Voip 101 – Definition and Review
Chances are, you’ve probably witnessed some ridiculously funny commercials made by VOIP providers. But do you really know what they’re about? A basic VOIP definition means and stands for voice over internet protocol. In layman’s terms, this means a phone that uses the internet or ip as its phone line. VOIP has many key differences from the traditional phone system that you are used to. It holds several advantages over standard phones, with a few downfalls. Let’s look at what voice over ip is and how it can benefit you.
The VOIP system, in most cases, hooks up pretty seamlessly to your existing phone. You can just use your regular phone and plug it into the box that you’re given. The box from your VOIP provider hooks into the internet and takes care of all the technical stuff, while you’re free to dial and talk like normal. It may seem confusing, but it basically operates like a very advanced form of email. It translates your voice into data packets that can be transmitted instantaneously through the internet and then comes out on the other side. Although you may worry about a significant lag time with this, for most VOIP providers, one does not exist. You can talk easily, just like you were talking on a regular phone. You may be thinking…”Great, but why would I go to the trouble of switching?”
Probably the single biggest factor in the VOIP revolution is price. If saving money is important to you (chances are it probably is), VOIP may be for you. If you make many long distance phone calls, voice over ip is most likely a lot cheaper than what you pay now. The reason for this is that your call is routed over the internet. You can call someone in Indonesia and talk for three hours and it would be the same as talking to someone down the street. Think about it. Does it cost you any extra to send someone an email overseas compared to someone locally? Of course not…that would be ridiculous. So, if you need to talk to someone in another country, this is definitely something you’ll want to look into. With many VOIP providers, you can get one low price that covers unlimited local and long distance calls. In many cases, it’s what you might be paying just for local service from a traditional phone provider.
VOIP providers also provide many amazing features that you can’t receive with a regular telephone. You’ll probably get all of the features that you usually pay extra for, free. You’ll most likely get call waiting, three-way calling, caller ID, voicemail, etc. In addition to these standard features, you can integrate the phone into your computer easily. If you desire, your voicemail, can be routed directly to your email inbox. This is a neat feature that can come in handy. You can make multiple phone lines ring simultaneously. This can be very handy if you’re running a business. You can make your business phone ring on another phone line if necessary.
Another great feature of voice over ip is the ability to choose your own area code. You may be asking, “Why would I care what area code I’m in?” Imagine that you move and you want to keep the same number. All you have to do is pack up your box and move it. Then when you get to wherever you’re going, just plug the box back into your broadband connection and you’ll still have the same number. Now your Grandma can still call you without even learning a new number.
If you own a business that operates a great deal with people of a certain area, but you’re not in that area code, you can simply pick the area code you need. Now your customers won’t have to dial long distance to talk to you and therefore increases the likelihood of them calling you.
Despite all of these features, you may decide that you don’t want to go through the trouble of switching. While it is a growing sector of the telecommunications industry, it’s not for everyone. It’s not quite as simple as a regular phone line, so you’ll want to research the options you have available.
There are multiple VOIP providers for you to choose from. Probably the most well known of these is Vonage. They have very good call quality and many features available for everyone. It is not the cheapest provider, however. Other good providers are AOL, AT&T and Skype. Whichever one you choose, make sure it offers what you need.
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