VoIP - A Basic Introduction
By admin | December 1, 2008
Voice over IP (VoIP) technology, or IP telephony, is simply a system for transmitting telephone calls over data networks, such as the ones that make up the Internet.
The efficiency, flexibility and cost savings of VoIP will be taken advantage of by a growing number of personal and corporate users.
In this report we will look at the history, growth, flexibility and advantages of VoIP based systems over traditional public switched networks, (PSDN)
Let’s look at why VoIP will change the way we communicate forever.
The Disadvantages Of Traditional PSDN Networks
With PSDN calls are made using circuit switching techniques.
PSDN simply means that an individual call uses a dedicated path for the total duration of the call.
During a telephone conversation of this nature only about 50% of the bandwidth is used at any given time.
The reason for this is a call consists normally of two people, one person listens and one person talks, which reduces the bandwidth.
This is further reduced as there are natural pauses in conversation such as pauses between words, people thinking, pauses for breath etc. The connection is of course reliable for voice transmission, but its drawback is that, it is very inefficient in its use of bandwidth.
This has kept telephone costs relatively high until now, but VoIP provides the solution:
A more efficient use of bandwidth.
The Advantages Of VoIP
Voice over IP, (VoIP), is a way of converting the analogue signals when using a phone, to a digital format (across a network) and then back into analogue when it reaches the receiver.
In a VoIP network, digitized voice data is highly compressed and carried in packets over the IP network.
Using the same bandwidth, a VoIP network can carry many times the number of voice calls as a switched circuit PSDN network.
The net result of this obvious.
VoIP can result in huge savings on the amount of physical resources required to communicate by voice over long distances. It does so by providing a far more efficient use of bandwidth, one of the fundamental drawbacks of traditional telephone networks.
There is of course, much more to VoIP than just sending the packets over the Internet.
There is an agreed protocol for how computers find each other and how information is exchanged in order to allow packets to flow between users, there is also an agreed format, (called payload format), which covers the content of media packets.
VoIP A Total Global Telephony Solution
VoIP allows us to use a single high-speed Internet connection not just for voice but, video, and data communications.
This is known as convergence and is one of the primary drivers for corporate interest in the technology.
The benefits of convergence are obvious:
By using a single data network for all communications, it is possible to reduce overall costs of communication for users.
A VoIP service provider can be located anywhere in the world; a person with Internet access is not geographically restricted in their selection of VoiP service providers.
Lower costs for you and everyone
This competition enables low communication costs for anyone no matter where they are in the world.
For more FREE Information on voip sip and cheap and free phone calls visit our website for free articles downloads, news and magazines:
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Tags: introduction, VoIPTopics: VoIP | No Comments »
Supercharge Employees with VOIP Hosted PBX Advanced Features
By admin | November 30, 2008
It’s no secret that Hosted PBX technology has a robust set of advanced features that literally makes a tradional PBX as obsolete as a rotary dial telephone. Putting these advanced features to work will streamline your business processes, increase customer satisfaction and increase your revenues. Just as importantly, these features can provide you with a major strategic advantage over your competition.
As an added bonus, activation and changes to these features can easily be administed by your employees by using an easy-to-use, intuitive web browser. With a traditional PBX, you would have to pay the provider or your own technician to perform these changes for you and probably have to wait several days for the changes to be completed.
Here are just a few of the features available, how you can use them, and why they are important to your business:
Simultaneous Ringing - Simultaneous Ringing acts like a personal locator and makes it easy for people to find you. You can set up to 10 phone numbers to all ring at the same time when someone calls your main phone number. You can answer the call on any of the ringing phones. This makes contacting you easier than ever since callers only have to dial one number to reach you. Bottom line, there is less chance of missing important calls, and allows your inside and outside sales force to generate more revenue and more profit!
Remote Office - Through an easy-to-use Web-based portal, you can assign your office phone number to any phone in the world. So if you’re traveling in London, you can set you hotel phone to ring when someone calls your office phone number. And making calls from your hotel phone will look to your callers like you’re calling from your office. This feature can put your sales force, virtual office workers, and traveling executives within easy reach when a special call must be completed.
