Advantages and Disadvantages of VoIP Know Them Before Switching to VoIP Service
By admin | November 13, 2008
Today, more and more people are consciously making an effort to learn about Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP. One thing that they all look for is whether or not VoIP can act as an alternative to the good ol’ telephone service, which has made such an impact in the lives. Can VoIP replace the humble telephone for good? One way to find out is to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of VoIP.
VoIP offers many advantages for you. Among them are:
1. VoIP is a whole lot cheaper compared to your normal landline telephone. With a residential VoIP plan you only need to pay about $9.95 for the most basic service up to about $39.95. For a business VoIP plan, the cost would be somewhere about $49.95 to $99.95 and comes inclusive with a separate fax number.
2. The VoIP “modem” (which is free) is delivered to you in only 5 to 10 days. Or you could buy it at your local store for same day service and get the VoIP provider to credit it against your bill.
3. The services which are considered as ‘extras’ in your regular landline telephone service, such as Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Voice Mail, 3-Way Conferencing, Repeat Dialling, and Call Block are now standard services with your VoIP. In short, you don’t have to pay extra for these ‘extra’ services. They come free with the package, including the most sought after service: unlimited calling, either local or long distance.
4. With VoIP service, there is no charge for any incoming calls, which cannot be said for US cellular service providers. The same also holds true for outgoing ‘local’ calls, which depends on your talk plan.
5. With VoIP service in North America, ‘local’ is always inclusive of US, Canada, some countries in Western Europe, parts of Asia, and parts of Latin America. For countries which are not already included, there are international plans available which cost a lot less than that offered by the standard long distance services providers. Another way is for you to make occasional calls without a plan, but for far lower charges per-minute compared to the usual long distance plans. For VoIP services in Europe, Asia and elsewhere around the globe, this also applies (more or less) in reverse.
6. With VoIP service, you don’t need to have a computer. Just take your average phone cable from your VoIP modem and plug it into your regular desktop or portable phone.
7. With VoIP service, you can activate every phone jack in the house. First, disconnect your house internal phone wiring from the regular telephone service at the phone box outside (most probably on your front wall). Then, simply take the VoIP modem and plug it into any existing wall jack inside your house. However, this option is not available for those who live in apartments.
8. With VoIP service, you can choose your own virtual phone number in almost any area code that you wish for at a very low price (around $5). This way you can have friends and family dial a local number that will then ring on your phone. The drawback is that you can’t make outgoing calls, as it’s not considered as a ‘real’ line phone line.
9. With VoIP service you can have low cost 800 numbers. This way it will be free for people to call you and yet will not be too hard on your pockets. There are monthly rates fixed for you, but they vary according to the provider. Generally it could cost you about $5 for the first 100 minutes per month, and somewhere about 4.5 cents per minute beyond that.
10. Some VoIP service providers offer a service that could locate you called ‘Find Me’ at other numbers that you provide, either in sequence or simultaneously, should you fail to answer your call. If you still don’t answer, your call will then go to your Voice Mail which can be retrieved later.
11. And finally, the icing on the cake: You can take your home or office ‘phone’ with you wherever you go. Just bring your VoIP modem with you, and when you get to your destination, plug it into any high-speed internet connection. You could be in a hotel room in the Caribbean, at your friend’s or relative’s house in Paris or even at the airport. No matter where you are, one you’re plugged in, you can make as well as receive calls on your regular phone number. Charges are based on your home location. You could be in New Zealand and if anybody were to call your office or home number in Atlanta, they would never know that you’re not really there. And if you make calls, your regular caller ID still shows.
As with everything else, with advantages there are certain disadvantages, even for VoIP services:
1. If you utilise a cable connection for your Internet, your upline is 2 to 10 times slower than your downline. This means that, although you can hear crystal clear what the other person is saying, they may not necessarily hear you. This could lead them to hang up (as they don’t know you’re on the line), or to them telling you to call from a regular phone and to get off the speaker phone.
Even though VoIP companies insist that 256K should be sufficient for a clear signal, it does not seem to be the case. Thankfully there are ways to overcome this obstacle if you have a very knowledgeable VoIP support tech. Consult your VoIP service providers about this.
2. The quality of high-speed connections may vary, as it is dependant on many factors, including the number of other users on your cable line, or your distance from the nearest DSL booster node. This means that the VoIP quality may vary daily or during each call.
3. During your calls, when there is no one speaking, there is a silence that could lead the other person to think that the line has gone dead. This is especially true for those who have become so used to hearing a slight buzz when using a regular telephone. Instead of being bombarded with many people asking “are you still on the line?” you should first explain this silence that you will encounter at the very beginning of your conversation.
