Kevin Sinclair asked:


VoIP is a great way to communicate with family and friends at a very low price. However, there are a variety of hindrances with switching to VoIP. This article goes over many of the disadvantages of VoIP, which may have experienced. Additionally, this article will explain how you can improve the quality of VoIP phone service.

Disadvantages of VoIP

Although there are many advantages of VoIP, there are also quite a few disadvantages. Below are four of the most common disadvantages of VoIP.

1. Maintaining a Dependable VoIP Internet Connection

If for any reason, you lose your internet connection, you will not have phone service. Therefore, you must use a cellular phone should this type of situation arise.

2. 911 Access

When you place a 911 call, the location cannot be immediately determined. Unlike PSTN, you must register your phone number online so that should you need to make a 911 call from your VoIP, emergency services will know your location.

3. Networks Have a Large Number of Computers Connected

If your network has a large quantity of computers connected and they are all using the internet at the same time, your VoIP quality will generally be less than desirable. One way to avoid this situation is to invest in an Ethernet.

4. VoIP Poor Quality

Audio quality is one of the largest issues. No matter what your VoIP service offers you, the basic role of any phone is voice communication. If the quality is not up to par, then there is absolutely no point to all of the bells and whistles that come with the service. If you have a lot of background noise, then a VoIP that can handle music, video, caller ID and a variety of other advanced features is practically useless. In the next section, we will address this issue more thoroughly.

Even with all of the advancements of VoIP, there are times when the audio quality suffers. Since VoIP relies completely on the internet connection, anytime the internet suffers so will the VoIP.

Six Ways to Improve the Quality of VoIP

Poor audio quality (disadvantage #4) along with dropped calls, are all complaints that user of VoIP tend to make. Below are six ways the setup of your VoIP can affect the overall quality. By following these simple steps, you can easily improve the quality of your VoIP service.

1. Internet Connection

One of the first recommendations is a high speed internet connection. There are companies which offer VoIP for dial up users. However, the connection can result in poor audio quality. Eventually, you will grow to dislike your VoIP. However, it is not the VoIP, but rather the internet connection. Even if you have DSL, there are occasions when the connection may be slow and your VoIP quality will suffer. Therefore, an Ethernet connection is highly recommended.

2. External Factors

Weather conditions, such as thunder storms, heavy rains and snowstorms can all can an increase in static on broadband lines. In some instances, simply turning rebooting the VoIP can solve the problem. Another solution to reduce the static is for the VoIP service provider to replace the cables with a higher quality cable.

3. Compression Software

The technical details of codecs are a bit too much for this article. If you would like additional information, you can go to Wikipedia. Here is a quick overview of codecs as it pertains to VoIP. When sending data, VoIP compresses it. This is simply because if the data is too large, transmission can be extremely slow and ineffective. Codec is a software program that can be used for data compression. However, a poor quality codec will lead to poor audio quality.

4. VoIP Location and Hardware

The hardware you choose for you VoIP can affect the audio quality. Most of the most important pieces of hardware is the ATA/Router. The VoIP ATA or Analog Telephone Adaptor, brings ordinary phones to the networked world. The adaptor connects a phone handset to an Ethernet adaptor and therefore connects regular, analog phones with VoIP networks. If you are looking for additional information on ATA, check out Wikipedia.

In general, ATAs should have support for security and firewall, as well as echo cancellation and compression technologies. Many technicians have discovered that certain VoIP equipment can interfere with each and possibly create feedback or buzzing noises and dropped calls. Although VoIP equipment and hardware should be places as close as possible to each other, ATA should not be placed near the broadband internet router. The audio quality can be decreased if they are placed too close together.

5. Computer Maintenance and Hardware

There are a variety of different things that can affect the quality of your VoIP service. Therefore, computer maintenance is extremely important in improving the service's quality. Make sure that you de-fragment your computer on a regular bases. As well, make sure that you have sufficient memory for the computer and high quality microphone and speakers.

