An important communication tool that is now found in almost every home and business organization is the telephone. It provides a great deal of handiness in getting things achieved and organized. It is the belief of many a person that the telephone is one of the greatest gadgets ever invented. The telephone is a handy piece of equipment that will help a person stay in contact with near and dear ones at all times.

A much newer and equally powerful communication tool is the Internet. The internet has captivated the minds of millions of people by the things it can help one achieve. It is an important communication platform for people all over the world to stay in touch through means like email, chat and instant messaging. It is also useful in sending out and sharing information between one another.

The Internet has plenty of applications for which it is being constantly accessed everyday by millions of people. While some people use it for researching information about what they want to know, some use it for shopping for some products or a service. Yet others use it for other applications like gaming, downloading videos or listening to music, etc.

Communication is an important application of the internet.

Technological advances have made it possible to use the internet in many ways. An important application of the internet is communication. The advent of technology has affected the sector of communication too. A breakthrough in the field of communication is a new tool called Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP.

VoIP has created such a wave in the telecommunication sector that many people are just quitting using their traditional telephones and opting to use this new tool which is also know by the term internet voice. So, how has this new technology been able to captivate the minds of so many and made them give up the age-old telephone?

The basic utility of VoIP is the same as our regular telephone i.e. it helps in talking to another person located elsewhere. But, the difference is that VoIP makes use of the internet to send and get back data. The audio signals generated by your voice are converted to digital signals and transmitted to the other end where it is reconverted back to audio analog signals and heard by the receiving person. As the data is sent in digital format the quality of voice is not lost even if the person receiving is at the other end of the world.

As the VoIP system makes use of the internet to make and receive calls, the call rates are much lower in comparison to the regular telephone. With a conventional landline, making long distance calls can be very expensive and cannot be carried on for a long time without being a burden on your pocket. With VoIP, the call rates are much cheaper and affordable in comparison to the regular telephone. Some service providers of VoIP provide calling long distance totally free of cost for its subscribers.

Not only this, VoIP mode of communication comes loaded with some extra features that are generally not available on the regular telephone and if present, might be quite expensive. Some features available with VoIP include caller ID, call waiting, audio and video conferencing, return call, three-way calling, etc as part of its standard package. Depending on the service provider, most of the extra features are provided to the subscribers free of cost.

VoIP service providers will help you in obtaining VoIP system set up in your residence. So, research and find the service provider that is best suited for your needs. There are many service providers who advertise their services online and make claims stating that no one else surpasses their services.

One can never ascertain the true worth of their claims unless one goes and checks out how the service actually is by making use of it.

For this reason, some service providers of VoIP have started providing a trial of their services to know about the quality and their service. If you are not happy for any reason with the particular service provider, all you need to do is notify that you would not want to continue the service. If this notification is sent in the trial phase, the amount you have paid will be refunded back.

Search for a service provider that is providing the greatest facilities and features along with their service. Many service providers are providing freebies like an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA), IP phones for free or at a lesser cost and such other benefits to woo customers.

Check with your friends and business associates to find a service provider that has already won their trust by providing excellent service. In this manner, you can also get to know the provider who gives maximum benefits and features to its subscribers.

By checking and opting for the best service provider you will ensure that you are at an advantage and will get value worth for what you are paying.