VoIP Solutions; Are They Right For You?

VoIP Solutions are available for both business and personal use, but what is VoIP?  VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and generally refers to the use of internet for phone services.  There are other terms used to refer to the same thing such as internet telephony, IP telephony, broadband telephony, and broadband phone. 

VoIP is publicized to have huge savings over standard telephone usage.  Is this a true statement?  There is usually a monthly charge for the use of VoIP, but "calls" from VoIP device to VoIP device are at no charge.  The monthly fee is to "call" standard phones.  Because the internet is worldwide, there is generally no long distance charges applied to the accounts.  The service includes features such as 3-way calling; call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID, and automatic redial for no additional fees.  If your phone service includes these features, then VoIP could definitely save you money.

There are a few drawbacks to using VoIP for residential "phone" service.  Have you ever been surfing the internet and then suddenly your web page is no longer available?  Because VoIP depends on internet technology to transmit voice data to either a VoIP device or telephone, when there is a hiccup with the internet, DSL, or cable services, the ability to use the internet for "calls" is rendered useless or at the very least delayed.  Another drawback can be a power failure; however, if you have a backup power supply such as a generator, the failure will not hinder your ability to make "calls."

Another thing you may want to consider is that, at the present time, emergency service is either not available or available on a limited basis through this service.  Primarily the loss of service is due to the difficulty to locate the VoIP user by geography.  If you are able to give your address, 911 services can still be contacted.  The trouble only begins if you are unable to give your address for some reason; however, some VoIP providers have a list of addresses where the VoIP is used for the purpose of helping route emergency services.  It may be useful to keep a plain old telephone available for any unexpected failures.

VoIP solutions are the hardware and software items available for VoIP that includes such items as IP phones, CPE gateways, high density gateways, and VoIP terminal adapters.  The CPE gateways utilize an Ethernet cable to connect to the DSL cable modem for residential service, uses the LAN line to connect to DSL modems, or incorporates DSL with the LAN line automatically for commercial use.

Standard phone lines can be used to hook up VoIP allowing you to use a portable phone handset.  If your company is going to grow, it may be possible to hook up to the existing switchboard equipment, making it easier to train your employees.  Whatever the size of your company or whether you decide to have VoIP as your residential phone, VoIP solutions are necessary to make your "calls" successful.