Ever since the birth of the internet,
entrepreneurs with an eye to the future have predicted that voice
communications -- telephone services -- would eventually be merged
with internet services. With the widespread adoption of VoIP, that day
has come, and it is causing a revolution in the telephone industry.
In simple terms, a VoIP service allows you to use your broadband
(high-speed) connection to place telephone calls over the Internet. It
is not difficult to see how this is rocking the telecom industry to
the core.
**It's all about cost**
Two things have made traditional telephone service providers like
AT&T and Bell so powerful. Their monopoly over local telephone
services, and their traditional stranglehold on lucrative and usually
over-priced "long distance" services. Both of these captive markets
have been seriously eroded over the last few years, as the reality of
VoIP has started to sink in.
In anticipation of the revolution that is now upon us, most aspects
of telephone service have gradually been opened up to competition.
Most of us now have a choice of providers for both local and long
distance telephone service. And the biggest reason for the new
competitive environment is the recognition that the widespread
adoption of VoIP is inevitable.
**The development of VoIP**
VoIP has been developing slowly over the last ten years or so.
Early implementations allowed computer users to talk to each other
through their computers. This was only feasible if you had a
voice-enabled computer, a reliable and stable internet connection, and
a software program installed on your computer that made it all work.
The advantage of this computer-to-computer communication was that
you could completely bypass the traditional telephone system and talk
to anyone in the world free of charge -- as long as they had a similar
setup to yours. But the disadvantages of communicating this way were
also obvious. You could only communicate this way using your computer.
You were completely dependent on often unstable dial-up internet
connections. And the person at the other end of the conversation had
to also be "online" with a voice-enabled computer.
**Today's VoIP has solved these problems**
Today's versions of VoIP have left these problems in the past. Two
things were required to make VoIP technology feasible on a large scale
basis, and both of these things have now been realized.
First, broadband internet service has been widely adopted. This
makes it possible to have stable internet connections that are "always
on". Second, the industry has developed a simple, inexpensive method
of integrating the IP network (the internet) with the traditional
telephone system. This allows a user of VoIP to use his or her own
telephone to call anyone else in the world who has a traditional
telephone connection.
This is where we are today. As traditional telecom companies like
AT&T, Bell, Qwest, and SBC develop their own implementations of VoIP
technology the way has been opened up for a myriad of choices for
consumers. Today's VoIP allows anyone with a broadband internet
connection to place calls to anyone with an ordinary telephone
connection, anywhere in the world.
**Why you save money with VoIP**
The major advantages of VoIP are lower cost, and greater
flexibility with no significant decrease in voice quality. First, a
VoIP subscriber does not need a traditional phone line. Instead, you
are assigned a phone number by your VoIP provider. Prices for these
numbers can be as low as $9 usd per month.
Second, most VoIP subscribers will purchase a "bundle" of services
that includes unlimited incoming calls and unlimited long distance
calls to anyone within a defined geographic area. For instance, VoIP
unlimited calling plans to anyone in the USA or Canada start at around
$20 per month.
Third, most VoIP service providers offer free bundled features that
most traditional telephone companies charge for. These include free
voicemail, call forwarding, caller ID, call waiting, call waiting ID,
3 way calling, speed dialing, and many more of the services that the
traditional companies are constantly trying to sell you.
**Greater flexibility and portability**
Another significant advantage is the flexibility and portability of
VoIP phone service. With VoIP your personal telephone number is
programmed into the converter that acts as a bridge between your
internet connection and your regular telephone.
This has several important advantages. As already mentioned you do
not need an actual land line. Instead your telephone number is
assigned to your converter (not to your geographic land line). So you
can take your converter with you anywhere in the world, plug it into
any available broadband connection, and immediately start using your
regular number to make and receive calls.
This flexibility also lets you choose a number in an area code
where most of your long distance calls originate. For instance, if
many of your friends, family, business associates or customers are
calling from a specific city that traditionally involved a long
distance call for them, you could choose a number in that area code
and immediately turn all their calls to you into local (free) calls
for them.
The advantages of VoIP are many, and the savings can be very
significant. So it is no wonder that VoIP has become the hottest
telecom technology of the decade. Informed consumers and businesses
around the world are adopting this technology at a phenomenal rate.