Auto Attendant - Present a more professional image to callers and reduce the need for a full-time receptionist with our Auto Attendant. Incoming calls to your main number are answered by our Auto Attendant, which is fully customizable according to your specifications. Dial by name directories and “0?-out to Operator options are standard. The Auto Attendant gives your company a professional, Big Business image.
Online Call Manager - Using a web-based portal allows you to dial, manipulate, and transfer calls on your computer, as well as configure and change your personal call handling settings. This feature allows you to adjust to changing business needs on the fly without having to send in a service request and then wait days before the change is made. In today’s business environment, worker and process flexibility enhances your compeitive edge.
Visual Voicemail - Listen, forward and archive your voicemails just like you handle email. In addition to receiving voicemails on your telephone, a copy of each voicemail message is forwarded to your Email inbox as an audio file. This feature allows you to visually scan your voicemail box for the most important message. With a traditional PBX you would have to call your voice mail and sequentially listen to the header of each and every message, a time-consuming process. With Hosted PBX voicemail, you can also forward messages people outside of your Hosted PBX system using email so that you can share valuable first hand information with your suppliers, affiliates, and other important business partners.
Other Basic Features- Each user also has a set of basic features that need no explanation. These are: unlimited local calling, unique phone number (DID), Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Do Not Disturb, Last Number Redial, and Caller ID.
Depending on your business, here are a few optional features you might want to also consider.
Soft Attendant Console - This optional computer application replaces the need for a bulky receptionist module. This optional feature provides the receptionist with a visual representation of every employee so they can see instantly who’s on the phone and who’s not. Transferring calls is easy - just click and drag.
Plus, since the application is accessed over the Internet, your receptionist can handle calls from any location . This not only gives you hiring flexibility, it also is a major advantage in the event a natural or man-made disaster occurs at your main business location and preserves the continuity of revenue-producing communications to and from your business.
Call Center - The optional Call Center application is a powerful, but inexpensive tool that allows businesses to tie together employees across multiple locations under one unified call center. Incoming calls are held in queue and routed to the next available agent - no matter where they are! Nightly reporting is available on both the agent and overall group level showing average hold time, average time spent per call, number of minutes an agent was check-in/ check-out, plus other critical management features.
Call center is a money-saving option that provides you with the flexibility to easily assemble a full-featured call center utilizing remotely deployed workers or office based workers, or a combination of the two. How would you like to have the option of using a virtual staff for all your call center needs or what about the need to bring in part-timers on the spur of the moment to handle promotional call volume spikes or for business continuity in the event of a disaster. A Hosted PBX can give you that flexibility.
If you are serious about taking employee productivity to the next level, then you should definitely consider the advanced feature sets offered in a VOIP Hosted PBX environment.
Tags: hosted pbx, Telecom, telecommunications, virtual pbx, VoIPTopics: VoIP | No Comments »
VoIP Technology
By admin | November 29, 2008
VoIP technology seems to be great! But confused about how to go about it? That’s the common refrain of people wanting to graduate from a dial-up connection on to VoIP. The applications of VoIP technology are so surreal, so amazing that this dilemma is not exactly uncalled for.
But before we go into the applications of VoIP, let’s first understand as to what is VoIP. VoIP (voice over internet protocol) is a technological innovation allowing you to send data, audio & video concurrently over the internet, this transforms into minimal use of the available bandwidth thereby offering mind blowing transmission speeds.
VoIP has the potential to fulfill all your communication needs be it telephony, data transfer, video conferencing your imagination is the limit. To move onto the big league, you would have to contact a VoIP service provider. These VoIP providers buy bandwidths from wholesale VoIP providers & sell it to individual customers at a premium.
Today the UK VoIP market is flush with a wide variety of VoIP providers, in order to truly enjoy VoIP you must be able to pick & choose the best provider as per your individual needs. This seems easy but it is not so, the VoIP carriers in their eagerness to corner larger chunks of the VoIP market often forgo quality & reliability.
But as it is said that ‘to every problem there’s a solution’, you can get past this hiccup on your way to super fast communication by taking expert advice from independent VoIP link providers. These websites being independent & impartial provide you with instant links to the best VoIP carrier in your area.
This way on one hand you get a broad overview about VoIP services & on the other hand ensure effortless transition in to the VoIP arena.
VoIP for sure is the communication solution of the future, faster you join, more the advantage you get!!
VoIP Phone Service
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Topics: VoIP | No Comments »