Google

Saturday, December 27, 2008

5 Ways VOIP Technology is Changing the Phone Business

5 Ways VOIP Technology is Changing the Phone Business

Few technologies have made as sudden an impact on the telecommunications industry as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). In a matter of only years, VOIP has changed the way people think about their phone service and, more specifically, the power of the Internet. But is it all just talk, or are there real benefits to be had for you and your business? The following information sheds some light on the most important ways VOIP can change the way you call. How is VOIP Technology Changing the Phone Business?

Here are 5 ways VOIP technology is reshaping the phone business around the world:

Unifying Internet and Phone Technology. One of the promises of modern consumer electronics is the synthesis of varying utilities in a single hub (or videogame machine would be our web browser, etc.). VOIP helps realize this promise by giving people the power to control their phone communications from their computer.

Ending the reliance on land-line phones. Already, millions of individuals have given up their traditional land-line phones in favor of their cell phones. Now, more and more people are cutting the cord because of access to VOIP.

Providing free calls to millions of customers. One of the strongest selling points of VOIP phone systems continues to be the FREE calling from one service customer to another. If you and your friends, family, business partners or clients have access to the same VOIP service, the calls are gratis with most providers.

Freeing customers from the bonds of big telecommunications companies. For far too long, big telecom providers have held their customers hostage with high prices and long-term commitments. VOIP providers, on the other hand, have taken things in another direction. By giving people more power to choose their own calling plans and remove the limits that long-term contracts have placed on them.

By helping businesses save money. Businesses that choose to work with VOIP technology can potentially save thousands of dollars on infrastructure costs. Without having to worry about heavy phone installations, equipment and draconian service arrangements, businesses of all sizes can use much needed funds to develop their business in other ways.

VOIP usage for businesses and individuals has seen double-digit growth in each of the past several years. This is happening because more people are learning about this innovative, ground-breaking technology and jumping on board. Low start up costs and easy-access are also helping to fuel this growth in what looks to be a dominant part of the communications landscape for years to come.

How Does VoIP Work?

How Does VoIP Work?

It’s actually quite easy to compare VoIP (http://www.tech-faq.com/voip.shtml) providers because the technology is so new that the features that each provider offers differ quite a bit. Just like any service, you want to be sure that you get the best deal, and a program that will fit your needs and desires. Luckily, comparing VoIP providers will be quite simple and you’ll quickly be able to select the provider that is best suited to you.

The first thing you’ll want to do when you want to compare VoIP providers is find out which ones offer services in your area. You may be able to eliminate a couple providers just by looking at their areas of service. Once you eliminate the providers that just won’t work out, you’ll have to look at features and price.

One of the biggest differences between VoIP providers is the features that they can offer. Many have very easy to use routers that allow you to use a regular analog signal and digital signal when it’s suitable. Some VoIP providers only allow calls to other VoIP users, and others allow you to call anyone, anywhere, anytime.

If you make a lot of long distance calls you’ll really want to pay attention to the plans and the provider that you go with. Some VoIP providers don’t distinguish between local and long distance calls, so you basically get all your calls one month for just a service fee. Other VoIP service providers don’t allow you to make long distance calls, or they charge exorbitant fees for them. So, the amount of long distance phone calls you make may be the deciding factor in your choice for a VoIP provider.

Do a lot of research, just like you would when you are looking into any service. If you know whom you are dealing with it’s a lot easier to make an educated decision. When you determine exactly what you need then it’s just a matter of matching your needs with what is offered! Good luck, VoIP is definitely the wave of the future and it will only get easier and more advanced!

Free VoIP Or Paid VoIP – Which One Is Better?

Free VoIP Or Paid VoIP – Which One Is Better?

Paid VoIP plans start at around $20 a month which comes to about $250 a year. So why pay for it if you can get it for free? But before I delve into that let me notice that even with the free VoIP to landline or cell phone offers – there are often small long distance charges with common exceptions often dealing with free promotional offers.

