Computer Phone, IP Phone or Internet Phone, all are names for a method of communication called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Voice over Internet Protocol, what a mouthful! Really all it means is you can make telephone calls over the internet using your computer and your broadband connection. VoIP gives you freedom. You can shop around and get the internet connection you want, then shop around and find a VoIP provider that best meets your needs. Increasingly you are able to get both from a single provider. Here is how it works. Just like on an old-fashioned phone, you pickup your telephone and dial the number of the person you wish to contact. Your computer or a special module connected to your network sends your request over the internet to the computer or telephone exchange you are attempting to contact. Then the phone at their end rings. In more technical terms, computers on the internet communicate using a set of rules called TCP/IP. TCP/IP tells us that data needs to be sent across the internet in small pieces called packets. These packets are sequentially numbered so that the computer on the other side can put them together in the right order. An internet phone uses the same process. Your voice is converted to a digital signal, like the sound from an old record when it is recorded on a compact disk. It is then broken into packets and transmitted over the internet to the destination computer. Just like your data. Once there your computer assembles the packets in the correct order and sends it to your telephone. Voice over IP offers several advantages over traditional telephone systems. VoIP is usually less expensive than your old telephone service. Internet telephony (Yes that really is a real word!) makes offers such as video phones possible. VoIP allows you to reduce costs by eliminating the need for a dedicated landline. Businesses can benefit from VoIP by lowering their telecommunications costs while presenting the appearance of a larger organization. You can have number with just about any area code. This means your office could be in Dallas and you could have numbers with area codes from Los Angeles and New York. This would make your business seem larger and more prosperous. Individuals benefit by gaining choices and lowering costs with services like free long distance. Unfortunately, like every thing else VoIP has some disadvantages. First, you need to have access to a broadband connection such as cable or DSL. This can be a problem for people in rural areas, but there are some exciting alternatives coming down the pipe soon! Another problem is that some internet services have a problem with latency. Think of latency as the delay or echo you used to hear when you made a long distance call. A clean internet connection is vital; fortunately, most internet services have upgraded their networks to minimize this problem. Some VoIP customers do not have access to 911 services. This too is becoming less of an issue with the advent of Enhanced 911 Service legislation passed in many states. Many telephone directories do not list Internet Phone customers. Is this really a disadvantage? Despite the few disadvantages, Voice over IP is poised to explode. As non-traditional providers such as your cable company increase their market share, your communications needs can be integrated into a single package. This will bring consumers many of the benefits enjoyed by almost 90% of corporate America (INC.com - Anne Stuart).Have you ever heard of wireless broadband? This is where your internet service provider broadcasts their internet traffic over the air. A card on your computer receives and then transmits your traffic back to the provider. It is called WiMax. You can be any where from three to thirty miles from the antenna and surf the internet. If you can surf the internet, you can make VoIP phone calls. Wireless broadband and VoIP could allow you to have a true mobile office. Think of the possibilities. You will not have to make trips to an internet caf to find a connection, or pay hotel connection fees. According to the Insight Research Corp, Voice over IP is expected to surge to a $197 billion industry by 2007. Internet phones are appearing in more and more homes almost daily. This gives proof to the expected growth of the industry. Take full advantage of the choices made available to you by this competitive industry. Do your research and choose your Internet Phone provider carefully, then enjoy the freedom and flexibility offered by this exciting technology. |