6. VoIP Phone Type/Frequency

The type of phone you have, as well as the frequency can affect the quality of your VoIP. Many people believe that the higher a phone's frequency is, the better the quality of VoIP. However, in some instances, a lower frequency phone may fit your connection better. You may want to try a phone with a lower frequency if you are experiencing a lot of audio feedback.

Overall, VoIP is a great low cost alternative for communication. VoIP are not passing through, they are here to stay. Major corporations have done some significant research to fix the disadvantages of VoIP service, as well as improve the overall quality. With all of the improvements continually going on with VoIP, it will soon be accepted by everyone as an acceptable alternative to PSTN.



VOIP Security made Easy

Angela Hayden asked:


Today, businesses that deal in long distance or international calling have opted for IP architecture; user can add additional phone connections and extensions. It allows user to share a certain number of external phone lines and switches between VoIP users on local lines. Calling on IP telephony is cheaper as it is based on packet switching protocol that allows the user to share data, voice, video or images through single line. Thus, irrespective of locality and mobility user can communicate over network. IP-PBX solution offers the services which help to reduce the monthly telephony charges with more of voice quality feature; this service is offered by the Internet telephony

The most important point of advanced IP PBX over traditional PBX is as follows:

1. Easy to install.

2. No complex wiring is required for VoIP PBX solutions. This is because to make the communication in their other offices at lower cost. Well, business communication requires reliability, security, functionality and scalability in his dealings; and this has been made possible with emergence of VoIP technology. With VoIP calling infrastructure set-up, users can make in-house and out-house calling through IP network at a minimal rate and higher call efficiency. Thus, advanced system of calling through Internet increases the cost efficiency and productivity.

To take benefit of virtual PBX systems, user has to set up basic architecture of PBX server that includes one or more SIP phones or VoIP phones and a VoIP gateway, providing

1. Low cost of operation

2. Cheaper long distance and international calls

3. Additional phone connection and extensions can be added

4. Facilitates hot desking and roaming

5. Easy usability and better manageability

With the time, many businesses are making plans to switch to VoIP phone services and hosted IP PBX system to gain benefit of it. Well, investing in an IP PBX makes sense for companies big and small as it requires start up cost. Before replacing the PSTN to advanced PBX solutions with Internet telephony, a user must be thorough with the services and its usability.



VOIP Security made Easy

Angela Hayden asked:


Small as well as medium businesses (SMBs) that are into long distance and international calling cannot afford to ignore the potential for VoIP in increasing their organisational efficiencies any longer. It makes total business sense to increase the efficiencies in the production process. Moreover, it would not hurt companies to reduce their infrastructural – more specifically, the telecommunications costs through the incorporation of the innovative solutions from the VoIP domain. The importance of innovative IP PBX solutions can be understood in this context.

The call quality, based on packet switched protocol, is more than satisfactory. Corporate users are able to send and receive data, voice, video and images on a single network using the high-end IP PBX solutions. They are provided with external phone lines and switches for this purpose. The subscription charges are low and the constraints pertaining to locality and mobility are a thing of the past.

Given the above-mentioned context, the increasing popularity of virtual PBX systems over traditional phone systems should not surprise anyone. As a matter of fact, a VoIP PBX system has got quite a few factors going in its favour. Easy installation, hassle-free deployment, reliability, functionality, scalability, and security are some of the benefits that come as a part and parcel of the VoIP PBX systems. With improved call efficiencies and low costs, the organisations subscribing to specific services of IP PBX providers are among the top rung among competitors in their respective domains. Moreover, the end users and customers of these organisations are also more than happy.

It is not all smooth riding though. A few basic conditions need to be met – if and when the organisations decide to implement the IP over PBX voice solutions. Facilitating organisations should have access to basic architectures for PBX servers. Organisations wanting to incorporate these solutions can easily do so by subscribing to the services of any one of the reputed IP PBX providers that exist in the market. This way, they can maximise their organisational efficiencies, and endeavour to reach their true potentials.



You can Get Cheap VOIP DID's too!

John B. Mayall asked:


Rapid and trustful communication systems have become a norm in the modern world. For this reason, people are increasingly dependent on communication tools like the internet and the telephone which are the two major branches of the communication industry.

