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.