There are certain features that the paid VoIP provider might provide which a free one might not. One such feature is the 911 emergency call service functionality. This particular issue has to do with the difficulty of pinpointing a geographical location of a call that is being routed through the Internet. FCC has regulated in 2005 that all VoIP providers hooking up to PSTN network are required to comply with providing full 911 call compatibility or otherwise not to obtain new customers in areas where it is mandatory.

Sometimes there is also raised a question of a voice transmission quality difference between the two types of VoIP although in my personal experience that has not been an issue.

Next there is the local phone number availability. Some free VoIP providers offer it as an add-on paid feature. The same may apply to extras like caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding and voice mail. Others allow you even to have more then one local number and in remote geographical locations.

If you are a business VoIP user the ability to send faxes over VoIP might be important to you as well. Or if you are using VoIP for conference calling with large number of simultaneous participants then it is definitely something to find out – how far will your VoIP provider be able to accommodate you with that.

The final answer to which type of VoIP is better will depend on whether you need these extra features. Also many paid VoIP providers have sign up specials offering either free VoIP phone sets and/or interface boxes for regular corded or cordless phones . So if you are planning on using regular phone sets for dialing up to VoIP network that might be then also something to consider.

And if you are not depending on free long distance VoIP to PSTN offers from the free VoIP providers then the amount of time you spend on the phone can also be a factor in deciding which type of VoIP is best suite to your needs.

VoIP makes it's mark with consumers and business

VoIP makes it's mark with consumers and business

VOIP – Voice over Internet Protocol - is a new telephone technology that allows subscribers to make calls using the same networks used by the internet. The name can be misleading because the service uses the internet protocol but does not use the internet.

Because of the method that these calls are sent and received, VOIP calls are typically less expensive than traditional phone calls. Many providers charge a basic subscription rate and then calls are free to other VOIP subscribers around the world.

Calls to traditional phone lines are also possible with VOIP, although there is often a minimal charge with these calls.

VOIP is making its mark in popular society mainly due to advertising. Providers like Vonage are intriguing consumer market with ads that lure them into abandoning traditional telephone companies for this new way of “phoning home.” This is good for VOIP, but could spell trouble for the large telcos.

VOIP providers are also making a play for the commercial market, although the current reliability and quality have been hindering this move. The ability to add lines and features with little or no cost to the SMB industry makes VOIP the best telephone choice.

With providers striving to increase the performance of VOIP, it will continue to increase its subscriber base in the telephone industry.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Free Internet Calling: Leveraging PC Phone Calls

Free Internet Calling: Leveraging PC Phone Calls

Voice over IP is a digital technology that is used to forward calls in digital packet forms to others at distant places of the world. As the technology is completely digital and makes use of satellites, so several service providers have found it possible on their part to offer free services to their customers. The move has generated world wide applause and people have started to abandon traditional telephone networks. An incredible number of users have subscribed to the services offered by VoIP networks.

There are several websites that work on the principles of VoIP. They cater to offer free calling services to people in the entire world. Aspiring people just need to subscribe themselves to these websites. There are no subscription charges on these sites. The process is very simple. One just needs to fill in the blanks of an online form. Having down so, people get themselves registered to these websites. So, after completing the registration process it is possible for the subscribers to avail every service offered by the website. The registration just takes a few minutes and a person can be through with it in one go.

The websites enable people to make free phone calls, even if they happen to visit remote places of the world. It just takes to access internet on a laptop or a PC. Having done so, users can call for free, their friends and relatives. The conversation over this system of telephony can be carried on for hours without having to bother about anything like 'phone bills'. Moreover, the system is also blessed by other features. While making free PC phone calls with the aid of websites, one can also see the end caller on the screen of their PC. This helps to build in more intimacy. Then callers can also send messages, share images and upload videos. All these make this system of calling for free very effective.

The advantages of this system of calling have tempted many people to completely abandon their traditional methods of calling. Now, people find it more convenient and useful on their part to subscribe to the free internet calling services offered by the websites. This is because they can reach out to others residing in their country or overseas, free of cost. So, large number of people all over the world are known to have registered themselves to the calling services provided by the websites.

