Most people don't know that they already
have everything they need to start saving
money using internet telephony, or VoIP.
All you have to have is a regular telephone
and high-speed internet access. That's
it! If you have both of those, you are
ready to start saving loads of money on
local and long distance phone calls.
It is inevitable that VOIP will replace
traditional telephone service at some
point. The only question is when should
you jump in?
VOIP is quickly becoming more reliable
and receiving wider acceptance. In fact,
phone companies are already taking advantage
of the technology to provide cheaper long
distance rates. Like any emerging technology,
however, there are kinks in the system
that are still being worked out.
Advantages:
Internet Phone Service has numerous advantages
over traditional telephone service. The
most obvious is the cost benefits. If
you have a high-speed internet connection,
you can make phone calls from PC-to-PC
anywhere in the world for FREE! More common
PC-to-Phone calls usually come with a
small charge but are still much cheaper
than regular phone service.
For a small monthly fee, you can sign
up with a VoIP service provider and get
unlimited calls within the country! International
calls can also be made for a fraction
of the cost of regular service.
Another advantage is its portability.
You can make and receive phone calls wherever
there is a broadband connection by simply
signing in to your VOIP account. This
makes VOIP as convenient as e-mail. When
you're traveling, you simply pack a headset
or Internet phone; then you can talk to
family or colleagues for next to nothing.
Phone-to-phone VOIP is also portable.
Internet phones are small and light enough
to take anywhere. When you sign up with
a VOIP service provider, the Internet
phone or adaptor used by that service
is assigned a unique number. This 'phone
number' remains valid, even if your VOIP
service is in Los Angeles and you're connected
to the Internet in London. When plugged
into a broadband connection, anywhere
in the world, you can make and receive
calls as though you were at home.
Features like call forwarding, call waiting,
voicemail, caller ID and 3way-calling,
are included with Internet telephone at
no extra charge. While you're talking
on the phone, you can send pictures and
documents at the same time.
Disadvantages:
Unfortunately, there are a couple of
minor drawbacks you may experience. The
first is the fact that you would loose
service during a power outage and the
other is limited emergency calling.
Conventional phone service continues
by the current supplied through the phone
line during a blackout. This isn't possible
with Internet phones. When the power goes,
there goes VOIP service. Battery backups
and power generators that provide electricity
are the current solutions to this problem.
Emergency (911) calls are another concern
for many potential customers as well.
In the event that you need to call 911
but can't speak or have to leave, your
call can be traced when dialed from a
traditional phone. However, this is not
the case with VoIP. Fortunately, there
is currently technology being developed
called 'e911' that will make this possible,
so this will not be a problem for much
longer.
VOIP also has sound quality and reliability
problems. Data sent across the Internet
usually arrives at its destination scrambled.
E-mail and documents can be reassembled
in the correct order when it arrives.
Voice data also arrives scrambled, but
it's more complicated because of the real-time
nature of VOIP. Some data packets may
have to be dropped when they don't arrive
in time, in order to make voice connections
with the least delay. This can cause brief
silences in the audio stream.
Your internet connection speed and the
distance of the call are the two biggest
factors in the quality of the call. If
you are in a high-traffic area this may
also cause some loss in the quality of
the conversation. Once again, technology
is constantly being improved on and this
is becoming less and less of an inconvenience.
While the disadvantages mentioned above
currently present minor problems, it is
expected that these will be corrected
by the year 2008 and VoIP technology will
have become the industry standard for
telephone communication.
This article was posted on December
14, 2005
