With the economy in the shape it is today, many small businesses are facing some tough realities as how to manage their business. Small business owners are keeping spending to a minimum and controlling costs while they ride out this economic downturn. Many seasoned business owners will tell you the good thing about running a business during a downturn is that it forces you to really look at your business and decide what’s important and what’s not. All operating costs and expenses are looked over with a fine toothed comb and it is in this time that many business owners find money that has been going to waste.
Depending on your business, your telecommunication costs can eat up a sizable chunk of your budget. Over the last few years VOIP technology has really come of age as costs keep getting lower and service keeps getting better. Listed below are the 5 reasons you should consider making the switch to VOIP technology for you business in 2010.
1 – It’s Cheaper than old fashioned telephone service. Although you will spend several hundred dollars in equipment to get yourself set up, the savings over the long run can be substantial. One of the biggest savings is long distance charges. Besides having to pay long distance access fees each month, most traditional phone companies charge rates considerably higher than VOIP providers. Most VOIP plans come standard with almost every feature you can think of while traditional phone companies usually charge a monthly fee for even the most basic features. These add on fees can quickly add up on your monthly bill.
2 – Unified Communication. Unified Communications is a fancy word to describe the ability to integrate your VOIP phone service with other communications such as email and computer programs. With unified communications you have the ability to have voicemail messages emailed directly to you wherever you may be. Long gone are the days you have to repeatedly call into the office to see if there are messages waiting. Another great application for VOIP is integrating it into a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) program for you business. Imagine when the phone rings the computer screen automatically pops up the account history of your customer before you even pick up the phone. Talk about a great customer service tool.
3 – The technology is here. In the early days of VOIP chronically dropped phone calls and sounding like your calling from Mars were the norm. Over the last few years bandwith has increased to a rate where businesses can operate several applications, including VOIP, over their internet connections without losing quality. Quality of Service technology, which gives VOIP and streaming video priority over data transmission has also paved the way to superior Voice over Internet phone calls.
4 – Hosted PBX. Traditional PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems were usually reserved for big business as it is very expensive to set up. You also need someone with IT experience to manage it. With a Hosted PBX, the entire system is hosted on a remote server, where you, or your service provider, can manage it remotely. All of this can be done at a fraction of the cost of a traditional PBX system while giving small and home based businesses the professional image they need to compete with the big boys.
5 – It’s coming anyway, whether your ready for it or not.
Traditional phone services are going the way of the dinosaur. High fees, long term contracts and poor customer service has been the hallmark of traditional phone companies for a very long time. VOIP and Hosted PBX plans offer the small business owner lower telecom costs, more productivity and a chance to take their customer service to the next level. There are dozens of VOIP providers to choose from, the important thing is to educate yourself on this technology and seek out a vendor who can provide the proper support and consultation for a seemless transition.
By: Gary Shouldis
Archive for December, 2009
Free VOIP Phone Calls – VOIP Technology is Explained in Detail
December 29th, 2009
VoIP is a break through invention which lets you make free or very cheap local, long distance and international calls. You may have a few questions in your mind such as how VoIP works, what are the benefits of VoIP.
VoIP relationship with Computers and Networks.
Put VoIP aside for now and lets start learning about computer networking, you may have heard about computers, networks, switches and wireless networks. Computers communicate with each other via a set of copper wires, fiber optic cables and wireless spectrum waves. Computer communication takes place in the form of data. For example if you are sending an email to someone that email is converted into data packets which are transmitted over the network of computers, switches and routers and when transmitted packets arrives at destination these are again converted back into email. This whole process takes less than few milliseconds to complete. That is how a computer network communication takes place.
VoIP is very similar to computer data communication in nature therefore it is important that you understand how computer data network works.
How VoIP works and how a VoIP call is transmitted over data networks?
Now since we have discovered how computer data network functions therefore it will be easier for us to grasp how VoIP works. VoIP stands for (Voice over Internet Protocol), VoIP calls feel and sounds no different than a standard PSTN call. The only difference is that the VoIP calls are transmitted over computer data networks rather than PSTN exchanges.
When we make a VoIP call, a communication channel is established between caller and called party over IP (Internet Protocol) which runs on top of computer data networks. A telephony conversation that takes place over VoIP are converted into binary data packets streams in real time and transmitted over data network, when these data packets arrive at the destination these are again converted into standard telephony conversation. This whole process of voice conversion into data, transmission and data conversion into back voice conversation takes place within less than few milliseconds. That is how a VoIP is call is works over data networks. I hope that now you understand basics of how a VoIP call takes place.
What are speech codec’s and what role codec plays in VoIP?
Speech codec play a vital role in VoIP and codec determines the quality and cost of the call. Let me explain you what exactly VoIP codec’s are and how they work. You may have heard about data compression, or probably you have heard about air compressor which compresses a volume of air in enclosed container, VoIP codec’s are no different than a air compressor. Speech codec’s compresses voice into data packets and decompresses it upon arrival at destination. Some VoIP codec’s can compress huge amount of voice while maintaining QoS which means use this type of codec will cost less because it will consume just a fraction of data network. Some codec’s are just not capable of encoding huge amount of voice they simply consume huge amount of data networks bandwidth hence the cost goes up.
