VoipArticle.com

Debbie Jacobsen

Although cable broadband internet is a whole lot faster than dialup, I usually experience a slight delay when opening a webpage. Perhaps most people don’t notice the latency associated with cable internet, but as a former DSL user it got my attention right away. I noticed a distinct difference in speed between cable and DSL, but I realized I had to live with it in order to use internet phone service in the most economical way. DSL requires a phone line, which requires telephone service - so if you want to replace your land line phone with low cost internet phone service, the only option is to use cable or T-1 for internet.

With my internet phone up and running over cable broadband, the voice quality was better than expected. I noticed no big difference between VoIP and my land line phone, but did experience “dropped” calls and “incomplete” calls periodically. This is due to the latency in my broadband connection, but since VoIP saves me over $500 a year (unlimited calling for less than $20 a month) an occasional dropped call is fine with me!

While flipping through a computer magazine, I spotted an ad for the Hawking Broadband Booster. This device is designed to eliminate the “lag” in your internet connection by monitoring the data that is coming and going and re-prioritizing the packets. It installs between your cable modem and router, and acts like a “traffic cop”, eliminating congestion by ensuring that both router and modem get nice even streams of data. In an attempt to decrease the latency with my cable modem, I decided to try out this device. Although it is a bit pricy (around $100), I figured I could always return it if it didn’t work as claimed.

The broadband booster was really easy to install (just connect two cables and restart your cable modem) and required no configuration whatsoever. The device is tiny (2″ X 4″) and weighs only an ounce or so. I noticed an immediate improvement in my internet connection, although there is still a very slight lag. In the past several weeks I have logged nearly 3000 minutes on my VoIP service and have not experienced any dropped or incomplete calls. I am very satisfied with the Hawking Broadband Booster (HBB1), and recommend it to anyone using broadband and/or internet phone service. Although I am not a gamer, the company claims it really helps with online playing as well. Many people with satellite internet cannot use VoIP due to the inconsistent satellite signal. If satellite internet is your only choice for broadband, it may be worth your while to give this little device a try.

© 2005 Debbie Jacobsen, all rights reserved
About the Author

Debbie Jacobsen is an IT professional and owner of http://www.saveonphoneservice.com - an informative website about internet phone service as well as a comparison of VoIP providers. To read more of Debbie’s articles on VoIP, please visit her blog at http://djvoip.blogspot.com.

Ron King

There are 2 basic VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) provider options: free services or paid providers that charge a monthly fee. Making that choice depends on how you plan to use VOIP.

If you just want to chat with friends and family over the Internet, a free service may be adequate. If you’re looking for a true alternative to normal phone service, however, consider a VOIP service with a paid package deal.

Package Choices

There are so many choices. To determine which is the best service for your money, you must decide which services you need, and whether you want to quit your existing telephone service completely.

Most VOIP providers offer package plans with free calls to a designated geographical area. Nearly all providers offer free call waiting, call display, and conference call services.

Even though the basic package for a similar fee is the same with most providers, there is a great rivalry between VOIP service providers, with each striving to offer services that set them apart from their competitors. To make the right choice, you’ll have to check several packages to find the best for your needs.

For example, if you make a lot of overseas calls, a package that includes international calls makes sense. Or if you receive most of your calls from a specific city, get a package that offers a specific phone number that allows people to call you at that local rate.

Service and reliability are other critical factors when selecting a VOIP provider. This information is available from reviews on the internet or by asking your friends which providers they use. One suggestion is to find a provider offering a money-back guarantee.

Find out how much bandwidth is required for a particular VOIP service. If the information is not available from the company’s web site, send an e-mail to verify that your broadband connection is suitable for their VOIP service. Usually 128 kbps on the upload side is sufficient.

Problems

Emergency calls are 1 of the technical drawbacks with VOIP, because it’s hard to determine your physical location on VOIP calls. 911 calls may not be routed to the correct call center, and if they are, operators can’t establish your location if you are unable to communicate. The Federal Communications Commission, in the United States, is demanding that VOIP service providers find a solution.

Providing phone service during a power outage is another technical problem. Since VOIP requires electrical current to operate modems, in a power outage the VOIP phone line goes dead. One solution is to use a computer with a battery backup. Another is an electrical generator to provides emergency household electricity.

Finally, you may want to retain your existing phone service after signing up for VOIP. Not all providers offer this service, so if it’s important, verify that ability in advance.