4. When using VoIP service, you may not be able to ‘activate’ a new credit card, as the computer at the other end will claim that you are not calling from a home phone. The reason for this is yet unknown as VoIP providers have yet to answer this.
5. While conversing, you should never allow anyone to put you on silent hold, as the VoIP service may disconnect you when it doesn’t hear anything. It assumes that you are no longer on the line, thus disconnecting you after a while.
6. If you have an upline signal that is not capable of relaying your call, and when you cannot get through, all that you’ll be hearing is a recording stating that “Your call cannot be completed at this time”, which can be very annoying if it happens often.
7. Sometimes, your VoIP service will just cease to work. How to solve this depends on your provider. Mostly it will take some unplugging and replugging of various connections: VoIP modem, router, cable connection, DSL connection. It all depends on your provider and the solution (and sequence) that they provide you with.
8. And finally, in what is the worst disadvantage among all, if you lose your Internet connection for whatever reason imaginable, you lose your telephone service. Should you decide to depend almost entirely on VoIP service, then you are strongly advised to have a cell phone with you at all times. This also works in your favour as you can set your VoIP service to call your cell automatically should you not answer your VoIP line.
The verdict? Commercial VoIP service is an actual telephone service, compared to the likes of messenger services (computer-based) or Skype (which insists that it is not a telephone service). Of course it has its disadvantages, it has no video (at the moment that is) and has some minor glitches. Yet these glitches can be put up with when you realize that you can save anywhere from $30 to $100 a month. These glitches may be a big issue if you plan to use VoIP for your office, but if you have a cell phone with you for back up, you’d have no problems at all. You may find yourself joining the huge number of users who have gone 100% VoIP, with the intention of never again using the telephone.
Juzaily Ramli is the owner of VoIP Tutorial website that discusses on all things VoIP including benefits of VoIP and business VoIP. Feel free to visit his site and discover how much everyone can benefit from this revolutionary technology.
Tags: benefits of voip, business voip, free voip, VoIP, VoIP Phone, voip service, voip tutorialTopics: VoIP | No Comments »
VoIP Tutorial - Things You Need To Get Started With VoIP
By admin | November 9, 2008
Now that you’ve decided that VoIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol is right for you, there are a few things that you have to do to get started. The following are steps you can take to immediately enjoy the benefits of VoIP.
Updating Your Computer
First on your list is to update your computer. You need to have a High Speed Internet connection. Also you would need to have updated video and audio Codecs as well as the latest version of DivX. Updating your computer is easy by utilising tools or programs such as your Windows Update.
Deciding on a Service Provider
The next step is for you to decide on a service provider that can offer you the right VoIP service plan. As there are many companies offering such services, you could make the decision easier by writing down a list of your needs, wants, as well as features in that fit your needs. Compare the many plans available and make your choice.
One thing to remember is that there are normally two plans available: Residential and Business. Residential plans can either be a basic plan which provides a certain amount of talk time, or an unlimited plan which provides unlimited local and long distance access. On the other hand, a Business plan can provide services such as multiple phones, longer talk time, better unlimited calling plans, added business features, voicemail and faxing features, as well as other extras like listings in the yellow pages. Make sure that you choose a plan that is catered to your needs. The service provider that you finally decide on can also assist you in determining what other computer requirements you will need to have. Again, it is important that your computer be up to date and complies with the service provider’s requirements.
Getting a Telephone Adapter
The telephone adapter will be given to you by your service provider. With this adapter, you can now convert your everyday household phone into a phone that works with your VoIP service. Using an Ethernet cable, connect your telephone adapter to your Cable or DSI modem. Then connect your telephone to the adapter with a phone jack. Besides a regular phone, you could also opt to use a portable phone to the adapter, and have the ease of a portable phone that works with your VoIP service. However, this is just the standard portable phone used indoors, not to be confused with a cell phone.
Choosing Your Own Telephone Number
Now you have the option of choosing your own telephone number, one of the best features that VoIP offers. If you are contemplating on keeping your old number with your new VoIP system, discuss this with your service provider first. Most VoIP service providers will allow you to do this. However, keep in mind that selecting a different number or area code has many advantages. To start with, for family members and friends who do not have unlimited long distance calling options, choosing the same area code as theirs can immediately save them money. They will definitely thank you for having being given the opportunity to call you as if it were a local call.
On a larger perspective, this option is very advantageous to those who own businesses that are aiming at specific regions. Say you own a business in Florida, yet at the same time, you would like to expand to Los Angeles, California. In choosing the Los Angeles, California code, you could easily increase sales and productivity as you now have a local number that customers can call. This would also reduce the need for a toll free number.
