Voice Over IP, a.k.a. Internet Telephone
Submitted By: buildingprocess on 7/4/2006 at 02:28:00 AMTags: Free, Voip, Voice Over, Internet, Protocol, Long Distance, Phone, Paunet, Vonage
You’ve heard the buzz about Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP), better known as internet telephone, but is it really all it’s cracked up to be or just another over-hyped techno-fad? We sat down with Keith Morgan, President & Chief Operations Officer for PAUnet (who provides YMAXA VoIP services) in College Station, to discuss the pros and cons of this exciting new technology.
In case you aren’t familiar with it, VoIP is a new technology that allows you to use your phone over a broadband internet connection. This service lets you to speak nationally and, in some cases, globally without paying outrageous long-distance fees. Do you need a special phone for this service? No. There is a small adapter provided for you that plugs into your regular phone and – voila – you’re talking over the internet. Plus, the person you’re talking to doesn’t have to have VoIP in order for you to communicate. You just pay a monthly fee (about $30) and you have unlimited long distance and local calling.
“What’s even more amazing is that you can get a local number,” said Morgan. “We recently talked to some people who had tried [another company], but they could not get local phone numbers. We have about 200 local numbers here in Bryan/College Station, and we have local numbers in many other parts of the country and we can get more.”
And you don’t necessarily have to get a new number to start using VoIP. “In the past, when you ordered your phone number from the phone company, it was kind of like their phone number. Now it is your phone number,” explains Morgan. With what is called number portability, you can move your current phone number to VoIP. “You now own that number and you can move it to the service that you choose. And VoIP can be the service that you choose. You run that over the high-speed internet and you can call out and people can call you on that number.”
VoIP allows you to do more than a traditional phone line because it converts the voice into data. Of course, traditional voicemail is available, but new services, like listening to your voicemail over your computer or your email over your phone, are part of YMAXA’s service called “Center.”
VoIP works on multiple phones using the same number and can even work on multiple lines, which can be ideal for small businesses. To attach the adapter to your entire phone system, you simply wire from the router to the adapter and to the distribution of your phone system. “You can also have two lines,” explained Morgan. “So, if you are a small business, you can have a two-line phone, and both of those VoIP lines will show up on your phone. We can provide all of the services of a traditional phone company and now do it on VoIP and use existing phones.”
For all of the great features of VoIP, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. If you lose your internet connection, you’re going to lose your phone line. Naturally, you can use your cell phone. Also, it is possible to have backup hard lines for disaster recovery. But if your day-to-day internet service is unpredictable, keep in mind that your phone service will follow suit.
One concern that has come up in the past with VoIP is 911 service. When you have VoIP, you are able to take your adapter with you to another town and plug it in anywhere that there is high-speed internet, just like a computer. However, when you sign up for your VoIP service, you designate an address for 911 to respond to. So if you are vacationing in Maine, have your VoIP adapter installed there, and call 911, the ambulance is going to show up at your home in Texas.
Another concern that has been echoed by the public has been the speed of the internet connection and its affect on the phone call and vice-versa. “Typical VoIP takes about 80 kilobits per second.” said Morgan. That number is pretty negligible when you consider most broadband internet connections have a minimum speed of around 1 ½ megabits per second — making the usage of your VoIP service about 1/20th of your bandwidth.
Overall, VoIP is a great alternative to high phone bills and pricey phone services. Still, we urge you to take the time to research the products and providers that you are potentially planning to use to find out all the information about that specific provider.
In case you aren’t familiar with it, VoIP is a new technology that allows you to use your phone over a broadband internet connection. This service lets you to speak nationally and, in some cases, globally without paying outrageous long-distance fees. Do you need a special phone for this service? No. There is a small adapter provided for you that plugs into your regular phone and – voila – you’re talking over the internet. Plus, the person you’re talking to doesn’t have to have VoIP in order for you to communicate. You just pay a monthly fee (about $30) and you have unlimited long distance and local calling.
“What’s even more amazing is that you can get a local number,” said Morgan. “We recently talked to some people who had tried [another company], but they could not get local phone numbers. We have about 200 local numbers here in Bryan/College Station, and we have local numbers in many other parts of the country and we can get more.”
And you don’t necessarily have to get a new number to start using VoIP. “In the past, when you ordered your phone number from the phone company, it was kind of like their phone number. Now it is your phone number,” explains Morgan. With what is called number portability, you can move your current phone number to VoIP. “You now own that number and you can move it to the service that you choose. And VoIP can be the service that you choose. You run that over the high-speed internet and you can call out and people can call you on that number.”
VoIP allows you to do more than a traditional phone line because it converts the voice into data. Of course, traditional voicemail is available, but new services, like listening to your voicemail over your computer or your email over your phone, are part of YMAXA’s service called “Center.”
VoIP works on multiple phones using the same number and can even work on multiple lines, which can be ideal for small businesses. To attach the adapter to your entire phone system, you simply wire from the router to the adapter and to the distribution of your phone system. “You can also have two lines,” explained Morgan. “So, if you are a small business, you can have a two-line phone, and both of those VoIP lines will show up on your phone. We can provide all of the services of a traditional phone company and now do it on VoIP and use existing phones.”
For all of the great features of VoIP, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. If you lose your internet connection, you’re going to lose your phone line. Naturally, you can use your cell phone. Also, it is possible to have backup hard lines for disaster recovery. But if your day-to-day internet service is unpredictable, keep in mind that your phone service will follow suit.
One concern that has come up in the past with VoIP is 911 service. When you have VoIP, you are able to take your adapter with you to another town and plug it in anywhere that there is high-speed internet, just like a computer. However, when you sign up for your VoIP service, you designate an address for 911 to respond to. So if you are vacationing in Maine, have your VoIP adapter installed there, and call 911, the ambulance is going to show up at your home in Texas.
Another concern that has been echoed by the public has been the speed of the internet connection and its affect on the phone call and vice-versa. “Typical VoIP takes about 80 kilobits per second.” said Morgan. That number is pretty negligible when you consider most broadband internet connections have a minimum speed of around 1 ½ megabits per second — making the usage of your VoIP service about 1/20th of your bandwidth.
Overall, VoIP is a great alternative to high phone bills and pricey phone services. Still, we urge you to take the time to research the products and providers that you are potentially planning to use to find out all the information about that specific provider.