About the Author

Ron King is a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer. Visit http://www.voip-solutions-now.com to learn more about this subject.

Copyright 2005 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the resource box is left intact.

Michael Lemm

VoIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocol, is an enigma for many. There are many flavors of VoIP and many pros and cons that you need to be aware of when considering which service to choose. One goal of this article is to help you decipher through the technospeak so that you can make an informed decision that will save you time and money.

The first thing you need to know about VoIP Service is that it can replace your local phone company. Whether you have just one POTS (plain old telephone service) line or a voice T1 (24 bundled dedicated lines), a VoIP solution is meant to replace your phone company. Instead of using your local phone company’s voice connection, VoIP will digitize your voice signal and send it over an internet connection.

In order for your voice to transmit digitally through the internet, you need to be sure you have enough bandwidth to facilitate the communication link. A minimum of a DSL line is required, but most larger companies will want a T1 line - a dedicated link directly to the internet that is guaranteed to be up over 99.999% of the time. Since you will be entrusting all of your business voice communication to this new technology, your connection to the internet becomes the critical link and you don’t want to risk a company-wide phone outage to save a few hundred dollars on your bandwidth connection. To help with this DS3-Bandwidth.com has developed software that will allow you to generate a T1 or DS3 price in just seconds.

Once you have your high-speed internet connection taken care of, it’s time to select a VoIP Service Provider - the company that will actually route your digitized voice signal to a real telephone on the other end. In essence, your VoIP Carrier will become your long distance carrier. The service providers Business-VoIP-Solution.com work with offer unlimited telephone calls to the United States and Canada, all for one fixed price. That’s a good place to start your search. For companies who average more than $40 in local and long distance usage per employee, VoIP is well worth the initial investment.

There are likewise other hidden benefits of VoIP Service, the main benefit being the reduced bandwidth required to conduct a regular telephone conversation. Since a VoIP transmission only requires 32KB of bandwidth, you can fix up to 24 ‘VoIP lines’ on a data T1, and still have 768KB left over for dedicated high-speed internet access! This means that you can migrate your entire phone system on to your existing T1 and still have half of the bandwidth allocated for data.

Other benefit of VoIP lies in the prioritization of the digitized voice signals that are generated when you speak. In the event no one is talking, the VoIP line does not transmit any data. This allows your T1 line to dynamically allocate bandwidth as it is needed, instead of permanently blocking out an entire channel of data.

Lastly, the MAJOR benefit of VoIP telephone systems is that they come with a very rich feature set. Some common features include: Unlimited Minutes,,Local Number Porting (LNP), Personalized Voicemail, Unlimited In-Network Calling, Caller ID, Caller ID Blocking, Call Waiting, Call Waiting ID, Call Forwarding, 3-way Conferencing, Call Return *69 activates, Online Management & Billing, Choose Your Own Area Code, *70 Call Waiting Disable, *78/*79 Do Not Disturb, *77/*87 Anonymous Call Blocking, Distinctive Ringing for Virtual Numbers, Virtual Phone Numbers all over the world, Enhanced 911, and Toll Free Services. You just can’t get all that service with regular phone service without paying extra fees and surcharges. These features are standard with most business VoIP plans!
About the Author

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire
Communications….including DS3-Bandwidth.com and Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation with the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

Juston Garland

Is your phone bill getting out of sight, like ours did? We were disconnected from Verizon, so we looked elsewhere. What we found was Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) services through our cable. So far, we have liked the services we have received, and we would like to share the advantages and disadvantages of switching to VOIP.

Advantages of VOIP services

You get to make free long distance calls, and you get all the free features such as caller id, call waiting, three-way calling, voice mail and more.

VOIP cost about half the cost of traditional phone services and it seems that the taxes and surcharges are much lower. Also your bill is easier to understand and it can be viewed via the Internet. You can track all of your incoming and outgoing calls and the minutes that you are using with real time reporting.

Great instant online and phone customer support that is far better than the service that you receive through the big companies. There are no holding problems, delays, or automated calls.

Disadvantages of VOIP services

Sometimes you hear an echo sound through your phone; it sounds like you are repeating yourself. Also if your cable or DSL goes out, so does your phone line.

There is no emergency reliability. Maybe you will never need it, but if you have to use 911, you have to give exact address and name. They have a hard time tracking where you are and this could cost you valuable seconds.