Installing and Activating Your VoIP Features
Your VoIP service plan comes with an array of added features. For residential plans, these could mean Caller ID, Voicemail, Call Forwarding, Call Block and Do Not Disturb. Constantly check with your service provider to get a full listing of features that come with your chosen plan. If you opt for a business plan, you would enjoy services like free fax lines, multi phone users, and integrated VoIP and web features. VoIP also provides the same features in the basic plans. Again remember that when deciding on your service provider, compare the various plans available and choose one that best fits your needs.
Accessorising
As VoIP gets more and more advanced, a whole new group of accessories are introduced in the market. Today, you have the luxury of choosing from many types of VoIP phones, headsets, even VoIP videophones that incorporate your audio with video.
Enjoying Your VoIP Service
Now that you have everything you need, you can start enjoying your VoIP service. Regardless if you choose the basic or unlimited plan, you will realise that with VoIP, you now enjoy more freedom, reliability and greater standards of quality, not to mention the most cost effective method in meeting all of your telecommunications needs than you ever thought possible.
Juzaily Ramli is the owner of the site that provides VoIP tutorial to get people to switch to and get started on VoIP. He also writes about business VoIP targeted to those who are running their own business to increase their productivity. His site can be found at http://www.voip-revolution-info-site.com
Tags: adapters, benefits of voip, business voip, free voip service, mobile, VOIP Providers, voip tutorialTopics: VoIP | No Comments »
Is There Such A Thing As Free VoIP Service
By admin | October 31, 2008
When VoIP was first introduced over the Internet, most of the programs available offered free VoIP services. Ah, the good old days. Unfortunately, those days are gone and nowadays these services are no longer free; but are still offered at a very minimal monthly fee.
However, even after you’ve decided to purchase these VoIP services, you will still be amazed with the benefits and advantages that VoIP offers. Your calls are unlimited and you’re able to make long distance calls at no charge, but you have to pay the low monthly fee.
Don’t worry though as there are programs that still provide free VoIP services, among them are AdCalls and Skype. These two programs enable you to make calls using free VoIP programming.
With AdCalls, you can make calls to anyone in the USA and Canada at anytime on their home, business and cell phone free of charge. You are also able to call anyone in the world on their PC provided that they also download the AdCalls free calling dialer that can be found on their website.
Skype allows you to make a PC-to-PC call to another Skype user using a headphone and a microphone. All you have to do is download the free Skype software found on their website. This free VoIP service is only available for a PC-to-PC call and the person you want to contact would have to download the software too. If you want to call someone on their phone (SkypeOut) and receive a call from them (SkypeIn), you’d have to purchase their credits at a very cheap price.
Even as many people are choosing to utilize VoIP, it does have its disadvantages, one being the inability to call 911. The reason for this is that the call is made from your computer network instead of a landline phone. This makes it impossible for 911 to trace your call from the VoIP phone and to determine your address. When receiving your 911 calls, it is also impossible for the dispatcher to receive any kind of information on your location.
This is what has made the FCC come up with new rulings. Among the options given were to register with 911, calling 911 and giving them your vital information and location immediately, or having a landline phone or cell phone with you at all times in case of any emergencies. The latter could be the best solution in having and enjoying the benefits of both services.
VoIP is fast gaining popularity and big corporations like Verizon and AOL are all offering VoIP packages. Free VoIP is the most popular choice, though nowadays it is getting more and more difficult to find one. For users who are still not ready or who feel uncomfortable with switching to VoIP, they still have the option of using instant messaging services, for example Yahoo Messenger.
We cannot deny the fact that VoIP has many benefits and plus points that are not available with your typical landline or cell phones. Some of these advantages include the ability to have conversations with multiple users at one time, having the ease of standard features that normally come with your regular landline phones together with your VoIP packages, as well as the option of unlimited talk time (some even worldwide).
As VoIP progresses everyday and with more and more people welcoming the idea of being able to combine all their telecommunications needs like audio, video, data, e-mail, and web services into a single program, many new products will be developed to continuously equip VoIP users with the best tools to enjoy all of VoIP’s benefits.
Juzaily Ramli is the owner of VoIP Tutorial website that discusses on all things VoIP including business VoIP. To find out more about free VoIP, feel free to visit his site and discover how much everyone can benefit from this revolutionary technology.
Tags: adapters, benefits of voip, business voip, free voip service, mobile, VOIP Providers, voip tutorialTopics: VoIP | No Comments »