What Is VOIP?
Confused about VOIP? Join the crowd. It's not as difficult as it sounds and we are going to make VOIP simple for the average person.
VOIP simply means Voice Over Internet Protocol. Now you don't need to know anything about the protocol so basically it is using the Internet to make phone calls.
All you need is a high speed internet connection to make a VOIP call. There are many companies that offer VOIP service and offer the telephone with it. Many will even set it up for you. Even local cable companies are offering to set you up. Once it is set up, you don't need to worry about anything. You can simply make telephone calls just like normal. Now you will be making calls through an internet company and not your phone company.
Why should I use VOIP and are there any disadvantages?
Advantages
The main reason most will want to use it is to lower their phone bills. You will normally pay a flat fee and you will get long distance to the US and Canada with it at no extra charge.
You can keep you phone number that you have now.
No matter where you move you can take your phone number with you even if you move to a different area code. My daughter moved to Bermuda and she kept her home phone number.
When you move and your phone moves with you there are no extra setup charges as there is with your local phone
If you are travelling you can set it up to use your laptop or wireless connection, as long as it is high speed. Most hotels these days accomodate this.
No longer will you have to pay for extra features. With VOIP service providers these usually come as standard. Features such as:
1. Caller ID
2. Call Waiting
3. Call Transfer
4. Repeat Dialling
5. Return Call
6. Three-Way Dialling
Advanced call filtering features. These features allow you to decide how calls to a specific number are handled by using caller ID information. They allow you to:
1. Forward the call to a particular number
2. Send the call directly to voicemail
3. Give the caller a busy signal
4. Play a "not-in-service" message
Disadvantages
Sometimes the quality is not as good as phone lines. It's close and will continue to get better. I suspect that within a year you will not be able to tell the difference.
Set up can be very challenging. If you are not a techie, there is always someone you can hire to do it for you. With the financial savings you will get from it, it's worth it to pay someone if you are at all squimish about it.
It does not work well with fax machines and alarm systems. It works and in short time this will also improve.
If your internet access goes down then your phone will also go down. For most with high speed access this rarely happens.
If the power goes off the phone will not work. For most of us, this is also a rare occurrance. You can get backup batteries to resolve this issue if you are in a rural area and it happens often.
Currently the government does not apply taxes to the service. If that changes VOIP may not be price effective anymore.
VOIP is the future and more and more people are coming online with it every day. This may also effect a lowering of the cost in time.
That is it in a nutshell. It's not nearly as scary as you thought.
Jean Sutherland is a technical writer for the popular website http://www.voip-place.com/ where everything VOIP is discussed. She is also the owner of the successful website The Company Newsletter at http://www.thecompanynewsletter.com where you will find loads of free software, articles on marketing and common computer questions.
Phone Resources:
Voip Broadband Phones - What Should You Know?
The expanded form of VOIP is Voice Over Internet Protocol. The most significant factor that affects the functioning of the VOIP phones is the Broadband Internet Connection, which is a high-speed internet connection and will be used for making and receiving phone calls. As there is a use of broadband internet connection in VOIP phones, they are also known as, "Broadband phones."
Free PC to Phone Calls: The Computer is Now The Free Call Making Phone
The technology that is perhaps making headlines in the mediums being used by human beings is VoIP in the present era and the improvements that are being provided with this technology are wonderful enough to entice users all over the world to shift their tools of making phone calls using the VoIP technology.
VoIP Broadband Phone Services Explained
VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and it is the technology which makes it possible to make telephone calls over your broadband internet connection instead of through the traditional telephone network. There are a variety of telecommunications companies now providing VOIP phone services which allow you to make cheap or sometimes free telephone calls through your internet connection.
PDA Cell Phones - the New Generation of Wireless Phones
It's time you know what the latest technological gadget is. In fact, this new toy is buzzing everywhere nowadays.
Take Advantage of Internet Phone Calls (VOIP)
Voice Over IP (VOIP) is a relatively new technology. Voice Over IP allows people to leave behind the old and very traditional analogue phone networks and now adapt in favor of the very new and very progressive Internet-based calling system infrastructure.
Cell Phone Terminology - The ABCs of Cellular Phones
If you are planning to take a trip overseas and want to know if your present cell phone will work, you will need to know the meaning of a variety of cell phone terms Most of these definitions deal with cell phone networks and the types of phones that can be used with them
Worldwide Phone Services Launched for Fixed Phones, Mobile Phones, and VoIP
NAVEGO, Inc. announces the global launch of NAVEGO Worldwide Phone Services, providing flexibility and low rates for fixed and mobile phone lines, as well as dial-up and broadband voice-over IP.
What's Your IQ on Basic PC Phone (VoIP) Knowledge
Short T/F quiz1. T / F You can save a significant amount of money using VoIP rather than traditional telephone/cell phone calling methods.
Cellular Phone Rental - A New Way To Use A Cell Phone
In today?s day and age, most of us are never without our cell phones. Tucked in our pockets, slipped into our purses, and never out of reach, the cell phone has delivered us to a higher, more efficient level of communication. But as we all know, cell phones and cell phone service come at a price. And for some, that price makes cell phone ownership cost-prohibitive. Luckily, the ability for cellular phone rental gives everyone the ability to use a cell phone regardless of their budget.
Making PC to Phone VoIP Calls over Dial-Up Internet Connections
There's a lot of hype these days surrounding Internet-based voice communications (VoIP) replacing traditional telephone service. Most of this revolves around companies such as Vonage who coin themselves as the 'Broadband Phone Company'.
Sprint PCS Cellular Phones
Almost everyone, in regards to phone services, is familiar with the name Sprint. Founded in year 1899 in Abilene Kansas, by a man named Cleyson L. Brown, Sprint telephone company was then called Brown Telephone Company. Brown Telephone Company underwent a quick growth spurt due to its technical advances, and became great in the telephone industry by the year 1976. However, it wasn't until 1989 that Sprint International emerged as a worldwide name. Sprint's sudden success was in part because of its series of technological advances such as the first nationwide fiber-optic transmission, as well as the first fiber-optic transatlantic phone call.
Cellular Phone and PDA Keypads Are Obsolete Due To New Cursor Control Device
Origo Corporation of Summit, NJ is announcing the development of a Dual-Axis-Cursor Control "DACC" device for mobile handheld Cell Phones and PDAs. Dual Roller miniature mouse is more accurate than all other applications currently on the market, including finger or stylus noperable touch screens and optical IR sensors. Future super sharp high resolution mobile displays need a supersharp cursor control. This new control can be operated with one hand with the same accuracy as a conventional mouse. What you can see, you can pick.
Oxygen Phone Manager Series: Bringing Access to a Cell Phone by Means of PC
It has become much easier and cheaper to register for Oxygen Phone Manager Series since the introduction of Software as a Service offer (5.95 Euro a month).
Advantages Of VoIP Broadband Phone Service
There are many advantages of VoIP broadband phone service. Over the next couple of years phone over Internet will be the norm for most homes and businesses.
The Fruits of Telecommunication and Smart Phone Labour: Blackberry vs IPhone
For those of us who can?t leave the office behind, the new range of smart phones for business are making it increasingly easy to be a workaholic For telecommunications the two models are fairly evenly matched, you can make and receive calls but with these multimedia devices you?ll want to be doing a lot more than that