You must have a DSL router or a second computer set up to run a second phone line. With traditional phone services, a phone jack is in almost every room.

Research your choices

Copyright 2003 - 2005 “http://www.nationwidebillrelief.com , Inc.”.

Use due diligence in order to make a wise choice in choosing your phone service. We hope this advice is helpful for you in making a sound choice on your home telephone service.

About the Author

Juston Garland Partner with http://www.Nationwidebillrelief.com which provides quick and easy access to the best deals available in Internet services, home loans, local and long distance services, home and auto insurance. Visitors can compare prices and find the providers that can best meet their needs and current budget - all for free

Alan Ocab

VOIP stands for “Voice over Internet Protocol” and it’s going to
change the way you think about making long distance phone calls.
This technology turns analog audio signals (like the sounds you
hear when talking on your regular telephone) into a digital
signal (which is then transmitted over the Internet.)

So why is VOIP a threat to communications industry? Because it
means that by getting your hands on some of the free software
that’s readily available, you can totally bypass your telephone
company, and start making long distance phone calls for free!

This revolutionary technology has the ability to totally change
the phone system of the entire world! Maybe you’ve seen
television commercials for one of the pioneers of VOIP - Vonage.
It brands itself as the “broadband telephone company”, and
offers enticing perks to customers who switch to its service,
like low-cost 800 numbers, very cheap international rates (fees
are waived from the U.S. to Canada, and how about .03 cents a
minute to call Paris?)

But Vonage isn’t the only company who is interested. AT&T is
setting up VOIP calling in several areas of the U.S. and there
are other major players on the scene as well, such as Skype, who
is relying on viral advertising to get the word out.

One of the really interesting thing about VOIP is that there’s
not just one way to make a call. There are three:

1) ATA (analog telephone adaptor) - is the most commonly used
VOIP method right now. Using the ATA, you connect your regular
telephone to your computer or Internet connection. The ATA is an
analog-to-digital converter and it takes the analog signal from
your phone and converts it into digital data and transmits it
over the Internet.

This is how Vonage does it, and AT&T ’s CallVantage will be
doing it. The ATA is free with their services. And using an ATA
is so simple that anyone can do it. Open the box, plug the cable
from your phone into the ATA instead of the wall socket, and
you’re set. Depending on your computer, and where you live, and
what type of Internet connection you have, you might have to
also install the software onto your computer, but even my
grandmother knows how to do that these days.

2) IP Phones - They look just like the phones we are used to.
They have a handset, cradles and buttons. But IP phones use an
RJ-45 Ethernet connector instead of the standard RJ-11 phone
connectors. They connect directly to your router and all the
hardware and software is already built inside to handle your IP
calls. Look for Wi-Fi IP phones to be available in the near
future, which will allow you to make VOIP calls from any Wi-Fi
spot. (Can you see the power of that? Just take your IP phone
with you when you travel, and stop in at any Internet caf?,
hotel or other location where you can use your Wi-Fi laptop, and
you can “phone home” wherever home happens to be!

3) Computer-to-Computer. Arguably the easiest way to use VOIP.
Not only do you not have to pay for long distance calls, there
are several companies that are offering free or low-cost
software right now for you to make use of the VOIP technology.
All you need is the software, a microphone, speakers a sound
card and a broadband or cable DSL Internet connection, and your
loved ones sound as if they’re in the next room. And, except for
your normal monthly ISP fee, there is no charge for any
computer- to-computer call.

Most likely, you have been using the VOIP technology without
even being aware of it, any time you’ve made a long distance
telephone call recently. Many of the major phone companies are
already using VOIP technology to reduce their own bandwidth.
It’s a simple matter of routing thousands of phone calls through
a circuit switch and into an IP gateway. Once received on the
other side of the gateway, the calls are decompressed,
reassembled and routed back to a local circuit switch.

IP telephony is the wave of the future. It makes sense in terms
of ROI, from both an economic and infrastructure point of view.
It may take some time, but eventually all of the current
circuit-switched networks that are in use today will be replaced
by packet-switching technology. More and more businesses are
already installing VOIP systems. And as the technology makes our
way into our everyday language our lives, and our homes, it will
continue to grow in popularity.

Forrester Research predicted that nearly 5 million U.S.
households will have VOIP phone service by the end of this year.
The two biggest advantages for home users so far are price and
flexibility.

Currently, most VOIP phone companies offer plans similar to that
of cell-phone companies - what are commonly called “minute-rate”
plans for as little as $30 a month. And as with cell-phone
plans, you can also get unlimited plans for around $79 a month.
With the elimination of long-distances charges, unregulated
charges, and all the freebies that come standard with your VOIP
service, it can actually amount to a significant savings for
you. For example, you may be paying extra for features like:
call waiting, 3 way calling, call forwarding, caller I.D.,
repeat dial & last call return

With VOIP, they come standard. And then there are some advanced
features that make VOIP something worth looking into. With some
carriers, you can set up call-filtering options, and actually
have some control over how calls from certain numbers are
handled. For example, you can: forward the call to a particular
number, send the call directly to voicemail, give the caller a
busy signal, play a “not in service” message and send the caller
to a funny rejection hotline

With most VOIP services, you can also check your voice mail on
the Internet, or attach messages to an email that is sent
directly to your computer or handheld. (By the way, if you’re
interested in any of these features, not all VOIP companies are
created equal, so do a little shopping around first, because
prices and services do vary).

The second benefit that makes VOIP so attractive for home and
small business users is the flexibility. With VOIP you can make
a call anywhere you can get broadband connectivity. Since the IP
phones or ATAs broadcast information over the Internet, they can
be administered by any provider. For business travelers, this
means they can take their phone or ATA with them on the road,
and never miss a home phone call!

By using a softphone, (which is client software that loads your
VOIP service onto your desktop or laptop), you can make calls
from your laptop anywhere in the broadband-connected world, with
just a headset and microphone.

We could easily see here that tremendous opportunities also
abound for the industry participants. It just depends on how you
see VOIP a threat or an opportunity.

About the author:


Alan Ocab is the Chief Knowledge Officer of VOIPService.Visit
http://www.thevoipservice.info

Scott Knutson

The fact that the Internet opened up a whole new world of communication options has not been lost on those providing telephone service - or on those who spend lots of money on voice communication. The ever-changing technology and emerging market for more cost-effective and better communication is creating a demand for people who can create, design and install VoIP systems. There’s also a growing market for those who can repair and maintain those systems.

So what’s so great about VoIP and Internet telephone systems? Cost is probably one of the biggest benefits touted by the companies providing the services and one of the biggest reasons so many people are ready to try the market. With VoIP and Internet telephone options, there’s no cost for long-distance calls - even to foreign countries which is typically very expensive for those companies that make those kinds of calls. Think it’s impossible that someone would offer unlimited long-distance for nothing? You actually already have that option already in the form of email and chat. All you need is a microphone for instant voice communication in a chat room, and that form of communication is free with your paid Internet connection.

VoIP and Internet telephone systems just take that to the next level through a voice communication system that allows faster and clearer streaming than through a traditional Internet computer connection.

So if it’s so great, why isn’t everyone using VoIP and Internet telephone service? There are some drawbacks. The first and most important is availability. Though this is improving, you may not be able to connect to your VoIP or Internet telephone connection from just anywhere you happen to be. For busy company officials and even individuals, this is a serious lack that makes the system less attractive.

Another drawback comes in the form of emergency calls. According to some sources, the VoIP systems are seriously inadequate in emergency situations. Because of limited availability of services, it’s very possible that users may not have the ability to make calls at all. Even if calls are possible, the systems are sometimes not sending signals to the nearest towers, meaning you may not be contacting the most local emergency response teams. It’s also sometimes difficult for those emergency personnel to target your location. All these problems will likely be dealt with over time, but they’re still concerns to some people now who rely on cell phones for emergencies and are reluctant to take the chance that their VoIP or Internet telephones will work in emergency situations.

The legalities almost always become an issue and VoIP is no exception. Because this type of communication has the potential to have a major impact on the communication industry, there’s little doubt that it’ll eventually be regulated as telephone companies are regulated. This is of significant concern to those municipalities that provide telephone service and depend on the revenue from that service as income.

About the Author:

Scott Knutson is an entrepreneur and writer. For more of his articles visit: Internet Phone | Internet Phone Service | VoIP Service

This article is distributed by: www.iSnare.com

Stephen cox

Wireless VoIP

Wireless and VoIP have joined forces. Installing a WLAN network
card into your computer uses wireless technology. After
installing the card, your computer will become “wireless”. This
means that you will be able to enjoy an Internet connection
without the use of cables and cords.

