VoIP phone service

Written by lifang May 05, 2008 11:25

Although the concept of placing calls over the Internet has been in practice several years, today's VoIP, short for voice over Internet protocol, is packed with new features allowing users to listen to voice mail over the web and to forward calls automatically from any broadband connection. Five years ago, the voice quality was inconsistent because the Internet connections were slow and the software was rudimentary. However, today's VoIP phone service is simple to access anywhere there is a broadband Internet connection. Companies such as Vonage, Packet8 and Skype Technologies all offer competitive packages to lure the consumer away from traditional telephone services.

What's new in VoIP services

  • Receive voice mail as e-mail messages, since all calls are routed to a specific IP address, and not to a physical location
  • If moving to a new house or to a different state, VoIP users usually can retain their VoIP number even if they switch their broadband service
  •  Improved 911 services that are not tied to the caller's location. However, the VoIP user must set up 911 dialing option so that the call will be routed to the nearest emergency personnel
  • Using a PC, Skype Technologies offers a VoIP service that allows any Skype user to converse with any other user of its service over the Internet for free
  • At Vonage, calls to Canada and Puerto Rico are considered local and international calls are not charged any connection fees with rates ranging from $.04 to $2.45 a minute

How VoIP works

VoIP phone services break down the customer's voice into tiny data bits that are dispersed over the Internet. Once at the recipient's location, the bits are then reassembled into the caller's voice. While traditional phone technology requires separate circuits for each user, VoIP technology shares network space with other Internet data, making business and personal calls that much more reliable and cost-effective. According to analyst Jon Arnold of Frost and Sullivan consultants, the U.S. had 500,000 VoIP residential users in 2004, and that market could grow to 16.5 million by 2008.

In VoIP technology, phones may be hard or soft. In order to access most VoIP services, the customer needs to set up an account with a VoIP provider and already have access to a cable/DSL high-speed Internet connection with a home router (so that the VoIP is also sharing the broadband connection). Then he or she will purchase the VoIP phone adapter. These are called "hard" devices as opposed to "soft" phones like Skype Technologies or Vonage's Softphone. With "soft" phone technology, the customer downloads and registers the VoIP software. The use of a separate headset, instead of the PC's microphone and speakers, is also recommended to ensure better call quality.

As digital VoIP calling becomes more affordable and as the perceived voice quality and service reliability is assumed to be equal to that of analog landline phones, traditional telephone customers will be more likely to embrace this phenomenon. Soon making a phone call will just be another service provided over the Internet.