October 12th 2007

Confused With All The Hype Surrounding VoIP? This Should clear things Up...

VoIP (or Voice over Internet Protocol) is a way of routing your telephone calls over the Internet instead of using standard telephone lines.

Currently, the biggest reason people are switching to VoIP is to save money. In almost every case, VoIP service is considerably cheaper than traditional phone service. Most providers will allow you to make unlimited calls anywhere in the UK for one low, flat rate, and international calls for a low per minute rate. For companies who make a lot of long-distance calls to customers or to other office locations, this can be a considerable cost saving.

Just like all other phone services, VoIP providers can offer voice mail, caller ID, and 3-way calling, but prices and features will vary with different providers so make sure you shop around. And some VoIP providers will allow you to check your voice mail over the Internet; something not offered by traditional phone service.

So what are the downsides to VoIP? Some providers—notably Skype— may require you to purchase special phones to use with their service. Although VoIP providers promote the fact that you can keep your existing phone number, it may be a slow and difficult process for a VoIP provider to make the transfer.

Using a VoIP service for a fax machine can cause transmission errors. You will also need an Internet connection with a minimum of 128K upstream speed in order to get acceptable call quality. Before switching to VoIP, be sure to test your Internet connection (for example, at http://www.visualware.com) for not only up-speed, but also for packet loss, latency and other factors that can negatively impact call quality.

But even if you have a fast upstream connection, your call quality can suffer when you start uploading big files or sending big e-mail attachments because your VoIP traffic has to compete with those applications. There are devices you can buy to ensure your phone calls take first priority of the Internet resources available.

For tailored VoIP solutions call 020 7494 2121 or email support@itsoho.co.uk.