packets is performed without the use of a speech decoder;
• and
• a wireless transmitter which transmits the sequence of encoded audio signal packets across a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN).