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Cut your phone bill with VoIP
VoIP is a new way make phone calls. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and is the technical term for "Internet phone service." VoIP takes regular phone calls and zaps them through your high-speed Internet connection. VoIP uses regular...
Is VoIP the 'Next Big Thing' in Telecommunications?
VoIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol has been simmering for the past few years. This year the market has heated up. Many large businesses have jumped on the VoIP bandwagon and have realized savings of 50-percent or more off their phone bills. VoIP...
What is VoIP?
VoIP is an acronym for voice over internet protocol. A VoIP, in essence, is a computer phone that allows you to make phone calls from your computer to anyone in the world, e.g., PC to PC, PC to landlines, or PC to cell phones. The voice signal...
Why Business Should Switch to VoIP
Company should choose to unplug and switch to VoIP technology
because there are many advantages for using VoIP. Here is an
overview of five reasons that your business should make the
switch to VoIP.
VoIP is perfect for Call Centers
...
Will voIP Make the Telephone Ring?
As a large proportion of people worldwide are increasingly favouring the Internet as a means of communicating with others, it should come as no great surprise to see it being adapted to encompass that other technological marvel of our age, the...
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VoIP - What Is It And Why Do I Need It?
In the dynamically changing world of technology, VoIP (Voice
Over Internet Protocol) is one of the latest and potentially
greatest wonders ever created by the human mind. Watch a techie
show, read a techie magazine or talk to any cyber dude and most
will acknowledge that VoIP is one of the coolest advancements
they've ever been blessed to experience.
On the other hand, for the vast majority who are not
techie-nerds and who are looking for a non-techie to English
translation of what VoIP has done to induce such high praises,
then sit back, relax and read a bit more. In a nutshell, VoIP
allows you to make phone calls over the internet, using your
computer, to pretty much anywhere on the planet. The VoIP
acronym is simply a fancy, smancy technical term for what could
just as easily be called an Internet phone.
The miracle of VoIP can be explained in a simple process. The
analog voice signals, which are the technical term for the
exchange of hot air you have with friends and family while
talking for hours on the phone... Sorry, I couldn't resist a bit
of humor as I drifted back to days gone by and my youth. Ok,
back to business.
VoIP converts the analog voice signals into digital data
packets, which allows those packets of data to be transferred
via cable lines (the internet) and then they are reconverted
into analog voice signals at the other end so that once again,
you can understand what is being said. Thanks to internet
protocol, VoIP supports real time and two way transmission of
conversations.
Sounds Good But How Do I Get Started With VoIP? First, you have
to know what type of internet service you have from your ISP
(Internet Service Provider). The reason you need to know the
type of service you have is because currently, VoIP works best
with a cable or DSL internet connection because they are
faster... as in they can download more bits of information (data
packets) per second and this allows better sound quality on your
internet calls.
Although VoIP services are available for other types of ISP
connections like dial up, prepaid and satellite... the
technology with VoIP has yet to progress to the point where you
will consistently experience crystal clear sound over slower
internet connections. However, if you currently live in an area
that hasn't been wired for broadband, you shouldn't have to wait
too long for the technology to progress to where you can enjoy a
quality conversation over a slower internet type connection.
However, for the time-being, quality is still a bit patchy
without a high speed connection.
How Much is This Internet Telephony, VoIP Thingy Going to Cost
Me? Cost
is one of best things about VoIP because VoIP services
cost less than residential phone service and much, much less
than most monthly cell phone plans. And if your DSL or broadband
internet company just happens to be one of companies that
currently offers VoIP services, then so much the better because
that usually translates into even lower rates than if you used
an independent or outside company for your VoIP phone service.
How Reliable Is VoIP? Because transmission is being done over
the Internet, the voice quality is largely dependent on your
internet connection speed. And... at this moment in time,
regardless of your ISP or connection speed the voice quality
still hasn't reached that of normal land based or mobile phones.
Plus, although rare, if your internet connection goes down you
wouldn't be able to make or receive phone calls and VoIP is
still more vulnerable to dropped calls due to a lack of signal
strength.
Although VoIP still has a few drawbacks, once you try it you'll
quickly realize that they aren't the type of problems that will
stop you from wanting to use it... especially when you get your
bill each month because with VoIP the savings can be dramatic if
you spend a bunch of time on the phone.
How Secure Is VoIP? Because transmission is in an environment
where the dreaded "hacker" reigns supreme this concern is an
obvious and legitimate one. Let's face it... although not
perfectly secure it's no less secure than sending emails and
billions and billions of those are sent each day. And frankly,
if you're concerned about others listening in on your phone
calls you should toss your cell phone because picking up those
signals by the "unscrupulous" is much easier than sabotaging
your VoIP phone calls.