 

The telephone allows you to talk directly to anyone in any part of the world be it your friends, family or your clients. It is not only quick it is quite dependable too. This is such an important tool that now it has become one of the basic necessities in every home and business. Businesses depend quite a lot on this mode of communication and their life would get stranded without connectivity through a telephone.

 

The internet has also capture the world by storm through its ability to provide super fast and consistent means of communication. The amazing factor to the internet is all the applications that it offers for communication can be accomplished with very low cost. People can keep connected with other people through emails and chat.

 

The modern times has seen another advance in the field of communication by providing the latest communication tool, the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or the Internet Voice. This is very similar to talking over the regular telephone but it is much more advanced. This has become so popular in the modern times that people are seriously contemplating eliminating the use of the regular telephone and switching over entirely to the VoIP system.

 

VoIP is far superior to the conventional telephone in that it provides many more features and advantages which the latter cannot even dream about. VoIP is through the internet and the voice signals are converted into digital format and then transmitted to the other person. The digital format of the voice signals ensures that there is no loss of voice quality and the communication is quicker and crystal clear as compared to a regular telephone conversation.

 

A great attraction that VoIP provides is the cost factor. Using this system, a person can make long distance calls to any other place in the world at a very low price or even for free. When compared to calls made long distance over the regular telephone, the communication is much faster, clearer and much cheaper when using the VoIP service. So, you will end up with lesser bills over the month in comparison to using the regular telephone line.

 

VoIP provides other advantages too. Let us suppose you require a PBX in your organization. If you purchase one to be used with your regular telephone line, it will be quite expensive. But, if you purchase one and use it over the VoIP system, it will be much cheaper and highly consistent. The functioning of the PBX system is similar in both the modalities but if the PBX is used with the VoIP system, it will be through the internet rather than through the telephone line.

VoIP is easily obtainable in today’s times. You can find many service providers marketing the services on the internet who will provide business VoIP. But, if the purpose is to install VoIP system at home or if your intention is to make VoIP a career path, you will have to learn about setting up the VoIP system.

 

Installing a VoIP system is taught by Cisco Training Courses which has several such courses, one of them the Asterisk VoIP Hosted PBX.

 

If you opt for this course, you will be provided with all the training materials you will require to understand the process of setting up a VoIP system in any kind of setup. VoIP is beneficial for residential and business purposes. But, Asterisk VoIP Hosted PBX is more suitable for big organizations in meeting their communication needs.

 

Cisco provides all relevant information about the various VoIP PBX systems that are available and their utility. Using the Asterisk VoIP Hosted PBX, one can integrate all the phone lines in the organization into a single channel for communication that uses the internet to route the calls.

 

IP PBX is a powerful tool for communication within any office setup. Using this piece of hardware, the entire organization’s communication needs can be met and easily regulated.

 

If you are intending to take up VoIP as a career path, you need to contemplate about Cisco VoIP Training Courses. The advantage this course provides is the hands-on experience using the Asterisk VoIP Hosted PBX. VoIP is definitely a good career path what with the amount of popularity it is gaining by the day and the pace at which it is eliminating the need for regular telephones.



VOIP Security made Easy

Michael Talbert asked:


With the advent of widespread broadband Internet connections, consumers are discovering what businesses have known for a while. Voice over IP telephony, or VoIP as it is known, can be a viable and cost effective alternative to the Plain Old Telephone System (POTS). As VoIP upstarts are popping up everywhere, most notably Vonage, Packet8 and Skype, even the big Internet Service Providers are offering voice over IP packages to their residential subscribers

Such features as caller ID, call forwarding, automatic redial, and even 3-way calling are standard on most VoIP packages, whereas many phone companies consider them add on's and will charge you extra. But the real kicker is, if it is right for you and you pick the right Voice over IP solution, you should be able to reduce your phone bill by half or more.

How Does Voice over IP Work?

IP Telephony is a packet switching technology, as opposed to circuit switching as used by the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). The PSTN method uses copper wires to physically connect one caller to another through a series of circuit switches, as illustrated by the switchboard operators of old.