Information about free calling and websites that cater to offer this service are available on the internet. People can learn details about these sites from the information available on the web. By inserting keywords on various search engines, a user can easily find details about the free PC phone calls and websites that bring such free calling services. However, people should only subscribe to those sites that are well known and provide all latest facilities to subscribers.

India Calling Now Easy With VoIP Network

India Calling Now Easy With VoIP Network

Calling to India has become very simple with the introduction of VoIP technology. It is possible for people to discard traditional means of connectivity and stay tuned to the latest facility of calling offered by Voice Over IP. There is no reason why people should not benefit from this system. It just takes people to register themselves with service providers. Then it becomes possible for people to avail the services provided by the websites that cater to providing VoIP service. This is what helps to forward calls and make stunning leaps on the communication front.

The technology can connect people to distant places of the world. Thus calls to India or any other country can be easily forwarded. Moreover, the technology comes with other options such as messaging and sharing files. So, calling India or other countries has become very fascinating. A caller can see the end-user on the screen of his computer. This further helps to build the intimacy between people. Users feel delighted to make use of other options such as 3 way calling that allows people to undertake conference calls with others. Thus it can be seen the huge response of people from the entire world to avail this latest method of telephony. Resellers of VoIP have further made it easy for people to access the services of the system. It is now possible for a person who is living at a remote part of the world to connect with VoIP network due to the presence of resellers. Thus the VoIP calling plans to India has seen a tremendous response.

Expenses involved with this system of calling are also very low in comparison to other methods of telephony. So, people avail this system just to make sure that they connect with others at low cost. The technology has made cheap VoIP calls to Inida and other nations possible. The billing procedure of this technology is also very simple. It is found that online billing methods are introduced for people to conveniently pay off their bills. The users are also regularly updated by emails that give details of their monthly expenditure. So, monthly expenditures are kept within the control of users.

Information about the various websites that offer VoIP calls to India is available on the Internet. So, it is possible for people to actually stay ahead in life by accessing services from the various websites. The users feel delighted to know about the technology and the boon that it offers to clients all over the world. There are several such websites that are being launched in recent times. So, finding one is not at all a problem. People can easily register themselves with the various sites by providing their email address and phone number. This personal information is required for receiving 'customer service' that is provided by the service providers.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Top Six VoIP Tips

Top Six VoIP Tips

If you're new to VoIP and are looking to tap into this great new service, these are some things you should consider both before you make the plunge and after you've signed up with a broadband phone service provider.

Don't Pay an Arm and a Leg

While in the early years of VoIP, there was very little competition and prices were high, that's certainly no longer the case. There's no reason you should pay more than you have to when it comes to an Internet phone service.

Free is Good

To stay one step ahead of the competition, some VoIP service providers offer free phone hardware if you sign up with them. This might not seem like a lot, but in today's economy, any way you can save money is good. Activation Fees

As with any service agreement you get into, be sure to read all the fine print and all the details. Some service providers might try to slip in costly activation fees without making it obvious that you'll be paying these extra fees. Granted, it's usually not a lot, but there are a lot of opportunities out there wher e you don't have to pay any activation fee. Promotions

Don't be afraid to wait a little while to see if you can catch a deal or a special offer. If you're thinking about VoIP, it makes sense to not rush into it and study the market for a while to see if you can get the best possible deal. Sometimes by even waiting a week, you'll run into a great deal that you might have missed if you didn't wait. You have to make the decision eventually, but shop around for promotions.

Research

Tap into the power of the Internet and communicate with other people currently using VoIP. Chances are, you can easily find someone (or a few people) who are using the broadband phone service provider you're thinking about using. By contacting these people via email or reading their thoughts on forums or blogs, you can educate yourself about the best deal for your money. Change is Good Don't ever feel trapped with one service provider for your VoIP needs. If a few months into it, you find a better deal, don't be afraid to switch. Most good providers will allow you to carry your number with you. Another case would be if you're not completely satisfied with the service from your broadband phone provider.

