Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The 7 Cardinal Sins Of Buying VoIP

For most companies and many individuals, signing up with a VOIP service is a no brainer.


For a fraction of what most people pay for a tradional telephone service, you can have a feature rich communications sytem.

But there are a few pitfalls that people fall into time and again. Make sure you aren't one of them.

1) Missing Out on the Best Deal - So you know that you can make a big saving by switching from your traditional phone carrier to a VOIP service. But did you know that you can also make a huge saving again by shopping around? Some VOIP companies are up to 50% cheaper than others that offer similar featured packages.

2) Taking the Cheapest Without Looking - VOIP beats tradition networks in so many ways. Why not make sure that you have a feature rich package? Again, you need to compare features between companies!

3) Going With the Biggest Names - If you follow the VOIP scene, you will know that some of the biggest names in VOIP have had serious system outages. Make sure your carrier has a history of reliability because you don't want to be caught without a phone service!

4) Low bandwidth - Make sure that you discuss your WAN service provider to make sure you have enough bandwidth for VOIP. This is really important for heavy users such as businesses and call centers.

5) IP Phones - Poor quality hardware (IP Phones) can really reduce your user experience. Don't buy the cheapest phone you can find, because you will be disappointed at your call quality.
The 7 Cardinal Sins Of Buying VoIP
by Rob Wood
6) Configure Your Firewall - A lot of people get frustrated when their new VOIP service doesn't work. You need to check your firewall settings to ensure your VOIP service can operate!

7) Ignore Security - A VOIP conversation is data like any other data. It can be stolen and misused (ie. people can listen to your conversations). Make sure you are aware of the problems by asking your vendor and consider encryption to protect your data.

VOIP opens up a massive potential cost saving to home and business users. It can be as secure and high quality as traditional lines, if you take a little time to research and make the right purchasing decisions.



Enjoy to talk with VoIP !

Voip Broadband Phones - What Should You Know?

The expanded form of VOIP is Voice Over Internet Protocol. The most significant factor that affects the functioning of the VOIP phones is the Broadband Internet Connection, which is a high-speed internet connection and will be used for making and receiving phone calls. As there is a use of broadband internet connection in VOIP phones, they are also known as, "Broadband phones."


Principle Of VOIP Technology

The main principle of VOIP technology is to transform the voice into digital signals which will be forwarded to the broadband internet. This net connection will then help in the conversion of the digital signals into voice before reaching to the listener.

Bandwidth Required For VOIP Phones

The functioning of VOIP phones depend upon broadband internet connection and the quantity of data transfer by broadband internet connection is directly proportional to the bandwidth speed. In other words, bandwidth is the capability to transfer data in a given span of time.

There are two different types of bandwidth. One is the upload bandwidth, which is the quantity of data sent to the internet, and the other is download bandwidth, which is the quantity of data received from the internet.

It is always recommended to use the broadband bandwidth of 90 Kbps as VOIP telephone calls utilize 90 Kbps of bandwidth for high sound quality. But if broadband net service provider is unable to provide this much of bandwidth then most of the VOIP service providers provide an option of lowering down the voice quality by lowering down the bandwidth to approximately 60 Kbps or 30 Kbps.

Uses Of VOIP Broadband Phone

The broadband phone can be utilized to replace the analog phone line or it can be used as a second phone. The most significant use of VOIP service is to make long distance and internationals calls at very cheap rates.

This feature has proved to be very much attractive for the people and companies that are into businesses at international levels. There are different types of value added services that are offered by VOIP broadband phones like caller ID, call diverting, 3-way calling, call waiting, etc.

The most attractive thing in getting these values added services from them is that they are free of cost. These broadband phone service providers also provide a service of virtual phone number. The use of this virtual phone number is that it possesses an area code from where you generally receive the maximum number of calls, and the rates will be very cheap for the people who are calling you.

Precautions While Using Broadband Phone Services:

Though the use of broadband phone service is very advantageous, you should always consider the below-mentioned precautions while utilizing the broadband phone services.

1 - As it is very clear that broadband phones work by the transmission of digital signals by using broadband internet connection, it is always suggested to go for a high quality broadband connection else it will affect the quality of the phone calls.

2 - You should always be ready with a back up in case of break down of power supply and internet connection as this break down will stop the functioning of broadband phones.

3 - It is the responsibility of the users to update the VOIP service providers regarding your current address so that they can assist you at the time of emergency through their service of 9-1-1.

It is always recommended to search for the functioning of technology, benefits, and limitations of the VOIP phones while planning to have a broadband phone connection so that your investment should not go into drains.
Voip Broadband Phones - What Should You Know?
Posted by M. Xavier

Enjoy to talk with VoIP !