VoIP is the technology that allows the transmission of audio
files by transmitting them into data packets across the
Internet. By integrating Wireless and VoIP a new generation of
audio telecommunications has been birthed. By having a VoIP
service and a wireless connection, you can enjoy the best of
both worlds- wireless VoIP connections.

Visit http://www.infonet.us for more articles on voip

Wireless networks are activated by what is known as a “hotspot”.
A hotspot is an area where there is an access point. Wireless
connections are basically created by radio signals. An access
point is where the network has established their main signal. It
is possible for wireless users to basically “jump” from hotspot
to hotspot and utilize various networks access points.

The combination of Wireless and VoIP has led to another
invention-VoWiFi. VoWiFi stands for Voice over Wireless
Fidelity. VoWiFi has also produced the new VoWiFi phones. These
phones operate like cell phones, only they use VoIP technology,
(transmit over the Internet) and are wireless, operating in
various hotspots.

VoWiFi phones are very inexpensive to use, as is all of VoIP
technology. It is much cheaper to submit audio as data packets
over the Internet and it uses considerably less bandwidth. This
is a reason why VoIP technology is gaining in strength and
momentum.

Many people are choosing the freedom that is offered by VoIP.
VoIP can offer nearly free or free long distance phone calls.
Since VoWi Fi operates from hotspot to hotspot or
network-to-network, you may think that there are roaming charges
involved. Well, this is not the cellular network that you
love/hate. There are no roaming charges involved with VoIP.
That’s right, you can take your VoWiFi phone from hotspot to
hotspot, maintaining your connection (provided you easily go
from hotspot to hotspot) absolutely free.

You may be wondering why not just use cellular? Why go wireless?
Well, for those who travel a lot or are consistently out of
their cellular range, roaming charges will apply and can be
expensive. By using your VoWiFi in hotspots while you are
traveling, you can pick up a connection and make your calls for
free.

Be careful not to confuse a VoWiFi phone with a cordless VoIP
phone. They are two distinctively different products. A VoWiFi
phone will enable you to access hotspots, but a cordless VoIP
phone is simply a way to have a cordless phone in your house
that is compatible with your VoIP service provider.

VoWiFi phones are hitting the market and companies such as
Vonage are soon to debut their new VoWiFi phones.

An interesting trend is the creation of the hybrid phone. If
someone is a traveling salesman, or just simply travels
frequently and is on their cell phone, then leave their network
range- they can take advantage of the new hybrid phone. The
hybrid phone, which is part cellular, part VoWiFi, will be able
to access hotspots, and pick up a signal. Voila- no more roaming
charges!

Wireless VoIP does show promising signs towards the future and
many look anxiously awaiting new products and increasing
performance by these products. You will have to have a VoIP
service provider before you can access VoWiFi. However, you can
still find many free hotspots that will give your phone a
connection.

Both Wireless and VoIP are relatively new technologies that have
a lot of kinks that need to be worked out. The products are
hitting the market at increasing speed, while rules,
regulations, and security issues seem to be taking second place.
That is the nature of telecommunications technology though, and
we can expect that the face of Wireless VoIP will look very
different in the next few years. Major corporations are already
embracing this technology, creating services, phones, hybrid
phones and plans that center on VoIP while the FCC races to
determine where in fact VoIP technology’s classifications lay.

There have been significant issues regarding wireless VoIP and
security and 911 services. Well the good news is, that while
these issues are battled out, agreed upon, and rewritten, we can
still take our phones and lily pad our way from hotspot to
hotspot- free of roaming charges.

About the author:


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Rex Ryan

Voice over IP, or VoIP had become a buzzword in the past few years because it represents a more cost effective model for transmitting voice conversations than the old circuit switched networks. The existing telephone infrastructure consists of physical wires connecting circuit switches in which one telephone caller is connected directly to another through a switched network. This of the old switchboard operators in days of old, automated on a large scale.

The existing Internet infrastructure is far different than the circuit switched networks that carry most voice calls. The Internet carries packets of digital information data. These packets are switched and routed through the Internet from one destination to another.

