The SmarTroop Blog

VoIP Phones are all the rage. These Internet phones are
becoming increasingly popular with the general public as
well as among the technologically gifted avant-garde i.e. geeksRus.
Chances are high you know someone who uses one or you may even
use one yourself.

But did you know it can cost you your life?

We will get to this life-threatening issue later but first you
should have a basic understanding of what a VoIP phone is and
how it works.

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. These phones
are also commonly referred to as Voice over IP or Voice over
Internet. VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol is a way of
using analog audio signals, like on your regular phone, and
turning these signals into digital data that’s transmitted
over the Internet instead of over conventional phone lines.

How does it Work?

A Voip Phone Service can work on any computer that has
broadband connectivity. If you have a headset/microphone,
along with a Voip phone system set-up or software program
installed on your computer, you can place calls from your
computer or laptop to anywhere in the broadband-connected
world. Assuming that your friends have the same software
set-up or have a Voip Phone Service from many of the commercial
providers, you should be able to communicate, i.e. talk to
each other.

It basically works by sending small packets of data from one
computer to another over the Internet. And since it uses the
Internet, the route these data transfers take is as varied and
as wide as the Internet itself. You call a phone number and the
data is sent to your VoIP company’s call processor. The call
processor connects you to your friend’s phone and a session is
formed between your computer and your friend’s computer.
Your call can now be handled as if it were an e-mail or a web
page but each system must have the same protocol in order for
you to communicate or talk.

This may be over-simplifying things a bit, but this method is
less expensive than a conventional phone system.

Many VoIP companies offer many services that a traditional
phone company will charge you an arm or leg for! These include:
Caller ID, Call transfer, Call waiting, Return call, Repeat
dial, and Three-way calling. And because it is over the Internet
you can check your voicemail via the Web – you may even attach
messages that’s sent to your computer or handheld.

VoIP Phone Services have many advantages over the traditional
system, mainly its cheap price and availability or access. As
the broadband world increases, VoIP phones may become even
more popular.

So what’s the Problem with using VoIP Phones?

There are some major hurdles Voip Phone users should be aware
of and it is where the life saving advice comes in.

The VoIP Phone is only as good as the Internet system or computer
you’re using. There may be down times, for example, if you lose
your power, a Voip phone will not work, whereas a regular wall
phone or conventional phone will. In many natural disasters, be it
a blizzard, tornado or hurricane, the power is sometimes the first
utility that fails. Communications often become critical in these
situations and being stuck with only a powerless VoIP phone may
pose a problem. Assuming, of course, you don’t have your VoIP
Phone hooked up to a portable Wi-Fi battery operated laptop!

You must also keep in mind that your laptop or computer must be
able to handle the phone calls, other programs running on your
system may disrupt or distort your voip signals if your computer
is overloaded or not powerful enough.

Next, perhaps the most important concern, Emergency 911 calls
are a real challenge with VoIP. VoIP phones uses IP-addressed
phone numbers and not NANP phone numbers. There’s no way to tell the
geographic location with an IP address; thus routing the emergency
call may pose a problem for 911 operators. Obviously, this is not good
in an emergency of any kind!

No doubt this hurdle will be fixed in the very near future as Voip
Phones become more commonplace and integrated neatly in the wireless
Wi-Fi systems/networks around the world. But for now, it is something
every VOIP Phone user should be made aware of and prepare for in the
case your VOIP phone becomes your only lifeline.

Another challenge, as more and more voip phones come online, there is
no world-wide standard in place. This would include hardware and
protocols that would make this system work anywhere in the world.

Despite these hurdles and challenges, many believe VoIP Phone Services
will eventually replace the traditional phone lines over time. But the
revolution is just starting! According to the Forrester Research Group
only 5 million U.S. households will be using VoIP phones by the end of 2006.

However, it doesn’t take a Crystal Ball or even the Forrester Research
Group to tell us we are becoming more and more of a ‘wireless world’.
VoIP Phones will find themselves ‘center stage’ in our ever increasing
technologically enhanced universe. No doubt, neatly blended into some
fully loaded portable, Video/VoIP Phone, XM radio, Search Engine, Wi-Fi,
GPS Emergency Beacon, Computer Handheld Contraction. As long as we can
keep our ‘heads attached’ until this technotopia item comes along, we
should be ok.

Hey, when Google finally decides to build that Google Box, maybe someone
should suggest they load it up with a few extra goodies. Can we talk?

…..

The author runs a modest website on Bizware and Business Solutions
– including a section on VoIP Phone Services.
VoIP Phone Services
Get a few Free Marketing Tools
for your business. Titus Hoskins Copyright © 2006. This article may be freely distributed if this resource
box stays attached.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 5:04 am and is filed under World Of Telecommunication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.