VoIP Technology Versus Conventional Phone Lines

As it’s commonly known, VoIP is decoded as Voice over Internet Protocol. This powerful technology unites customers from across the world, applying the highly popular network that is today on everybody’s mind – the Internet. By means of World Wide Web people enable communication among each other all over the world. The Internet is no more considered a simple technology which provides text information sharing only.

Not a long time ago, the Internet was considered a good option for businesses who initiated extending their opportunities through providing the brands with virtual places on the Web. Some years later the Web was applied wider and wider not only for purchasing products but also for sharing data, due to this fact the word “Web” is commonly associated with the phrase “chat rooms”. In this way the Web started being popular and useful among users. Internet users admired the means by which this new internet method allows them to communicate with family, friends, colleagues, and so on. The majority of internet surfers through at one point that “e-mail and conversation rooms are good, but they do not provide verbal interaction”. These thoughts have not left people’s minds until programmers have not developed computer application that provided users with a chance to communicate in a verbal way via the Internet similar to how they send data packets. Nowadays we are aware that sound and video data may be transmitted into PC data and delivered through phone lines or fiber optic cables. In this way the majority of clients think of VoIP and, actually, they are almost right about how Voice over IP provides the ability to communicate.

The only thing to concern about then was the inability of those applications to conduct real phone calls though all the calls were processed via PC to PC method that is applied even nowadays by lots of programs. Telephone businesses learnt that the customers now have a substitute and can refuse using their services so they now offer VoIP services as well.

Other businesses emerged, like Packet8, Vonage, VoIP, Cordia, Bbtelsys, and so on. These businesses applied the method to suggest alternatives to clients. Lots of individuals made a decision to come over to VoIP services as their customer payments are less expensive as opposed to traditional lines, which is a good perspective, but lots of customers consider the technology to be too immature to use it.

Seeking for Voice over Internet Protocol businesses which provide free trial calls is advantageous. Some of these offer the services free of charge, as an additional phone line that can be experienced alongside with the client’s telephone service and as a month passes the customer makes a decision whether it’s applicable for his/her use. Conclusively, it’s a convenient service due to the fact that if it does not appeal to you, it can be simply cancelled without any debts.

This communication service is also applied by companies as it inhibits their telephone bills significantly. But besides being an economically right solution, VoIP services possess all the properties we use daily like: call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding, conference calling, redial, message waiting, call logs and transfer, speed and hold dial, as well as message waiting. That’s why, as it’s evident, not only the difference from common phone service makes VoIP technology popular nowadays.

July 3, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Voip Articles  No Comments

VoIP Questions

Whether in a tech-show or a tech-journal of from cyber-fan’s stories you may learn that VoIP technology is one of the best ways to improve communication experience. However, for the bulk of Internet and computer users who are not so qualified in IT I will present a translation into common English, of what VoIP technology really is and what benefits it providers it clients with. In general, VoIP service gives you an opportunity to call through the Web, by means of your PC, to almost every country in the world. The VoIP is an abbreviation for a sophisticated term, used to define the technology which can be explained in two words – Internet Telephony. The power of Voice over IP has an easy explanation of its method. The voice signals which are the definition for the voice you use to communicate with your relatives and friends for hours of phone conversation. Going back to business, it should be mentioned that VoIP transmits the voice signals into digital information which is delivered through the Internet and again retransmitted to voice signals at your interlocutor’s computer, and the circle renews again. Due to Internet Protocol, VoIP Technology provides two way and real-time transferring of communication.

It’s marvelous but what is necessary to sign up for VoIP Service?

For the first step you should learn what kind of Internet connection is offered by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). It is necessary to learn due to the fact that full VoIP functionality can be seen only with DSL or cable connection as this connection has more speed and, thus the application can load data packets faster, as a result the quality of sound in course of phone calls is better. Despite the fact that VoIP technology can be implemented even on such ISP connection as prepaid, satellite or dial-up, the technology has yet to be developed to a higher point to be able to give you the ultimate sound quality in course of conversation. Actually, if you are situated in the location which has no broadband connection yet, you aren’t forced to wait for a long time to experience high-quality communication due to the technology’s progress on low-speed internet connections. In fact, for the present moment, the quality is pretty low when the connection is slow.

What is the price for Voice over IP? Is it costly?

The price is actually the best VoIP’s advantage as VoIP has a much lower cost for its services than local telecoms and even much lower than mobile phone packages. And in case your broadband or DSL service provider belongs to the number of businesses which provide VoIP technology, thus it is even better for you, as such companies have even lower prices than that ones which provide VoIP service independently.

Is VoIP technology reliable?

