.: How to Choose the Right VoIP Service
By:Hamesh Brown
Category:Home / Technology / VOIP
The Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service is in a state of flux, and is still a budding technology that will offer several new features as it matures. While it is true to say that there are many providers in the VoIP market with “unique” features of their own, one factor is common to all: they rely on the broadband Internet connection and do not bring the traditional telephone providers into the scheme of things. In the process, they offer price packages that are substantially lower than the traditional phone connection. So how do you evaluate one service provider vis-à-vis another, and then install the connection in your office or home? What should be your focus in selecting a specific provider?
Here are a few tips that will assist you in your choice.
Suitability to your specific requirements
For a start, you must weigh the features offered by the leading providers such as Vonage, Lingo, and Skype, and apply those features to your specific work environment and requirements. A service provider might offer the best of features, but they aren’t any good if you cannot use them. If your priority is to make a large volume of international calls, particularly to Europe and Asia, Lingo is for you. Lingo is also a good option if you travel out of the US because you can carry your US number wherever you go and call the US at local rates. Lingo also comes with the lowest price for its range of features.
Skype is different from Lingo and Vonage in one important respect: it does not use a telephone as a go-between. While the Skype outgoing and incoming calls to/from a normal telephone is still to fan out in terms of dependability, Skype is the best option if you and your computer are inseparable and you have friends and family who are similarly inclined. For PC-to-PC calls, Skype is the best voice portal, and there is no price tag attached.
Voice quality and reliability
If your first priority is consistently good call quality, and you don’t mind paying a bit more, consider Vonage. Vonage comes with almost identical features as Lingo, but there is minimal in-call lag and echo experience. With Lingo, be prepared to sacrifice on the quality of calls. In the competitive marketplace, each service provider promises the best of service and voice quality, and you cannot be sure about the product. If you are investing in a monthly/quarterly/annual contract, it is best to settle for a package that has a money-back guarantee behind it. Both Vonage and Lingo offer trial periods.
Installation complicacies
You also need to consider how easy—or how difficult—it is to install the service, both as a business option and for home use. For a single user, the process is not half as complicated as for multiple users in an office environment. You must be sure that the saving you make from an economically viable service is not offset by the installation costs. For example, you must keep in mind that in an office environment, the VoIP usage will put additional stress on your broadband connection, and you might have to invest in increasing your Internet capability.
Broadband connectivity issues
Remember that VoIP needs broadband connectivity to be functional. Prior to reaching a final decision on a VoIP package, you need to do a bit of research on the bandwidth that the service requires, and then ensure that your Internet service provider is able to match up. If you face regular power or Internet outages, you may end up paying for a service you cannot put to optimal use. In such situations, it is always advisable to retain your traditional phone line as a backup.
Flexibility to opt out
VoIP is still in a nascent stage, and the future may bring in new providers with richer services. Therefore, it is important not to get into a long-term contract or commitment with any service provider; keep the flexibility-to-switch option with you.
Internet telephony is the future, and even some traditional telephone service providers have conceded this by initiating VoIP packages of their own. The choices are many, and growing. As the user, it is finally up to you to use the right package to your best advantage.
Article keywords: voip, skype, Vonage, lingo
Article Source: http://www.articles32.com
Hamesh Brown enjoys writing about VoIP. See www.voipreviewsonline.com/2005/10/which_voip_serv_1.html for another review of VoIP services.
.: New VOIP Articles
1). 6 Voice Over IP Tips
There are many benefits to VoIP. Here are 6 benefits we found to voice over ip. You may be able to think of even more reasons to switch or to include this exciting way to communicate at reduced prices.
2). Top 10 Reasons You Should Switch To VoIP
If you are considering changing to voice over internet protocol or VoIP for short you need to know the arguments for changing. Here are our top 10 reasons to switch to VoIP.
3). 7 Good Reasons Not To Switch To Voice Over IP Technology
For every positive there is a negative when it comes to voice over ip technology. Here are 7 good reasons not to switch in spite of the savings you may realize.
4). How To Choose The Best Voice Over Ip Provider
Choosing the best voice over ip provider may require you to do something that you have never done before. Here are a few tips to help you choose the best voice over ip provider.
5). Residential VoIP: Things to Consider Before Switching
Choosing VoIP over traditional telephone services has its pros and cons just like anything else. It is up to the consumer to weigh the advantages and disadvantages, and to come to a conclusion with eyes wide open.
6). Advantages of IP Telephony for the Residential Consumer
As more of us are building our own local area networks at home to connect our family members to each others data and appliances, broadband connections to the outside world have expanded our pipe to the Internet, giving us plenty of bandwidth to consider converging our home network with voice over IP telephony.
7). VoIP Communication Technology
VoIP... or Voice Over Internet Protocol, is the latest and greatest communications technology.
.: Top VOIP Articles
1). VoIP Problems?
Well of course there's VoIP problems, although I think problems is too strong of a word. Instead I would call this VoIP issues. (Just semantics? maybe, read on!)
Some may be old enough to remember making long distance calls where there was static or crackling on the phone line connection. Maybe you remember having to speak LOUDER in order to be heard on the line.
2). How To Set Up A Business VoIP System
To set up a business VoIP system, you need several components. A central device to manage the calls, the way a private branch exchange (PBX) or key system unit (KSU) does in traditional phone systems is one of them.
This can be a dedicated piece of hardware such as an IP PBX, a regular PBX that has been IP-enabled, or a server running specialized software.
3). VoIP Information: Benefits & Drawbacks
Once upon a time, a telephone was just a telephone. You set the base in your home and it featured either a corded or cordless handset for talking to family and friends. Even though that same telephone remains the standard, VoIP, which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, is increasing in popularity and gradually beginning to change the way that the world sends and receives telephone calls.
4). Skype versus Yahoo
With the influx of complaints regarding Skype’s fall from grace, Danny Wirken measures up the top competitor and internet giant Yahoo!’s news internet telephony service.
Cheaper, faster, better quality, better customer service and a brand you can trust. These are the things Yahoo! want you take away from any of their promotional material for the new Yahoo! voice VoIP service.
5). Voice Over Ip – What Is It And What Are The Choices?
Voice over Internet Protocol. First was the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell had a vision. He saw people communicating over long distances with their own voice, not trough beeps and squeaks. Then came the Internet. A few students and the US military had a vision, somewhat similar to Bell’s. They saw people communicating over long distances, but this time in writing.
6). Why VOIP?
Voice Over Internet Protocol delivers the service of converting the analog line into a digital signal so that voice could be transferred through the internet and this proves to be a lot cheaper than the PSTN (public switched telephone network). Voip is the best for making long distance calls in, inexpensive rates.
Voip and IP telephony are fields which have seen extensive growth and they continue to develop efficiently.
7). Advanced VoIP Gateway Technology
Increased demand for video-based applications in the mobile network drive the deployment of 3G networks. Inherent complexities in traditional video gateways cause performance bottlenecks and inflate costs. If the industry expects to absorb the impending explosion in demand, these proposed cost-saving and complexity-reducing changes are needed.
Unrelenting market demand for video-based applications over mobile networks is driving the increased deployment of 3G networks.