The protocol that governs the Internet is called TCP/IP. It was born out of UNIX and became the de facto standard of Internet communications. Because of the ubiquitous nature of TCP/IP, it represents the obvious choice for use in digital voice communications. Since it using IP - the Internet Protocol, voice over IP is generally referred to as VoIP.

In the Internet world, pieces of data called IP packets are passed around. A good analogy for this is the post office. Each packet contains its destination, and the routers and switchers in the network forward the packets like sorters in the post office. A package at the post office will typically go from one postal sorting center to another, before arriving at the destination post office to be put on the appropriate mail trucks. Packets move around the Internet in the same way.

In VoIP, special receivers known as codecs compress and decompress digital data into the audio we here through a telephone handset. When you speak into a VoIP phone, the phone compresses your voice into digital data, which is then sent out over an IP network as a series of packets. The receiving end receives those packets, and reforms them into audio through the handset of the person you are speaking to.

In order for VoIP to work successfully, standards are necessary so that one phone can talk to another. The standard protocol used in VoIP today is SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol. This protocol contains a number of compression and communications standards and algorithms that VoIP phones must support. For years, SIP was in a battle with proprietary protocols like Cisco Skinny, and other standards like H.323 which is the dominant standard in IP videoconferencing. But ultimately SIP has prevailed.

Because the nature of VoIP is different than circuit switched networks, VoIP comes with a new set of issues. The most serious concern is latency. Latency is the amount of time it takes between when you say something, and when it is heard on the other end. If the network is too slow or busy, and the packets don’t arrive on time or in order, the conversation will fall apart. Studies show that people find latencies exceeding .25 seconds to be too frustrating to use. Because of this, quality of service (QoS) is an essential portion of a VoIP network, as it guarantees that packets will be delivered with minimal interruption.

Because of the cost advantages of VoIP, it will be commonplace before too long. Don’t be surprised when old phones go the way of vinyl records.

About the Author:

Rex Ryan is a telecommunications engineer and runs a website on voip technologies.

Source: www.isnare.com

Mark Woodcock

Making telephone calls over the Internet is an exciting and cost
saving technology that is taking a position to completely change
voice communications forever. VOIP, or voice over Internet
protocol, is not a brand new technology, having been around the
business world for several years. But in the last few years, it
has begun to catch on with consumers as a way to combine all
forms of their communications in their homes (voice, email,
etc.) and beat the high fees that long distance companies on
their customers. There are many VOIP phone services around now
that offer the moon and more in order to get business. It is
important to carefully weigh the options so that you don’t go to
the trouble of switching from traditional landline phone service
to VOIP only to get stuck without phone service when the
provider goes under, or to get poor quality service and features
just to save money or get “free” VOIP service.

As a subscriber to VOIP phone services, there are a multitude of
options available to you. You can opt to simply talk through a
specially equipped microphone at your home computer, kind of
like a speakerphone. You can use your traditional home telephone
with the service, as long as you purchase a telephony adapter
that will convert the analog audio into digital data packets.
You can also choose to buy an IP phone that is ready to plug
into your computer and use right away. You can even go wireless.
Don’t be intimidated if you think that there is a lot of strange
equipment to set up or that you will be uncomfortable talking on
some “new” kind of phone. VOIP phone service is really no
different than the phone service that you are used to, it’s just
the wiring is different.

The low subscription price is first and foremost what is drawing
consumers to VOIP phone services. Depending on the provider you
choose, monthly charges range from $19.95 - $34.99 per month.
This usually includes free domestic calls (including Canada) and
very low International rates (often .03 - .04 per minute). And
features that you might be accustomed to paying extra monthly
fees for, such as Caller ID, Call Waiting, and Three-way Calling
are often bundled in with the standard services and standard
monthly charge. And don’t worry about calling people outside of
the service. Most providers have the capabilities to let you do
that. And, calling people within your service is often free of
charge. There really seems like there is no reason not to switch
to VOIP phone services, right?

There are some issues to think about before making the switch to
VOIP phone service. You need to consider the provider you
choose. Some services offer “free” VOIP service. This is often a
gimmick, and what you are not paying for in phone service is
apparent in the poor quality reception and limited calling
capabilities that you will have to deal with. Some newer
providers are often not established enough to handle high
volumes of traffic, and often go under, leaving customers in the
dark without any phone service at all. It is smart to choose a
well-established provider with a good reputation for quality and
customer service, in addition to competitive rates and features.
Also, it might be a good idea to consider switching only one
phone in your home to VOIP. That way, if your provider does go
out of business, you have a backup phone line to communicate
with.