Following is a list of VoIP codec’s along with how much data network bandwidth they consume.
* AMR Codec
* BroadVoice Codec 16Kbps narrowband, and 32Kbps wideband
* GIPS Family – 13.3 Kbps and up
* GSM – 13 Kbps (full rate), 20ms frame size
* iLBC – 15Kbps,20ms frame size: 13.3 Kbps, 30ms frame size
* ITU G.711 – 64 Kbps, sample-based Also known as alaw/ulaw
* ITU G.722 – 48/56/64 Kbps ADPCM 7Khz audio bandwidth
* ITU G.722.1 – 24/32 Kbps 7Khz audio bandwidth (based on Polycom’s SIREN codec)
* ITU G.722.1C – 32 Kbps, a Polycom extension, 14Khz audio bandwidth
* ITU G.722.2 – 6.6Kbps to 23.85Kbps. Also known as AMR-WB. CELP 7Khz audio bandwidth
* ITU G.723.1 – 5.3/6.3 Kbps, 30ms frame size
* ITU G.726 – 16/24/32/40 Kbps
* ITU G.728 – 16 Kbps
* ITU G.729 – 8 Kbps, 10ms frame size
* Speex – 2.15 to 44.2 Kbps
* LPC10 – 2.5 Kbps
* DoD CELP – 4.8 Kbps
What are VoIP Devices, VoIP Phones and VoIP PBX?
VoIP device are mini computers, they contain CPU, Memory (RAM), ROM, Software, Operating Systems, Speech Codec’s and they are customized to work as VoIP device. These devices are responsible for converting voice conversation into data streams, data compression, decompression, transmission, ring tones, bells and etc,. In order to use VoIP devices you will need to connect your standard PSTN, or a cordless phone to make and receive calls.
VoIP phones are no different than a VoIP device, they contain VoIP device plus a built-in phone, as explained above VoIP phone also contains CPU, Memory (RAM), ROM, Software, O/S and codec’s. Some VoIP phones also contain a LCD screen which you can use as a internet browser.
VoIP PBX (Private Branch Exchange) are mini telephone exchanges, VoIP PBX are full computer server type hardware which contains OS, FXS, FXO, T1, PRI, E1 and various other telecommunication interfaces. Many VoIP PBXs also contains all the above mentioned speech codec’s which can be selected as a preferred codec. VoIP PBX can provides hundreds of features and extensions. To find out more about VoIP PBX read the last paragraph of this article.
What role a VoIP Provider plays?
VoIP providers play a vital role with provisioning your internet phone service. They are responsible for terminating your voice calls to different VoIP and PSTN networks. VoIP providers have agreements and arrangements with other VoIP service providers all over the world in different countries for exchanging, terminating and origination of VoIP and PSTN calls. Some VoIP providers will let you make free unlimited calls for a fixed amount of money.
To find out which VoIP service provider is best suited to your needs please visit following website. VoIPBazar.com
What features are available with VoIP Technologies?
ADSI On-Screen Menu System
Alarm Receiver
Append Message
Authentication
Automated Attendant
Blacklists
Blind Transfer
Call Detail Records
Call Forward on Busy
Call Forward on No Answer
Call Forward Variable
Call Monitoring
Call Parking
Call Queuing
Call Recording
Call Retrieval
Call Routing (DID & ANI)
Call Snooping
Call Transfer
Call Waiting
Caller ID
Caller ID Blocking
Caller ID on Call Waiting
Calling Cards
Conference Bridging
Database Store / Retrieve
Database Integration
Dial by Name
Direct Inward System Access
Distinctive Ring
Distributed Universal Number Discovery
Do Not Disturb
E911
ENUM
Fax Transmit and Receive (3rd Party OSS Package)
Flexible Extension Logic
Interactive Directory Listing
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Local and Remote Call Agents
Macros
Music On Hold
Music On Transfer:
- Flexible Mp3-based System
- Random or Linear Play
- Volume Control
Predictive Dialer
Privacy
Open Settlement Protocol (OSP)
Overhead Paging
Protocol Conversion
Remote Call Pickup
Remote Office Support
Roaming Extensions
Route by Caller ID
SMS Messaging
Spell / Say
Streaming Media Access
Supervised Transfer
Talk Detection
Text-to-Speech (via Festival)
Three-way Calling
Time and Date
Transcoding
Trunking
VoIP Gateways
Voicemail:
- Visual Indicator for Message Waiting
- Stutter Dialtone for Message Waiting
- Voicemail to email
- Voicemail Groups
- Web Voicemail Interface
Zapateller
VoIPBazar proudly promotes VoIP Technology and provides information how to make free or cheap calls to over 10,000 cities across the globe.
By: Imran Khan Malik
