VoIP Phone Service

VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol is a relatively new phone service being offered that allows you to use your computer to make voice phone calls. The service, while new, is wide spread and available in many areas where you can already have ADSL and cable Internet hook ups. Unless you have been hiding under a rock somewhere in Timbuktu, chances are you have heard the term 'VoIP' (pronounced voyp) or Voice over Internet somewhere along the line. So what is VoIP and how is it revolutionizing the way we talk and the phone? Read on to find out more.

Home Mortgage. Click Here.

VoIP Phone Service Overview
VoIP allows you to make voice telephone calls over the Internet using your Internet connection. VoIP converts your voice to a digital signal that can travel over the Internet until it reaches the destination where it is converted back to a voice signal. To use VoIP you need to have a high speed Internet connection, also known as a broadband connection. However, you don't need any special equipment, you just need your regular home telephone and a special adapter for your phone that will change the signal your voice travels in. You can hook your regular telephone up to your cable model or through the adapter and send calls as you normally would. Also, there is no limitation on how many phones you can hook up with VoIP.

When you hook your regular home telephone up to your cable modem or the adapter, then you make phone calls just as you normally would with your regular phone. You dial the same sequencing of numbers and there's no special instructions you need to remember-just pick up your telephone and dial the number you are calling. The call will sound just like a regular call as well, you can talk and hear in the same fashion as you would with a regular phone.


Advantages
One of the chief advantages of switching to VoIP is that you don't have to change phone numbers--in most cases you can keep your old phone number and just switch providers. Price reduction of phone services is also one of the big advantages to using VoIP phone services-because of the way that the VoIP phone service companies rate their calls, it is much cheaper to talk to people from around the world as long as they have an Internet connection. You can also talk to more than one person at the same time with VoIP phone services at no extra cost.

You can use VoIP even when your computer isn't on, as long as your Internet connection is live and on. This can translate into savings on your power bill because you do not have to leave your computer running in order to use your VoIP phone service.

You can use your VoIP even when you travel, as long as you have access to a high speed Internet connection and you have taken your adapter piece with you. You can then use your VoIP on any regular telephone where you also have access to high speed Internet.

You can also receive your phone calls from anywhere in the world that you are traveling if you have hooked up your VoIP adapter to a phone line and Internet connection. This means that you do not have to miss out on your phone calls from home when you are on vacation or on a business trip.


Disadvantages
The most common disadvantage with VoIP is calls being disconnected or having a problem connecting because of a slow or unreliable Internet connection. You should have an Internet connection of at least 90 kbps to ensure a good voice quality while you are using VoIP. Another disadvantage is that your VoIP phone will not work in a power outage or if your Internet services go down.

Another drawback to VoIP phone services is that it is reliant upon having an Internet connection. The quality and reliability of the phone connection using your VoIP telephony service is based upon the reliability, speed and quality of the Internet connection that it is hooked up to. Unfortunately, that means that poor network quality will mean reduced quality in your calls and can cause problems such as echoing during your phone call.

There is one problem with 911 emergency services calls made using VoIP--the calls can't be traced geographically as they are with regular telephone land lines. The caller who places a 911 call must be able to give an address, or there is a possibility that 911 wont be able to find the location of the call.


Programming
With some programming providers, you get free calls to other subscribers of the same service, regardless of their distance away from you. This can mean a great deal of savings for long distance calls if the people that you speak with the most often are part of the service as well. Some providers charge a fee for long distance on a per call or minute basis, similarly to the way that your regular telephone works. Other providers offer a flat rate for limited minutes or unlimited minutes, so you pay one price for however many minutes they are offering with their packages.

There are other providers still that allow you to choose an area code other than the one you live in to keep as your phone's area code. This would mean that you could place free long distance calls to people in that area code regardless of your location. If you speak to a lot of people in a certain geographic area that is out of your area code circle, you could consider changing to that area code for your VoIP phone service to help save you even more money.


Cost savings and service with VoIP
VoIP dramatically decreased your phone bill for many reasons. VoIP is cheaper than regular phone services primarily because VoIP providers don't pay taxes or access fees as regular telephone services do. However it is important to note that if you spend less than $50 a month on your phone bill, you may not realize much for savings on your phone bill totals. You will also realize more of a savings if you already have a high speed Internet connection. With VoIP phone services, you can have voice mail, call waiting, caller ID, 3-way calling, call forwarding, call return and caller ID block.