Due to the fact that data delivery is processed through Internet, the quality of sound highly depends on the bandwidth. Moreover, for the present moment, paying no attention to your connection speed or ISP, the sound quality is still falling behind conventional phone lines and wireless services. Additionally, though not frequently, in case of internet connection failure, you lose the opportunity to receive or make calls, VoIP is also more exposed to dropped connection because of weak signal strength. Despite the fact that VoIP possesses a small amount of disadvantages, when you give it a try you’ll immediately understand that they do not come to the number of those which are able to make you abandon the service, particularly in case of receiving a telephone bill, as the economy due to VoIP usage is significant.

What’s about VoIP’s security?

Due to the fact that VoIP works through transferring packets, where hackers are on their alley, it’s reasonable to think of this question. Looking into it more thoroughly it can be said that being incompletely safe it is not less dangerous than to send e-mail letters daily. Speaking sincerely, if you care much about somebody’s intrusion into your private life, get rid of your mobile telephone, as it’s really simpler to wiretap the cell telephone than to hack your VoIP number and listen to VoIP calls. If since then you are again concerned about safety because of VoIP immature condition, and a consequent ability of hackers to wiretap the calls, wait until the technology matures and then give it a try.

Is it possible to save the number?

Partly yes, partly no. In the majority of cases you’ll have an opportunity to save your telephone number but for terms of safety address your potential VoIP provider asking this question. Sincerely, sometimes clients have to change the number. However, there is no perfect technology.

July 3, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Voip Articles  No Comments

Disadvantages of VoIP

Disadvantages of VoIP:
If VOIP is starting to sound really good to you, make sure you understand the following downsides as well.

No service during a power outage :
During a blackout a regular phone is kept in service by the current supplied through the phone line. This is not possible with IP phones, so when the power goes out, there is no VOIP phone service. In order to use VoIP during a power outage, an uninterruptible power supply or a generator must be installed on the premises. It should be noted that many early adopters of VoIP are also users of other phone equipment such as PBX and cordless phone bases that also rely on power not provided by the telephone company.

Emergency calls :
Another major concern with VOIP involves emergency 911 calls. Traditional phone equipment can trace your location. Emergency calls are diverted to the nearest call center where the operator can see your location in case you can’t talk. However, because a voice-over-IP call is essentially a transfer of data between two IP addresses, not physical addresses, with VOIP there is currently no way to determine where your VOIP phone call is originating from.

Although many companies are making an effort to provide for emergency calls in their service, this issue remains an important deterrent against VoIP.

Reliability :
Because VOIP relies on an Internet connection, your VOIP service will be affected by the quality and reliability of your broadband Internet service and sometimes by the limitations of your PC. Poor Internet connections and congestion can result in garbled or distorted voice quality. If you are using your computer at the same time as making a computer VOIP call, you may find that voice quality deteriorates dramatically.

This is more noticeable in highly congested networks and/or where there are long distances and/or internetworking between end points.

VoIP Voice Quality :
VoIP has a bit to improve on Voice Quality, but not in all cases. VoIP QoS(Quality of service) depends on so many factors: your broadband connection, your hardware, the service provided by your provider, the destination of your call etc. More and more people are enjoying high quality of phone calls using VoIP, but still many users complain of hearing Martian, having to wait a lot before hearing an answer etc.

Security :
This one is the last in this list, but it is not the least! Security is a main concern with VoIP, as it is with other Internet technologies. The most prominent security issues over VoIP are identity and service theft, viruses and malware, denial of service, spamming, call tampering and phishing attacks.

Other:
The domestic customers have to use headphone to make and receive phone calls, which usually international. But this could be changed when analogue telephones will be brought up to serve the same purpose.

Conclusion :
All these disadvantages will be overcome in time. There is a tremendous amount of work being done to increase the reliability and usefulness of VoIP. By 2008 most of the kinks will be worked out and VoIP will receive widespread consumer acceptance.

July 1, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Voip Basics  No Comments

Advantages of VoIP

Advantages of VoIP:
VoIP phone service providers offer many advantages to the residential and small office/home office user. If you have a high speed internet connection then choosing a VoIP phone service might be right for you.

Low Cost :
This technology leads to greater financial savings. This happens because there exists only one network carrying the voice and data provided by only one supplier. If you have a broadband Internet connection (DSL or cable), you can make PC-to-PC phone calls anywhere in the world for free. If you wish to make a PC-to-phone connection, there’s usually a charge for this but probably much cheaper than your regular phone service.

You can pay as you go or you can sign up with a VOIP service provider and pay a monthly fee in return for unlimited calls within a certain geographic area. For example, some VOIP services in the United States allow you to call anywhere in North America at no extra charge.

Low Taxes :
Since the calls are being carried over the Internet, governments have not heavily taxed VoIP phone services. Compare that to your local telephone bill (go ahead and take a close look) and you will see you are spending quite a bit on taxes each month. Therefore, choosing a VoIP provider could add up to significant savings for you and your family.

Portability :
One important concept to understand about VoIP is that unlike it’s forefathers (let’s call them PSTN for now), it is not distance or location dependent. As far as VoIP is concerned, you could be calling your supplier 1,000 miles away in Indonesia or calling your business partner on the other end of town, and it doesn’t make any difference at all, in terms of connectivity and cost.

