VoIP
The biggest benefits of the latest technology in Voice over Internet Protocol – VoIP – are to small businesses, residences and home offices. It may seem a bit confusing when shopping for VoIP, but when you are finished and have found the right match, it will be worth it.
Broadband and DSL computer usage are already installed in many home offices and small businesses so adding VoIP technology will be quick and easy. This technology becomes a viable option for reducing the cost of long distance telephone calls.
Choosing to work with one of the bigger named carriers of VoIP technology will give you better customer service, a wider calling area, more features and new technology and reliability when you need a call to go through. Some of the newer, start up companies can offer the same, but you should check with their current customers to make sure they are happy with their services.
A few of the things to consider when choosing the right VoIP network for you are: price, quality of calls, customer support and service and ease of use of the hardware and software involved.
Pricing – several of the VoIP network companies offer ‘unlimited’ packages where you can make unlimited calls for a fixed rate per month. This is a good plan for a home or business because it’s a great way to budget your communications bill every month. Many of these ‘unlimited calling packages’ charge anywhere from $15 to $45 a month and come with a wide variety of calling features.
Standard VoIP features – many of the standard features with the VoIP networks are not standard with a regular telephone company and this is a great advantage. Some of these features include, voice mail, three way calling, call forwarding, caller ID, online account management and conference calling and much more. One of these features alone would cost you upwards of $7. 50 or more per month with a traditional phone company.
Contracts vs. no contracts – there are many companies that offer the VoIP services without locking you into a contract. They offer their services on a month to month bases and this works great for people who are about to move or small businesses who just started or a number of people who aren’t sure they want to stick with the VoIP networks.
VoIP hardware – with some VoIP networks, the equipment or hardware may be part of the contract and you will receive the ATA – analog telephone adaptor or an IP phone. The IP phone is a regular phone except it has an Ethernet connection where you plug the phone cord into. It makes the phone into a modem for your telephone system.
Where do you get VoIP services? – You can get the VoIP services through the Internet or through companies local to your area. They will provide you with all the hardware and software you will need to start making phone calls through the use of the VoIP service network.
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VoIP
December 29th, 2009VoIP – Saves You Money on Long Distance
December 21st, 2009VoIP â SAVES YOU MONEY ON LONG DISTANCE
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Long distance phone calls and their costs are no long a concern for many people who have discovered the power of the VoIP technology and what it can do for telephone calls today. Â
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It is now possible to save money on long distance fees when calling family and friends who live half way around the world, thanks to the latest technology from VoIP â Voice over Internet Protocol.
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Innovative, cost effective and simple are the VoIP devices that anyone can use them and save money on their long distance bills. First, one must realize that the analog audio travels over the Internet after being converted into digital data. Someone can use the largest application of VoIP technology, especially over their computer, to make long distance phone calls and not worry about the bill. There are free VoIP networks available on the Internet and all you have to do is download the software and begin making calls on your computer. There may, however, be some restrictions on who you can call, for example, the person you are calling must have the same downloaded VoIP software. Other companies have no restrictions at all.
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One way to make phone calls from your computer is with the ATA, the analog telephone adaptor which you simply plug your regular telephone into and you are ready to make long distance phone calls. The software will take care of the rest. It structures a modem between the computer and the telephone so that the calls can be made through the computer; however, you are talking on a regular telephone.
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Another way to connect to the VoIP technology is through a VoIP Internet Protocol telephone. These phones are exactly like traditional phones except they have an Ethernet connection for routing the calls through the computer. In all other respects, the phones can look like the ones in vogue today.
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Finally, calls can be made from computer to computer. You would need special software, a microphone and sound card to be able to make your long distance phone calls. There are several free VoIP networks available on the Internet as well as fee based VoIP networks, both that will make sure your call gets through, whether you are calling across town or across the nation. However, with the fee based VoIP network, it will still be less than you are paying with a long distance carrier to call your friends and family in another country. Â Â Â
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There are a few drawbacks choosing to go with the VoIP technology and that is it isnât available for directory assistance or 9-1-1 emergency calls. This is important to many people and should be checked into before entering into a contract with a company to provide you with the VoIP connection.
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Another disadvantage to the VoIP technology is that when the power goes down, the phone goes with it. Normally when the power goes out, you still have a dial tone and a working phone, but with the VoIP technology going through the broadband Internet connection, it goes out when the power goes out.
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Introduction to Voice Over IP (VOIP) Phone Service
December 19th, 2009Anyone who is old enough to remember making long distance phone calls 30 years ago would also agree that telephone communication has changed considerably over the past three decades. Certainly the introduction and mass adoption of the cellphone has changed voice communication immeasurably. But there is a new revolution going on in landline communication as well. The latest technology is called Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VoIP for short. It is also known as Internet Telephony, a name that is derived from the fact that VoIP involves making phone calls over a broadband internet connection.
VoIP technology is taking the world by storm for mainly one reason – it is much cheaper than phonecalls made with the Plain Old Telephone System (POTS). It is very common for people who switch to using VoIP over POTS to save several hundred dollars per year off their phone bills. Furthermore, VoIP offers a wide variety of services like caller ID, 3 way calling, call forwarding, and so on at no extra charge. While most of these features are available in POTS plans, they are almost always available only for an extra monthly charge. So VoIP phone service offers improved phone service for less money – who doesn’t love that idea?
VoIP technology has come a long way since it was invented in the mid 1990’s. Originally, computer hobbyists were responsible for creating VoIP so that they could use voice communication between two people who both had computers and specialized voice equipment. The first VoIP companies began delivering products to the market in 1996, and by 1998 or 1999, VoIP technology had become a topic of considerable interest in technically oriented publications. The largest VoIP company (Vonage) started in 2001 and signed its first residential customer in 2002. Within the next two years, newer companies like Sunrocket entered the market to compete with Vonage by offering the same service at an even lower price. Today, an ever-growing number of residential and business customers are adopting VoIP technology as they discover the cost and performance advantages offered by the technology.
Another nice feature of VoIP is that switching from a POTS plan is very easy. You do need a broadband internet connection (cable, DSL, even wireless) but aside from that, the VoIP company you sign with will give you everything you need. The equipment can include either analog telephone adapter (ATA) which connects your existing phone to your broadband internet connection. However, it is more common these days for the VoIP carrier to provide you with a new VoIP phone, which looks just like your regular phone but is specially made to work with VoIP.
One of the latest exciting features of VoIP is portability. On leading VoIP carriers like Sunrocket and Vonage, you can take your VoIP modem with you when you go on business trips or on vacation, and simply connect this modem to any computer at your destination (any computer with a broadband internet connection). If you do this, your phone number travels with you! No one back home will ever know that you are overlooking the beach in Florida rather than sitting in your office in Cleveland. Imagine the possibilities!
The fact that VoIP is internet-based is the only major downside to VoIP. Unfortunately, internet connections occasionally go down, and during this time there is no VoIP service. Many people get around this problem by having a cellphone available as an emergency backup. So many people have cellphones these days that this is usually not an issue. So, you can use the VoIP system for making calls cheaply, and use the more expensive cellphone only for those emergency situations when the internet is down. In this way, you get the best of both worlds.
