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Most people say that a VoIP solution sounds like a great deal,
but is it good for my home? The following is an informative
article for potential residential customers to read before selecting
a VoIP provider.
Please checkout www.VoIPChoices.com for
a listing of the most popular VoIP
providers including Packet8 as
mentioned below. Do a side by side VoIP comparison by price as well as features each VoIP carrier offers.
Be informed and save!
Is VoIP Good For The
Home?
By Aaron Siegel
There is no doubt that you have heard
about VoIP by now. It’s made headlines and is plastered everywhere
both in online and TV advertisements. Just in case you haven’t
caught on to the hype yet, VoIP is the abbreviated term for Voice
over Internet Protocol. Voice over Internet Protocol is basically
the ability to communicate on a phone over your Internet
connection.
With VoIP, the promise is the ability
to make local and global long distance calls at a significantly
lower rate than over a plain old telephone line through your local
carrier. The VoIP trend has caught on and large enterprises all over
the globe are adopting this new technology to reduce their cost of
business communications which may include fax, conference calling,
along with streaming video applications. VoIP has been around for
some time, but it has only been until recently that it has finally
matured to the stage worthy of replacing everyday phone
use.
At the household level, it is certain
by now that you are compelled to embrace this technology somewhat,
but are not sure how to go about it or even if this technology has
any real benefit for your family. You are probably wondering, “How
much? How difficult? Is it necessary?” This article hopefully will
clear up a few unanswered questions you may have regarding this
technology and maybe even excite you enough to go on out and get
VoIP hooked up in your own home.
First off, you must have an Internet
connection. No, not your 56k dial up connection, but an actual high
speed Internet connection. This can be cable, satellite, or DSL
Internet, but you will need high speed Internet for VoIP to function
properly and become your new calling station. Dialup just doesn’t
have the capacity or speed to transfer voice digitally without
significant quality loss. A company named SpeakEasy has recently
come out with a new DSL product that requires no current phone line
for high speed Internet if DSL is your current favorite of broadband
services and if you are planning on replacing your current phone
service with VoIP.
Secondly you will need what is called a
gateway. The gateway is connected between your computer and Ethernet
modem. The VoIP gateway is where your phone line will be plugged
into. Gateways enable freedom from possible computer problems that
can shut down calling capabilities or deteriorate voice quality.
Computer crashes, slow memory, and many other computer problems that
plague us in everyday life, you do not want to plague your ability
to make phone calls.
Gateways are specifically designed for
VoIP phones but adapters are available for current phones should you
not want to buy a brand new phone. VoIP providers usually have the
adapters available for sale so you don’t have to shop around for one
yourself. Before you write off buying a new phone however, video
phones are the newest product line and it won’t be long before this
trend explodes. You may want to get your video phone so you aren’t
left out of exciting face to face conversations with friends and
relatives when they get theirs. Packet8 VoIP has a good video phone
sold separately with their services.
The services included with VoIP usually
include all the convenient bells and whistles your current phone
service provides including your own local VoIP telephone number,
call waiting, voice messaging, 3 way calling, and more.
There are some important things to
remember with VoIP before you go diving in to this feature rich
voice technology. You should check with your VoIP provider for local
911 emergency coverage. Some VoIP providers charge extra on a
monthly basis for both 911 and 411 access so make sure you know how
much it is going to cost you before committing to a calling
contract.
One last important thing to remember is
that your gateway is reliant on electricity to function. This means
power outages will put your phone line out of service, but then
isn’t your phone already only functional with electricity these
days?
This article was written by Aaron
Siegel of TopSavings.Net which provides consultive services for
communications at the residential level all the way up to
government.
Services available at the website
include VoIP (Including Packet8), Internet Access (Including
SpeakEasy), Long Distance, Local Phone Services, Cellular services,
and more. http://www.TopSavings.Net
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