The Pros and Cons of Broadband Internet Phone
Most people don’t know that they already have everything they need to start saving money using internet telephony, or VoIP. All you have to have is a regular telephone and high-speed internet access. That’s it! If you have both of those, you are ready to start saving loads of money on local and long distance phone calls.
It is inevitable that VOIP will replace traditional telephone service at some point. The only question is when should you jump in?
VOIP is quickly becoming more reliable and receiving wider acceptance. In fact, phone companies are already taking advantage of the technology to provide cheaper long distance rates. Like any emerging technology, however, there are kinks in the system that are still being worked out.
Advantages:
Internet Phone Service has numerous advantages over traditional telephone service. The most obvious is the cost benefits. If you have a high-speed internet connection, you can make phone calls from PC-to-PC anywhere in the world for FREE! More common PC-to-Phone calls usually come with a small charge but are still much cheaper than regular phone service.
For a small monthly fee, you can sign up with a VoIP service provider and get unlimited calls within the country! International calls can also be made for a fraction of the cost of regular service.
Another advantage is its portability. You can make and receive phone calls wherever there is a broadband connection by simply signing in to your VOIP account. This makes VOIP as convenient as e-mail. When you’re traveling, you simply pack a headset or Internet phone; then you can talk to family or colleagues for next to nothing.
Phone-to-phone VOIP is also portable. Internet phones are small and light enough to take anywhere. When you sign up with a VOIP service provider, the Internet phone or adaptor used by that service is assigned a unique number. This ‘phone number’ remains valid, even if your VOIP service is in Los Angeles and you’re connected to the Internet in London. When plugged into a broadband connection, anywhere in the world, you can make and receive calls as though you were at home.
Features like call forwarding, call waiting, voicemail, caller ID and 3way-calling, are included with Internet telephone at no extra charge. While you’re talking on the phone, you can send pictures and documents at the same time.
Disadvantages:
Unfortunately, there are a couple of minor drawbacks you may experience. The first is the fact that you would loose service during a power outage and the other is limited emergency calling.
Conventional phone service continues by the current supplied through the phone line during a blackout. This isn’t possible with Internet phones. When the power goes, there goes VOIP service. Battery backups and power generators that provide electricity are the current solutions to this problem.
Emergency (911) calls are another concern for many potential customers as well. In the event that you need to call 911 but can’t speak or have to leave, your call can be traced when dialed from a traditional phone. However, this is not the case with VoIP. Fortunately, there is currently technology being developed called ‘e911′ that will make this possible, so this will not be a problem for much longer.
VOIP also has sound quality and reliability problems. Data sent across the Internet usually arrives at its destination scrambled. E-mail and documents can be reassembled in the correct order when it arrives. Voice data also arrives scrambled, but it’s more complicated because of the real-time nature of VOIP. Some data packets may have to be dropped when they don’t arrive in time, in order to make voice connections with the least delay. This can cause brief silences in the audio stream.
Your internet connection speed and the distance of the call are the two biggest factors in the quality of the call. If you are in a high-traffic area this may also cause some loss in the quality of the conversation. Once again, technology is constantly being improved on and this is becoming less and less of an inconvenience.
While the disadvantages mentioned above currently present minor problems, it is expected that these will be corrected by the year 2008 and VoIP technology will have become the industry standard for telephone communication.
About The Author
Mark Hipp is an avid technology and amatuer radio enthusiast. He also manages several websites including:
http://www.vonage-broadband-phone-service.com
http://www.ipod-nano-store.com
http://www.goodasnewmusic.com
LocalLong Distance - Should You Switch
Remember the telephone companies’ deregulation of the 1980s? If someone were to ask me then to switch my phone service I would have said ‘no way’. You see during this initial period it really was all about the network.
Well, the times have certainly changed. For some of us in the United States, we’ve seen the TV commercials trying to instill fear of switching providers. By the way, it probably goes without saying, but you do know who’s funding those advertisements right? The big name providers who obviously don’t want to loose your business.