Don’t be too concerned about losing your phone service or
getting swindled by a fly-by-night VOIP phone service provider.
There are several reputable providers on the market, and a
testament to that is the continuing growth of the technology. In
addition to the money you will save by subscribing to VOIP
service, you will have the freedom of being able to travel with
your phone and phone number and make calls anywhere you go. If
you have access to a broadband Internet connection, you can make
and receive calls by simply plugging in. This is ideal if you
travel a lot for business. Besides the obvious money savings
involved with VOIP phone service, it is a convenient technology
that gives you a lot of options and freedom that traditional
telephone services just can’t provide.

About the author:


Learn the essential information for picking the Voip provider /
services at href="http://www.voip-services-provider.com/voip-phone-services.h
tml">Voip Phone Services

FullService Broadband Provider

I thought I’d outline some of the basics of VoIP. I use this
service myself and have sold VoIP services to my customers. What
I didn’t understand until last night is how much I assume. You
see my business is mostly web based so my customers read up on
VoIP and have a general understanding of the technology before
making a purchase.

What I came across in my conversations last night was that some
people attracted purely by the cost really don’t understand what
the trade off’s are, what is required and their level of
expectation is, in my humble opinion, to high. Now don’t get me
wrong, I’m a huge fan of VoIP. However, I understand what’s
involved, how to hook it up as well as the pros and cons of
using such a service. For me the cost factor did weigh in when
comparing the pros and cons to the cost savings. My level of
expectation was brought inline with what VoIP can offer me.

Here are some basic assumptions I was guilty of:

1. When using your broadband internet connection for your
computer and VoIP a router is necessary. 2. During a power loss
the phone doesn’t work unless there is a UPS system in place. 3.
ISP goes down, your phone line goes down. 4. Those phone jacks
in the house don’t work with VoIP. 5. The phone base plugs into
the VoIP converter/adapter box which then plugs into your
router. If you want multiple phones in multiple rooms, you will
need a cordless phone or cordless phone system. (Multiple
handsets) 6. E911 is not automatic. You need to check
availability 7. Fax machines may not work 8. There can be call
interference (echo). Voice quality is good, but not yet as
reliable as POTS lines.

Naked DSL or DSL without phone service is not widely available.
As such, if your broadband connection is via DSL you may not be
able to use VoIP as your primary phone service. Simply put, if
your goal is to switch to VoIP and then cancel your existing
phone service, you may loose your broadband connection as well.

During my conversation last night their assumptions were much
different than mine. Their assumptions were

1. Existing phone jacks will still work with VoIP 2. My corded
phone will still work during a power outage just like they do
now. 3. I can send/receive faxes without any issue 4. I can plug
my VoIP into any room I want 5. 911 service is automatic.
Everyone has this. 6. The quality of calls is as good if not
better than POTS lines because after all it’s coming through the
internet right? 7. I don’t need any extra equipment - it’s just
a phone.

After our discussion they were more educated in what VoIP can
and cannot provide for them. In the end they choose not to get
VoIP service and that’s OK. A bundled POTS package was more to
their liking and frankly fit them much better than VoIP would
have.

Yes, I am a fan of VoIP and yes I believe this technology is
here to stay. Having said that, I do not think VoIP is for
everyone. Some consider routers, cordless phone(s), checking 911
availability, etc. to be a hassle. They just want to use their
existing phone and achieve the ‘exact’ same results. Well, VoIP
is almost there, but still has a way to go. If the cost savings
can outweigh your own pros and cons by all means go for it. If
not, wait, watch and read up some more.

Ready to give it a go? Good for you, (hope to see you at our web
site). Not yet ready? That’s OK too. (Still hope to see you at
our web site for possible cost savings on your traditional POTS
line or cellular plan)

Ok, perhaps a shameless plug in that last part. Use our web
site, use someone else’s, use a library, do whatever is
necessary to educate yourself to make more informed purchasing
decisions. It’s better to be a little prepared than completely
disappointed especially with something you’ll use everyday such
as your phone service.

About the author:


href="http://www.fullservice-broadband-provider.com">FullService
Broadband provider. Our free service is possible through href="http://www.trighttech.com">Try Right Technology, Inc.
We provide unbiased and informative information on broadband and
communication products and services.