Technology

To get the most out of your VoIP experience, you'll want to stay on top of all the latest technological advances. That doesn't mean you have to buy every single new piece of software or hardware that comes out, but you should look at the features that are built into the new hardware and software to make sure you're not falling behind and losing benefits from newer equipment.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

What Is VoIP Technology

What Is VoIP Technology

You may have heard the term Voip used a lot in the media, but are not sure what everyone is so excited about. Here you will find the answers to your most sought after Voip technology questions.

What is Voip technology?

Technically, VOIP is Voice Over Internet Protocol, or voices traveling over internet lines and wires like other information would. So, what does this mean to you? A lot. Even if you don't have a clue what Voip technology is, you may still be utilizing it everyday if you have a digital phone line or if you use a microphone hooked into your computer to speck to others while you are connected to the internet.

What is Voip technology going to do for me?

Digital phone and services like it keep costs down for the company, which is passed on to the consumer. It is usually much cheaper then a traditional land phone line, especially if you want extras such as caller ID and call forwarding.

What is Voip technology going to lack?

As great as Voip technology may be, there are some drawbacks that one using it for your phone service should realize. First, most digital phone companies do not provide access to emergency assistance numbers, such as 911 for those in the US. This may leave your household vulnerable if you use digital phone. Some consumers overcome this by keeping a basic plan with there traditional phone company provider or have a cell phone available in case of an emergency.

Another drawback to Voip technology in the form of digital phone is that if your power goes out, so does your phone. When you have a service through a traditional phone company, you can still access your line even during power outages as long as you do not need a second power source to run it (ex: cordless phones need a second power source to run, so when the power goes out so does your phone). This is not so with digital phone. However, once again having a basic plan with your traditional phone company or having a cell phone on hand may remedy this problem.

What is Voip technology overall?

Voip technology can be an asset to anyone. It keeps the cost of having a land phone line cheap while still allowing us to communicate verbally without having to rely solely on cell phones. The next time you are taking a look at your high-price phone bill from your phone company, take another look at digital phone and Voip technology in general. You may rack up savings that you never even knew existed.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Voip Phone Systems for Small Businesses

Voip Phone Systems for Small Businesses

Small businesses have ambitious goals similar to those set by large firms, but they have more of a need for cost-effective solutions. VoIP phone systems for small businesses are one of these solutions.

Efficiency and Flexibility to the Nth Degree

Efficient, flexible and economical solutions are essential for communication between various departments, employer and employee, as well as with clients. VoIP phone systems fit the bill perfectly. They're technologically superior, offer plenty of features and bring costs down. Some of the common and basic elements of small business VoIP phone systems include:

• Voicemail
• Auto attendant
• Call forwarding
• Call queuing
• Call screening
• Automatic call distribution
• Fax mail
• Music on hold, and plenty of other advanced features

With VoIP office phone connections business heads can:

• Make phone calls from computer or the Internet
• Link their business computers together
• Communicate with their employees be they in office or geographically anywhere else in the world
• Hold business meetings or client meetings over the Internet, wherever they or those participating in them are
• Monitor their organization, their employees and keep in touch with their clients from their location

Flawless Communication Guaranteed

The tremendous flexibility VoIP phone systems offer ensures that employers can stay in touch with their employees and clients wherever they may be in the globe. Since calls get transmitted through data networks rather than phone lines, the clarity is unmatched. Any number of extensions can be added and it doesn't require much of a monetary or technological input. Hosted VoIP systems don't require equipment maintenance on the part of the client, as it's taken care of at the site of the VoIP service provider itself.

With these and more advantages, there's no doubt, then, that VoIP phone systems for small businesses are here to stay.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Ventrilo Hosting is Critical to Your Gaming Experience

Ventrilo Hosting is Critical to Your Gaming Experience

Ventrilo is a VOIP solution that is critical to keeping your gaming experience state-of-the-art. Of course, while ventrilo may be doing its job, the difficulty may be if you have ventrilo hosting solutions that are less than superior. In this article, we look at stable and reliable Ventrilo hosting solutions and how to achieve that at a reasonable price.

