Those were still the early days of the entry of VOIP in the market. Still an esoteric term to many of us. Not so much today. Once feared and revered as an elite technology that only the experts could make head or tail of, it has of today, become an organic mass system of means of communication. It would not be an overstatement to say that VOIP is leading the way in digital communication.
To cut through the rhetoric, what we know is that VOIP refers to Voice over Internet Protocol. This technology converts spoken sounds into digital signals. This allows the voice to be transmitted over a network such as the internet. Your voice is transmitted as sound data packets across the internet to the receiver at the other end. The internet should be broadband or high speed connection. Apart from this, you will require a cable modem or other means of wireless services, a phone equipped with this facility or a special software inside it for this purpose.
There are also a few minor problems with these services such as failure to function during a power outage, especially as when your service provider may not offer backup power for these situations.
VOIP technology has revolutionised the way calls are being made and billed around the world.
It has made talking to anyone around the world as easy as surfing the internet. and this means of telephony often costs you nothing more than than the rate of a local phone call.
Certain things to be kept in mind while using this service: Your service provider may charge you for calls outside your area, so make sure to check the terms of service for the same. You may also avail these services at flat rates as offered by some providers to be able to make long-distance calls at the lowest rates you would have ever imagined. These services may be availed with either your traditional handset phone or with a microphone over the Internet.
Accessibility at economic rates is no more an issue with VOIP.
By: Dennis Jaylon
Posts Tagged ‘Power Outage’
VOIP – Talk Easy, Without Worry About Money
March 29th, 2010Advantages and Disadvantages of VoIP
February 22nd, 2010
VoIP technology has resulted in serious changes in the way we communicate with each other. It has succeeded in integrating both voice and data and utilizing the Internet for communication as well. Telecommunication is continually evolving and as people we can only continue to benefit from this evolution. Internet based phones will be the telephony service of the future but are its advantages being overemphasized? All things may not be as they seem.
VoIP has a great number of benefits and advantages. The only requirement that VoIP has is that you use a broadband DSL or cable connection. Provided you have this sort of connection, you can easily use Voice over IP. If you use yours through a PC-to-PC connection calls are usually free just as long as the person you are calling has VoIP as well, other than this most VoIP providers tend to offer unlimited calling plans for calls made outside a certain geographical area for a flat monthly fee. Traditional telephone services are much costlier than internet phones. This technology also offers additional services such as call forwarding and caller id, free of charge.
One other benefit of the integration of voice and data is that the person needs only a single system. It makes it easy to install and save money as well. Each phone is identified by a single IP address regardless of wherever it is plugged into. This makes it easy to move from one place to another or to add it to other networks as well.
These VoIP phones may also be utilized anywhere just as long as they have been connected to an IP network. This assists a lot with telecommuting and international offices as well, saving companies and individuals a lot of money. These devices also tend to be light and very easy to carry.
Regardless of these numerous benefits, there are disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage would be that VoIP is run by a lot of power. If a power outage occurs all voice communications cease, unlike the traditional telephone service which can still be made use of if there is no electricity.
Problems also exist with the calling of 911 emergency numbers. When you usually make a 911 call it is traced back to the sender and sent to the nearest 911 communication center in the area. However with VoIP these calls cannot be traced back to a particular location and cannot lead rescuers to find you.
Voice quality with internet telephony is generally efficient but the use of cable broadband could mean poorer qualities. This is because the data is broken down in order to be transmitted and the delay or a packet of data will sometimes mean that it needs to be dropped. This then results in silent periods.
Phone equipment may also need to be updated since voice over IP only tends to work with newer phone versions. Depending on the number of phones that need to be replaced, this could a substantial expense.
VoIP also has some minor annoyances that have to be sorted out but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. From all evident aspects this alternative telephone technology is the phone of the future but the future may already have arrived for all we know.
By: Darren Williger