As well, some VoIP providers offer online account management and voice mail access services, email voice mail alerts, the ability to choose an area code, free in network calling and the ability to use your phone number from anywhere in the world for the same, low price.

You can make use of the same types of features with your VoIP phone as you do with a regular phone. You can access emergency services by dialing 911 so there is no need to keep a regular land line in your home to access those services. This fact alone makes VoIP worthwhile on its own and feasible as the only phone service for your home.

With VoIP you can also send faxes, although not all providers offer full fax support with their services. You will have to check with your VoIP phone service to see if they offer faxing services.


VoIP and the World
VoIP is available pretty much anywhere there is an Internet high speed connection but most VoIP telephone providers focus on the United States for service areas. VoIP is available in Canada as well.

If VoIP isn't available in your area but you do have high speed Internet, all you need is a valid credit card and a US address and you can use VoIP telephone services from any high speed Internet connection in the world and still take full advantage of the great VoIP telephony rates as if you were in the United States. This means that if you are traveling in Europe and have your adapter and a high speed Internet connection and you have a California VoIP line, you can make and receive calls from your VoIP phone in Europe for no extra charge. People can call you from California or you can call California and you would not pay long distance charges.

VoIP telephone services are perfect for families who use long distance a lot as well as for the traveling business man who needs to have access to a phone for business. If you are already spending $50 a month on your phone bill, even cell phone bill, it may be worth while to look into having a VoIP telephone instead of a land line on your regular telephone line. The savings can add up to be hundreds or thousands of dollars a year.


Security
Most VoIP telephone services do not yet support encryption and with the calls being routed through the Internet, this is a major downfall of the VoIP telephone system. Because there is no encryption available for VoIP phone services as of yet, it is quite simple to eavesdrop on VoIP calls and change their content.

There are some open source solutions that help people who want to eavesdrop on VoIP telephone calls. There is some security offered with patented audio codecs that aren't available easily for these open source applications however this type of security is easily bypassed and has been proven to be ineffective in the long run in other fields using the same type of system. Some VoIP telephone service providers also make use of compression to alleviate the chance of eavesdropping and make it more difficult.

The real security to VoIP however will require encryption and cryptographic authentication that are less available to the public at some point in time in the future. As VoIP telephony technology continues to advance, we are sure to see more and more security features becoming available for VoIP telephone services in the near future.


What's next for VoIP?
Pretty soon, you are going to see VoIP enabled cell phones hitting the market. That's right--mobile and fully portable VoIP cell phones. Using Wi-Fi technology, you can receive a call on your cell phone and the call will transfer to other cell stations or wi-fi networks as you move. Similar to wireless Internet connections and moving around, 'hacking' into unblocked wireless connections, you will be able to travel with your VoIP cell phone in the same fashion that you already use your cell phone.

This revolution will once again rock the way we use telephone services. As regular telephone services and soon, cell phone services, are challenged with another format of calling, the prices of 'regular' land phones and cell phones will be forced to drop in price simply to be able to compete with the VoIP telephone services that are being offered. Again, the big problem with 'regular' telephone companies versus VoIP service providers is the fees that are charged to the phone companies for using the lines. These fees will still exist and as the usage on them goes down, the price for each individual using the lines will likely go up, and with forcing the telephone companies to lower their price could put a huge potential strain on the telephone market place.


Conclusion
VoIP telephone services are the up and coming way to talk to people on the telephone. The monopoly markets that regular telephone companies held were once challenged by cell phone companies. As cell phone prices and services lowered in price, it was only a matter of time before someone came along to give them a run for their money as well-that's what VoIP is doing to both regular and cell phone companies. Soon, using VoIP will be the way that we use the telephone and the regular phone lines will be nearly extinct and out of use. One would hope that it means that telephone companies and cell phone companies will once again lower their prices for their services to help keep the people who can not access VoIP with reasonably priced phone bills. However, broadband (high speed) Internet connections are rapidly becoming more available, even more remote and rural areas of the United States and Canada, which effectually increases the range that VoIP can reach for new customers.

Taking a look at VoIP as an option for your home phone line is a stellar idea and the time to act is now-you could be savings hundreds or thousands of dollars a year on your telephone bill by easily switching to VoIP telephone services.



Local Articles
Telecommunications
Home