If you are overly concerned with security due to the fact that
VoIP is a relatively a new technology and that there still
exists; although remote, a possibility that those cyber
technicians will hijack your calls then you'll just have to wait
until you feel these issues are solved before you give VoIP a
test drive.
Can You Keep Your Number? Yes and No! In most instances you will
be able to keep your current phone number but just to be safe
you should ask this question before signing up for VoIP service.
And frankly, in some cases you may be required to change
numbers. Oh well... nothings perfect.
This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.
About the author:
Kevin Erickson is a contributing writer to: VoIP | Wifi Hotspots | Trade Show
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| Voice over IP - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Encyclopedia article with background information, technical details, and the advantages and disadvantages of VoIP. |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Voice-Over-Internet Protocol |
| An overview of VoIP from the Federal Communications Commission. With news, FAQs, factsheets, and findings. |
| www.fcc.gov |
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| voip-info.org - voip-info.org |
| A wiki that covers VoIP software, hardware, service providers, reviews, configurations, and standards. |
| www.voip-info.org |
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| Howstuffworks "How VoIP Works" |
| Voice over Internet Protocol lets you make free long-distance phone calls using your computer. It’s essentially a phone network that uses the Internet ... |
| www.howstuffworks.com |
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| VOIP.ORG.UK - The UK resource for IP telephony |
| UK resource with the emphasis on small businesses and home users. Includes news, reviews, and forums. |
| www.voip.org.uk |
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| Packet8: VoIP Internet Phone Service Provider and Voice Over IP ... |
| Packet8 offers VoIP Internet Phone Service and Voice Over IP Telephony phone systems. |
| www.packet8.net |
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| Voip |
| 1-800-TRY-VOIP; Voip.com: do more, pay less. Use a broadband connection and your voip.com adapter to make and receive calls using a regular phone. |
| www.voip.com |
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| Vonage - Leading the Internet Phone Revolution |
| Use your high-speed Internet connection to make all of your phone calls with Vonage digital phone service. Plans start at $14.99 per month. |
| www.vonage.com |
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| VoipBuster - The Free* Calls Company |
| Free* phone calls with the VoipBuster. Call your online friends for free as well as a special selection of popular international destinations. |
| www.voipbuster.com |
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| The VoIP Weblog |
| OK, VoIP customers, the $24.99 a month party is just about over. ... The issue definitely kept me from switching to a VoIP service for over a year because I ... |
| voip.weblogsinc.com |
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| IVR Platforms / IVR Hosting / IVR Development |
| Get to market quickly with our A to Z VoIP platforms and services >> ... Our IVR and VOIP hosting, turnkey platforms, and developer services - powered by ... |
| www.voxeo.com |
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| VoIP |
| Connecting a business to a VoIP network doesn’t require a big, expensive integration overhaul. Quintum’s VoIP access solutions are designed with “integrated ... |
| www.tmcnet.com |
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| VoIP - Internet Telephony |
| voip, Internet Telephony Magazine. ... Internet Telephony is the leading VoIP magazine in the world covering all topics VoIP. ... |
| www.tmcnet.com |
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| Convergence & VoIP - Network World |
| The Convergence & VoIP research center is your source for the latest convergence and VoIP news, analysis and research links from Network World. |
| www.networkworld.com |
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| VoIP News - Enterprise, Carrier, Small Business VoIP Information |
| VoIP news, trends, experts, product reviews. Carrier and enterprise-class voice over ip. |
| www.voip-news.com |
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| O'Reilly Network -- What Is VoIP |
| Ted Wallingford looks at why the VoIP technology, the key ingredient in Vonage, Skype, Cisco CallManager, and a host of other technology products, ... |
| www.oreillynet.com |
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| What is VoIP? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer ... |
| This page describes the term VoIP and lists other pages on the Web where you can find additional information. |
| www.webopedia.com |
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| Access >> VoIP | CNET News.com |
| EarthLink expands VoIP service. Eight more cities will get access to Net phone service that requires no ... Verizon sues Vonage for VoIP patent infringement ... |
| news.com.com |
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| Pages tagged with "voip" on del.icio.us |
| All items tagged voip ??? view popular ... SunRocket Internet Phone Service · save this. by dbrogdon to VOIP ... saved by 18 other people ... 3 hours ago ... |
| del.icio.us |
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| VoIP (Voice Over IP) Solutions - AudioCodes |
| VoIP, VoP Chip Processors and Voice over IP packets solutions developed by AudioCodes, leaders in the VoIP market for VoIP equipment and VoIP technology. |
| www.audiocodes.com |
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