What is VoIP?
VoIP phones use existing high speed internet connection (Cable, ADSL, office LAN, etc) to make phone calls over the internet. With a telephone, instead of your voice being carried over a landline wired connection, your voice is digitized by a VoIP interface and then is sent over the internet. The caller on the other end may be on a regular landline, cellular phone, or another VoIP connection. In most cases the other caller will not know that you are using a VoIP connection.
10 Reasons for VoIP
- Less expensive phone service
- Affordable local and long distance
- Free calling features with optional advanced features
- Convenience
- Mobility
- 24/7 monitoring of your phone system by IT professionals
- Save money by combining your phone and data networks
- Increase employee productivity
- Gives you time to focus on your business and not your network
- No charge for incoming calls.
Where is VoIP available?
If you have a high speed internet connection, then you can use VoIP. There are many service providers in both the US and Canada that are now offering VoIP service.
What equipment do you need?
Signing up with us is just like signing up with a landline service provider. VoIP providers will give, rent, or sell you an interface box that you then plug in both a regular landline phone and a high speed internet connection. Beyond the interface box, you’ll obviously need a stable high speed internet connection — dial up internet service or “lite” cable internet packages will not work with VoIP service. Your current Internet Service Provider (ISP) must allow provide you with at least 2 IP addresses since your VoIP phone will need one address all to itself; the second IP address would be used by your computer (or router and several computers).
A typical VoIP interface box
Features offered by plans vary, but expect some or all of these in a typical VoIP monthly plan:
- Caller ID (with or without name)
- Call Waiting
- Conference Call (3-5 way calling)
- Call Forwarding
- Voice Mail
- Speed Dialing
- Call Return
- Do Not Disturb
- Repeat Dialing
- Free calling between VoIP subscribers using the same service provider
- White Page Listing
- Virtual Number
- Fax to Email
- Unlimited North American Long Distance
Most VoIP service providers offer either a set amount of outgoing airtime per month (incoming calls are usually free) or an unlimited airtime plan. Many VoIP service providers also offer business plans that require higher amounts of airtime.
May I Choose my Long Distance Provider?
No. Your VoIP service provider will become your long distance provider. The upside is that your VoIP service provider will likely offer FREE long distance anywhere in Canada and the US under your service plan. Some of the lower cost plans may limit your long distance, so make sure to check before signing up.
When you are ready to
reduce your business expenses,
call (800) 296-2915 for a VOIP solution.
Can I take my VoIP service with me?
Because all you need is the interface box and a high speed internet connection, you can take your VoIP service anywhere in the world. For example, you travel to Italy for two months and plug your VoIP service into a high speed internet connection there. You now have a telephone line that you can make and receive calls on, just like you did at home –same number, same long distance and everything. Callers to your number would not even know that you are overseas!
This feature also means that you can have a local number in another city and callers will not know where you are physically based. For example, a business VoIP line could have a number in Los Angeles, but the phone is physically located in Denver.
VoIP Downsides
There are two important factors with VoIP with which any user should be aware. If internet connection or your power fail then you do not have a phone, unlike landlines that may work both independently of your internet connection and will usually continue to work even during a power outage. Please also inquire of your VOIP provider regarding the handling of 911 calls. With the ubiquity of cellphones, the risks during a power outage are increasingly lower over time.
Internet Bandwidth
VoIP lines use internet bandwidth. Computer and talk on the VoIP line may be concurrent, but a slight speed drop while surfing the net should be expected. Most VoIP service providers offer a choice of bandwidth usage; higher VoIP bandwidths mean improved call quality, but decreases in your surfing speeds. If you are sharing a VoIP line with several computers though a router and are noticing an overall speed decrease, either decrease the VoIP bandwidth or consider upgrading to the next speed available from your internet service provider.