The times have changed. The networks have stabilized, are reliable and offer the same quality. Let’s face it; even the major local providers need to interface with other companies network. A local provider is not providing end-to-end long distance. Once they get out of their ‘network’ they need to interface with another providers ‘network’ in order to complete your call.
At the start of this, I stated I would not have switched my long distance provider back in the 1980’s. I’m happy to say, I’ve switched my long distance provider a long time back and have been extremely happy with the service, quality and reliability. Actually, I’ve experienced no difference at all in service, reliability or quality of calls between my
smaller named long distance carrier and the big name carrier I used to use. The biggest difference, for me, was a HUGE cost savings.
Everyone’s calling habits are different. I live in a large midwestern city and my long distance calling is generally to New York City and southern California. I for one cut my long distance by over HALF what it was. Anytime we can save money without loosing quality of service is a no brainer. Get past the hype and the fear the major providers try to stir up.
Having said all that, how would you choose a provider? First, we’d certainly like you to use our web site, but there are many web sites today that provide free quotes for you. Learn how to read your quote. Don’t to lured by a cheap per minute rate because that is only part of what your overall bill will be. Terms, conditions, taxes and fee’s can quickly exceed any perceived cost savings on rate alone.
There are reliable, lower cost carriers out there. There is money to be saved. There is a way to learn how to read your quote and know exactly what you’re paying for. Use our site, use someone else’s site, but learn to read your quote and you will happily save money every month.
Provided by Full Service Broadband Provider. We offer unbiased and informative information on broadband and communication products and services. This service is made possible through Try Right Technology, Inc
Tags: long distance, phone serviceBroadband Phones Myth and Reality
Broadband phones are becoming more mainstream. There are articles whether broadband phone service reached a tipping point or not. What is clear, though, is that phone service delivered over the public internet is the future of telecommunications.
Let’s take a step back and examine what the uses are for broadband phone service. More specifically, the technology behind it. Broadband phone service is utilized by a technology called Voice Over IP (Internet Protocol), or VoIP. It utilizes the bandwidth (the “speed” in layman’s terms) to send voice packets. These packets are sent like any other data (i.e. email, web browsing etc.). When they reach their destination the data packets are reconstructed and converted into voice!
All of this happens in a fraction of a second but many issues can arise to degrade the broadband phone service quality. A slow connection, bad phone, over-utilized bandwidth and a bad service provider can all degrade the quality of the phone call.
While broadband phone service uses VoIP not all VoIP is using broadband phone service, at least in the traditional sense. Companies with multiple office can communicate using VoIP over direct connections or over the public Internet. Even though between the remote offices they are communicating over VoIP when a call is made outside the company they can still use regular phone service (PSTN or T-1 service). This allows them to take advantage of Voice Over IP without the detriments of broadband phone service.
There are usually significant cost savings by using broadband phone service that can alleviate the negative effects of service quality. For the general consumer this might be an acceptable trade-off. But a commercial enterprise might not want to accept this risk.
Another issue that arises with broadband phone service providers is their longevity. Since it’s relatively inexpensive to start a VoIP company you should be extra cautious about the background of the company before you commit your number. Many consumers have been burnt by using new companies who offered too good to be true deals. Sometimes when it’s “too good to be true” it IS too good to be true. Buyer beware.
There are many cool features that broadband phone companies provide. For example, many of them email you your voice-mails. You can open your email and listen to the audio attachment on your computer. Some also offer a voice menu system that you can change, when you want, on their website.
As the technology matures and the quality gets better broadband phone service will be the norm and old legacy phones will be just that, a legacy from the past.
Cy Yablonsky is a Realtor Associate with ERA Othello Realty, with a strong concentration in technology. Visit Real Estate in NJ to visit the http://www.OthelloRealty.com website. You have permission to reproduce this article as long as this paragraph and all links are live.
Tags: broadband phones, phone service, technology, voip