Have you ever wondered how it would be wonderful to use your internet connection for your phone calls, saving you tons of money for your long distance communications?

Actually, this technology exists!

And you will keep hearing about it just more and more.

Ever heard of VoIP?



VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, which converts audio signal into small data fragments called packets. These packets are sent over the internet and then reassembled and transformed back into audio at the end source. The process is kind of the same that is used for sending emails. Fast, reliable and very economic.

Why switch to VoIP?

First of all, no standard telephone providers can compete with the VoIP providers low prices. Even if they wanted to, their system is just a too cost hungry structure. This technology is very cost effective for the companies providing it. At the bottom line, you, the costumer, are able to realise huge savings over your phone bills.

Receive your local calls, wherever you travel around the world, with the same number you have at home. Sounds great? This is just another advantage VoIP technology offers. You can even stay with the exact number you have right now if you want to. Just plug into a high speed internet connection, anywhere on the planet, anytime, and voilà!

Then you have options. Many of them. Not with charges for each and every single one you want. With the Voip phone providers, it all comes in the same package:




Answering machine,
Caller ID,
Voice mail,
Video conferencing,
And many more...



Who are the providers?

There is a lot of competition in this specific market. The first thing you need to know before you adhere to their services is that you'll need a high-speed connection to get the most out of it. Don't go for less than a cable or DSL broadband connection.

Some companies are more up front then others in this very fast growing market, and offer the best value money that one can get.

Skype
Basically, Skype provides a software that you download on your computer. To be able to call someone else, this person has to have the same software installed prior to be receiving a call. The basic option is free to download, and you are charged only for the options that you want, like voice mail or video conferencing for example. There is also have an option called Skype out, which offers you the possibility to contact any telephone line, without needing the end user to have the basic program installed.

If you would prefer something working similar to your standard telephone hardware, there are some broadband phone providers like Vonage, Packet 8 and Sun Rocket that offer you the real stuff.

It's actually very simple: they send you a modem with a hardware telephone, which comes with all the options for a very little price. You can contact who you want anytime, anywhere, just like a "real" telephone line would do.

Rusty Blue is the Webmaster of a web site, that specialize in VoIP internet telephony information