In voice over IP, the analog voice is converted into digital packets that are routed through the internet, and in the case of one of the parties being on a PSTN connection, the packets are routed to the nearest local switching station and placed back on the PSTN. If both persons are using VoIP, then there is no reason to use the PSTN, and the entire conversation takes place over the Internet.

Needless to say, this is much more cost effective than using land lines for the entire distance. If a caller in New York uses VoIP to call a PSTN number in Seattle, the call doesn't leave the internet until it reaches the switching station in Seattle, making it for all practical purposes, a local call.

The Drawbacks of Voice over IP Telephony

There are some points that one should seriously consider when thinking about dumping the POTS. VoIP generally requires a Broadband Internet connection, which in turn requires power. If a power outage should occur, you have no telephone service. Battery backups could solve this problem, but not on a long term basis. Internet Service Providers (ISP's) also have a tendency to go down occasionally, though they are getting better all the time. Calls can be forwarded to your cell phone if your power is out, but in real disaster situation, even cell phones are not a perfect backup, as seen by Hurricane Katrina. Faxing over an IP network has proven to be problematic. Fax machines scan a document and convert the data into sounds, which don't travel well over the internet. In IP telephony, much progress has been made on a standard called T.38, whose mission is to convert the fax sound into sendable data. Another option is iFax, the T.37 standard that sends faxes as an email attachment or a remote printout using the Internet Printing Protocol. Today, separate Fax lines can be added by most VoIP providers for an extra charge.

Emergency services such as 911 are also an issue with IP telephony. It is the nature of the Internet that tying a particular node to a geographic location is quite difficult, and street addresses are not easily routed to a nearby call center. In the U.S., the FCC has mandated that VoIP providers implement Enhanced 911 (E911). Providers are making progress by encouraging their customers to register a street address to their phone number, enabling them to route emergency calls to a nearby call center.

Voice over IP and Broadband Connections

While a broadband connection is not absolutely necessary, it is what makes VoIP shine. Many households are turning to DSL or cable modems for their internet connections, and wireless broadband WiFi hotspots are popping up everywhere.

The problem with DSL is that it is provided by telephone companies which for the most part require you to have a landline, pretty much defeating the purpose. Some regional Telco's are starting to unbundle their DSL services by offering "naked DSL", an Internet connection without the analog line on the local loop. When you think about it, there really doesn't seem to be much motivation for the Telco's to promote VoIP, as it would effectively be like cutting their revenues in half.

If your household has cable television, you more than likely can get broadband access through a cable modem. Most cable providers charge around $50 a month for broadband internet access, and for those who utilize the Internet often, a high speed internet connection is well worth the price. Some cable IPS's offer residential Voice over IP for $40-$50 a month. Through the pure play VoIP companies like Vonage or Packet8, you can get VoIP for around $15-$25 a month, potentially eliminating the need for a land line at all.

Wireless networks also work great for VoIP, and are especially convenient if you travel a lot. Hotspots all over the world allow you to call anywhere using a WiFi VoIP phone. Internet phones come in all shapes and sizes with all kinds of bells and whistles. From a full business desk phone from Cisco, to phones indistinguishable from cell phones, even regular cell phones that are VoIP capable new products and technologies are coming out every day to get you better connected for less.

Voice over IP telephony has come of age. If you have access to a broadband Internet connection, you could conceivably cut your phone bill by half or more, never pay long distance charges in the U.S. and Canada, and pay way less for International calls as low as 3 cents per minute. Sound quality is usually as good as a cell phone connection. To test you current broadband connection, visit http://www.TestYourVoip.com and download the java applet. In about 20 seconds they will show you in detail how your VoIP phone call would fare to and from national and international destinations. Once you know if your connection can sustain the extra traffic, it's just a matter of finding a reliable Voice over IP telephony service provider.



You can Get Cheap VOIP DID's too!

