Beginners guide to VoIP
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Leveraging phone calls over the internet
Have you ever wondered what life would be like if the phone was never invented? Well thankfully we will never be able to find out.
Isn't it amazing how far telephony has gone? If you had to use your phone at work or even at home you may have come across some of the features that we now take for granted, such as, call waiting and conference calling.
However, in this lens I look at how convenient it is to use the internet to make phone calls these days.
Isn't it amazing how far telephony has gone? If you had to use your phone at work or even at home you may have come across some of the features that we now take for granted, such as, call waiting and conference calling.
However, in this lens I look at how convenient it is to use the internet to make phone calls these days.
In this lens we cover:
-
Why would you change to VoIP?
The frustration, traditional answers and a better way. - What is VoIP?
- What should you consider to start using VoIP?
The frustration
Why change?
Are you using a traditional phone service? Have you looked at your phone bill lately? Are you paying more and more each month? Are your phone costs rising faster than you can handle?Up until December 2007, I answered yes to all of these questions and I needed a way to change this.
Traditional answers
Questions and answers
If you relate, you may ask "What can you do?"
- You could ask your telecommunication company (telco) to help you understand your phone bill and what is going wrong. Unfortunately, they may indicate that there is nothing wrong, your plan is working exactly as the contract said it would.
- Ask your telco to help find a more affordable plan that allows the freedom to use your phone as you require. Unfortunately, you may be on their best plan.
- Can I keep the status quo? Hmmm. What status quo? The phone bills keep rising.
- Go to an another telco? Hmmm. But the reason you are with this phone company is because they are better than the others you have checked and after a little more research this still is the case.
Surely, there must be a better way
Is this for real?
After three months of asking my telco to help with my phone bills and searching for another way, I saw an ad that started me looking at a terrific alternative.This phone alternative offered options like:
- Pay a set monthly charge or don't pay any monthly charges
- Pay for calls to local, STD and mobile phones at a cheap rate or don't pay for any of these calls at all
- Pay for calls to phones on the same service provider or call them free
Competitors are now available with the improvement of internet speeds and the technology that uses it to make phone calls.
VoIP
How does it work?
Known broadly by its initials, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), this technology is about converting the sound waves of your voice into a digital signal and back again, so that your voice can be transferred as data over the internet.
Just like a normal phone. When you speak, your voice sound waves are converted on a device near you and then converted back again, to be heard by the listener, on a device that the listener has.
To be transmitted and received over the internet, the signal has to be made up of 1's and 0's. So to change the sound waves of your voice to digital data you can use
Coming up next. What do I need to know?
Just like a normal phone. When you speak, your voice sound waves are converted on a device near you and then converted back again, to be heard by the listener, on a device that the listener has.
To be transmitted and received over the internet, the signal has to be made up of 1's and 0's. So to change the sound waves of your voice to digital data you can use
- a handset or mic connected to a PC or
- a digital phone connected directly to your network or
- a normal phone with a converter (known as an Analogue Telephone Adapter - ATA)
Coming up next. What do I need to know?
What should you consider to start using VoIP?
Lifestyle, value and technology
When you look into VoIP, you may find there are possibilities to save money and use the money on something else you need. Before you take the plunge though here are some hints that may help:- Look around for the pricing plan that suits your lifestyle.
- For people whose phone bills are rising each month and are no longer able to take advantage of telco phone plans that would have saved you money in the past, there are monthly phone plans with a fixed charge that do not change dramatically when you make calls outside of the telco's preferred calling times
- Look for the pricing plan that gets you the most.
- Since your voice is now data and can travel over the internet, you will need to take into account the cost of your internet service. What may surprise you, is that for the same amount or less than what your phone calls alone cost you now, you can now have both your phone calls and the internet too
- Look at the equipment you will need.
- You can get a device that connects to a spare connection port on your PC, devices that connect between your current phone and your internet modem, or a VoIP phone that connects directly to the internet modem. The cost and convenience of each varies considerably, so, it would be wise to look at the savings and the outcomes you want before making a decision
- Check the basics
- To have a smooth transition from your current phone service to VoIP a minimum internet connection speed of 1500 Kbps for downloads and 512 Kbps for uploads would be recommended.
Check that you can get high-speed internet connection before you sign up and invest in the equipment needed.
Low internet speeds can cause your conversation to be digitally broken. Speaking from experience, hearing a machine like voice talking a different language is not very pleasant when you are trying to have a normal conversation.
To have a quality conversation with VoIP phone calls reserve bandwidth on your modem/ATA for voice data, which is competing with computer data on your network
Summary
What was covered and how to find out more
Let us review the "Beginners guide to VoIP". The lens has covered
- Why would you change to VoIP?
- What is VoIP?
- What should you consider to start using VoIP?
Important!
ooma Core VoIP Phone System
VoIP books from Amazon.com
A overview
VoIP books from Amazon.com
For professionals
Reader Feedback
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keitht7
Apr 17, 2009 @ 10:15 pm | delete
- I dig this article,but it may be adventageous to you to do research on video conferencing/videophone services.These are the new talk of the town in the phone arena.There are three companies I know of that has this technology.One is 8by8 who offers this through its packet 8,another is 5linx who specializes in multiple forms of telecom.The last is my favorite ACN who were just recently featured on the apprentice therevideophone is toughted as the most revolutionary. ACN also specializes in multiple forms f telecommunications. These companies and there products could do wonders for you as a voip enthusiast/guru. Great Article,and hopefully your business will grow exponentially.I appreciate you sharing you thoughts with me.
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business-long-distance
Dec 16, 2008 @ 6:53 pm | delete
- VOIP has a lot to offer to consumers who want to have optimum long distance service at a fraction of the cost we usually spend on conventional long distance service.
Come and check my site for more info on Business Long Distance
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Leo Hanes
Sep 26, 2008 @ 9:49 am | delete
- Hello
Lots of great info here...I have been using a computer based VOIP since 2002, plus a ATA based system here in the Netherlands since 2007....I still maintain a USA Online phone # for my USA customers....Cheaper than an 800#
Unlimited Long Distance Calls
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Tony Fanfulla
Aug 20, 2008 @ 7:11 pm | delete
- Great article
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Catalysthere May 16, 2008 @ 9:44 am | delete
- Food for thought!!
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