Ventrilo

Ventrilo is a trademark of Flagship Industries. Ventrilo is also the industry standard by which all others measure themselves. Many attempt to imitate its features but few have had success coming even close to the same level of performance.

Ventrilo exceeds the competition by offering surround sound positioning and special sound effects on a per user, per channel, per server or global configuration. In addition, the ventrilo program provides each user the option to fully customize exactly how they wish to hear sounds from other users or event

Hosting Considerations

When you are considering hosting solutions, keys things that you should keep in mind are stability, reliability, ease of installation, customer support, and of course, reasonable pricing. In addition, you should really be looking for a solution that has a powerful control panel to manage every aspect of your Ventrilo server.

In addition, you should recognize the different voice modes that your Ventrilo Server is capable of providing. So, for example, queued mode on a Ventrilo server allows only one person to talk at a time. By building in ease of use and total flexibility, you can totally control your Guild's user experience.

With some ventrilo host control panels, you have full control of the Ventrilo Server to make all needed changes including editing the ini files, start and stop and ventrilo tracker. Also if that wasn't good enough, some also offer a Ventrilo Control Panel allowing you to make all needed configuration changes. Honestly, probably the two most important things to you are going to be easy of use and setup with the control panel as well as 24/7/365 quality support.

Pricing for ventrilo server hosting is all over the map but let me give you a rough target. For 50 slots, you can get your pricing down to 15.99 per month, which if you do the math, comes out to a whopping $0.32 per slot, per month: in our mind, that is truly oustanding capability at an excellent price.

Servers

Many Ventrilo server hosts have one or two locations, which may be a bit limited for your needs.... remember, the closer you are located to your host server, the better your gaming experience is likely to be. Also, be careful. Sometimes you'll be forced to low fidelity by the limitations of the ventrilo server, in which case it's time to go elsewhere to find a different host.... believe me, saving a few bucks does not make it worthwhile if your game experience is lousy.

So to conclude, a quality ventrilo server can really make all the difference in your gaming performance. Simply start out by finding a good quality host, with a good control panel, with good bandwidth, and with good customer support. When you find that source, you are in for a trouble free, gaming experience.

VoIP: What You Need to Know

VoIP: What You Need to Know

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) may seem like a frightening topic beyond your grasp, but it is really not that complicated. Here are some small things that you need to know about VoIP if you're considering it for your home or office.

VoIP does just what the name suggests. It transmits voice data via IP packets over the Internet. This is done either through the computer alone (with special software and a microphone and earphones), or with a computer and extra hardware.

The extra VoIP hardware usually consists of a network adapter (that allows you to plug any phone into it to use over the VoIP network) or an entire phone built to make the most of VoIP technology. Price depends on the hardware, with the complete phones typically costing more than the simple adapters.

The whole process is rather simple when broken down. Your voice (through software on your computer or in the phone or network adapter) is translated into small digital packets. These packets containing small bits of your conversation and they traverse the Internet to their destination. There, they are decoded and turned back into your voice.

And all of this happens in real time, just like a normal dedicated voice line. Granted, Quality of Service (QoS) is still a worry with some providers, but as the technology matures and more and more people make the switch, these problems are becoming few and far between.

This is a simple technology, but it's caused changes to a lot of businesses, saving them money by consolidating their voice and data networks into one system. It's also brought down the price (considerably) of long distance calls for home consumers.

Old Vs. New

To better understand VoIP, you have to know a little bit about PSTN (the Public Switched Telephone Network.) With this method of phone communication (that has been around since the telephone was invented on a large scale), when someone calls another person, one continuous route is made between the two phones. Traditionally, the longer the route, the more expensive the cost of the call.

VoIP is different in that it sends out small packets of information rather than one long continuous string of information. Because of this, the Internet (also a packet based network) can be used to transmit phone calls. It doesn't sound like a big thing when you break it down like that, but it's actually quite a breakthrough in the 100 or so year history of the telephone. Internet telephony is still a relatively new thing. As such, we can expect a lot more innovation in the VoIP space over the next ten to twenty years. Hopefully this small peek at VoIP has whet your appetite for more information.

VoIP