You can make and receive phone calls wherever there is a broadband connection simply by signing in to your VoIP account. This makes VoIP as convenient as e-mail – if you are traveling, simply pack a headset or Internet phone and you can talk to your family or business associates for almost nothing.

No extra cables, no extra cost :
A VoIP phone number, unlike your regular phone number, is completely portable. Most commonly referred to as a virtual number, you can take it with you anywhere you go.

Even if you change your office address to another state, you phone number can go with you. Heck, you can even take your whole business with you wherever you travel.

Features :
Unlike regular phone service which usually charges more for extra features, VOIP comes with a host of advanced communication features. For example, call forwarding, call waiting, voicemail, caller ID and three-way calling are some of the many services included with VOIP telephone service at no extra charge. You can also send data such as pictures and documents at the same time you are talking on the phone.

VoIP phones can integrate with other services available over the Internet, including video conversation, message or data file exchange in parallel with the conversation, audio conferencing, managing address books and passing information about whether others (e.g. friends or colleagues) are available online to interested parties.

Flexibility :
When you choose a VoIP phone service provider, you will be sent a converter to allow a regular phone to use the VoIP phone service. Your phone number is programmed into the converter. This means that you can take your phone converter and phone number and use them wherever you travel in the world, just as long as you have access to a high-speed Internet connection. Because your telephone number is based in your converter (and not your home/office), you have the option of choosing any area code for your phone number. Some carriers will allow you to have more than 1 phone number in different area codes for a small additional fee (called a virtual phone number).

video-conferencing :
VoIP enables advanced bandwidth capabilities and improved video-conferencing and at a reasonable price.

July 1, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Voip Basics  No Comments

How Dose VoIP works? limitations and costs of VoIP

How does it work?
Just to confuse people, there are many kinds of VoIP. Using voice chat in MSN , G Talk or Yahoo messenger could be regarded as VoIP, so could the highly publicised Skype; but these are all proprietary systems. To talk to someone using MSN, the person at the other end also needs MSN. The same applies to Yahoo and, to a great extent, to Skype. They use their own special system that isn’t open and won’t connect to other systems easily.

True VoIP should really be based on the SIP system which is the recognized standard. Any SIP compatible device can talk to any other; you don’t even use a PC. Any SIP telephone can call another right over the internet, you don’t need any additional equipment or even a phone provider. Just plug your SIP phone into the internet connection, configure it and then dial the other person right over the internet.

In all VoIP systems, your voice is converted into packets of data, like little files, and then transmitted to the recipient over the internet and decoded back into your voice at the other end. To make it quicker, these packets are compressed before transmission, a bit like zipping a file.

Actual Cost of VoIP:
The promise of free international calls whenever you want them probably sounds a little too good to be true – there must be a catch, right? Well, yes and no. Provided you only wish to use VoIP to communicate with other VoIP users, everything is very straightforward. If however you want to be able to use VoIP to make and receive calls to and from people who don’t have VoIP, you’ll need to subscribe to a gateway service that provides a bridge between VoIP and the conventional phone networks.

Getting Started with VoIP :
Getting started with VoIP could hardly be simpler. Assuming you already have the two most important ingredients (a Windows or Mac computer and a broadband Internet connection), all you need to get started is the following:

Some free phone or messaging software.
A microphone.
Headphones or speakers (headphones are best because they won’t cause as much feedback).
An alternative to a microphone and headphones is an integrated headset, as this will leave your hands free.

When it comes to choosing which software to use, it’s worth considering whom you plan to call, since most VoIP software is proprietary. Check with any friends or relatives who already use VoIP and see what they’re using. If you plan to use VoIP to call people who use different software, you may need to install more than one program!
Examples of VoIP software you might choose to use are MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, SkyPe and ICQ, all of which are available as free downloads. All of these are designed to be beginner-friendly, so follow the installation instructions and you’ll be ready to go in a matter of minutes.

So what’s the catch?
Obviously nothing is ever as simple as it sounds. New technologies aren’t perfect and pricing often reflects this, if it wasn’t cheaper nobody would switch.

The main problem with VoIP applications is bandwidth contention. This complicated term isn’t as difficult as it sounds. You might have anything from a 512Kb broadband connection to 8Mb and beyond, dial-up isn’t suitable for VoIP. It doesn’t matter how big this connection is, it can still get busy.

VoIP phone call requires at least 100Kb or dedicated bandwidth and without this, you may find your phone calls less than satisfactory. To resolve this problem, there are now ranges of internet routers to use with your existing cable or DSL connection. These are VoIP aware and will dedicate the bandwidth to your phone call when you need it but free up all the bandwidth for other use when you’re not on the phone. Some VoIP service providers will supply a compatible router with your connection package, it’s essential.

June 30, 2009   Posted in: Voip Basics  No Comments