Is VoIP for you? Let's examine plusses and minuses of this popular phone calling plan.
My friend in Florida, Samuel, called me last week and immediately I
noticed a difference in the sound quality compared to our usual
conversations. At first, I dismissed it, thinking he was calling me
from his cell phone. Five minutes into the conversation when the call
suddenly dropped off I "knew" for sure he was calling on his cell.
Until he called me back from his cell that is. It turned out that
Samuel was using his regular home phone, but when he told me that he
had a VoIP account that was all I needed to know.
What is VoIP? VoIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol which is a method for you to talk with someone via your broadband
internet connection, cable or DSL. Your voice is translated into data
and sent over the same connection used for your computer. VoIP has
become popular because you can talk to people for just a few cents per
minute...worldwide! In fact, in a recent ad I saw that one of the
leading providers of this service is offering free calls to Canada and
charging just 3 cents per minute for calls to Hong Kong and 6 cents per
minute for calls to Copenhagen. People who frequently call
international destinations love VoIP. Heck, at prices one-tenth the
amount or less of conventional long distance rates VoIP does have a
strong appeal for consumers.
Overall, plans seem to start at around ten dollars per month and
increase to around forty dollars monthly depending on offerings
selected. Many VoIP plans give plenty of "extras" as part of the
package including:
Call Forwarding
Call Waiting
Caller ID with the name
Repeat Dialing
3-Way Calling
Voicemail
Call Blocking
911 Accessibility
I have seen plans that also offer widespread 411 accessibility, fax
service, and virtual phone numbers which allow users to select phone
numbers outside of their area code.
There are big drawbacks to VoIP and I learned what one of them was when
I was talking with my friend in Florida: a power failure will mean that
your phone will not work. My friend lives in an area of frequent
lighting strikes and occasional power failures so each time there is an
interruption he has to wait for power to be restored before he can call
out from his home phone. Fortunately, he keeps his cell phone charged,
but he does have to pay for most calls made on his cell. In some areas
the savings from a VoIP account will be offset by cell phone usage.
911 calls also can be difficult to place; you may need to dial a
lengthy ten digit number to the police, fire, or ambulance station
instead costing you valuable time in an emergency. Some providers are
working hard to overcome the problem, but it hasn't quite been done
away completely.
In all, VoIP usage continues to grow and it will probably become an
important way for many to place calls, particularly internationally.
You can't stop power outages and 911 issues remain, so weigh your
options carefully before making the move over to Voice Over Internet
Protocol.