Digital Landing asked:


If you have long distance phone bills on your home phone that are more than $50 a month, it is time to consider ways that you can save some real money by making use of one of many different technologies called digital voice or Voice over Internet Protocol (also called VoIP or Internet Phone). This article will compare the various services that are offered and provide information to help you decide whether or not this service is appropriate for you. For simplicity's sake, we call this Internet Voice.

The notion is simple, but the subtleties are confounding. You replace your standard wired home telephone line from your local phone company with a service that is carried over your high-speed Internet service provider. If you don't yet have high-speed Internet, you can choose one of the "double-play" or "triple-play" combination bundles -- meaning that telephone service is paired with high-speed Internet and other services, typically at a discount.

 

The potential savings is huge -- most of the Internet voice providers offer unlimited local and long distance calling within North America. Some offer lower-priced plans for unlimited local calls only, and charge per-call for long distance or international calls at pennies per minute.

Who should NOT get Internet voice service

But these services aren't for everyone. If you have young children (say under the age of 5) or if you are in ill health and live alone, you should steer clear of this service because it is less reliable than a standard phone. In case of a power outage, most ordinary phones (but not cordless) can still work over the low-voltage lines that the phone company maintains. All of these Internet voice services require AC wall power to work.

The other issue for emergency use is that ordinary phone lines do a better job of connecting to 911 call centers than Internet voice providers. While most of the providers have made progress in this area, there are still situations where an emergency call doesn't directly go to the closest call center or where your address doesn't automatically display for the dispatcher. That could be just a matter of seconds or minutes in answering your emergency call, something that could make a difference in some emergencies.

If you have multiple devices other than telephones connected to your current phone lines, such as fax machines, home security monitoring panels, and TiVO video recorders, you also might not want to go through the trouble of testing each of these to ensure that they will work with your new Internet voice line. While most of the Internet voice carriers support other things besides straight phones, some don't, and troubleshooting them could be more than you bargained for.

Also, if you have had your local phone number for some time, some of the Internet voice providers can allow you to keep that number, and some can't. It is important to ask up front before getting service, particularly if changing phone numbers is unappealing. It can also take several weeks to perform the transfer, something else to keep in mind. Some of the providers, such as Vonage and Packet8, allow you to check this from their Web sites directly.

Finally, most of the providers require you to sign up for a year of service in advance to obtain free hardware or rebates, just like the cell contracts. If you cancel before your year is up, you have to pay additional fees. If you are planning on moving or not sure whether these services are for you, then consider that as well.

What are some of the benefits of Internet voice?

There are plenty of reasons that might motivate you to switch to Internet voice other than price.

First off are the features. All of the providers offer features that typically you would have to pay extra for with your traditional phone company, such as voice mail, call forwarding, caller ID, last number redial, call waiting, three-way calling, and "find me" multiple simultaneous line rings. Some of the Internet voice providers also offer additional features such as 800-toll free numbers or support for multiple area codes on a single line, so that your family or customers can make local calls to you.

The multiple-line ringing feature deserves some additional explanation, and is one of the most useful ones. Say you run a small business from your home, and have a separate line for your business calls. When you are away from your office, you can set up the Internet phone service to first ring your cell phone, and if that doesn't answer, then ring some other line. Or they can all ring at the same time, which can be interesting. It is a great way to be productive and it doesn't cost anything extra. Remember, if you pick up the call on your cell phone, it is charged against your plan's available minutes.

Second is that the providers let you manage your phone's features from a Web page. You'll never again have to talk to a phone company representative or stay on hold. All of the providers have call logs, the ability to change features (such as turn on do-not-disturb or change call forwarding information) on the fly. That is appealing to some people.

Third, you can take your phone number with you, when you travel or if you have a second home. You'll need high-speed Internet service at your second home, and how your service is configured for 911 identification is important.

Finally, you can appear to be someplace that you aren't by having a local phone number in another city. If you do business elsewhere, or if you have many friends and family in a distant city, you can attach a second or third local phone number to your Internet voice line and let your callers make local calls to you, even though you are elsewhere. All of those "extra" numbers can ring the same phone in your house.

Here you can read more about how to choose the right Internet Service provider and also how to pick Internet voice for your small business.



Protect your VOIP network