Do you have a landline phone and internet? Learn how to save money with VoIP!

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by: voipexperts
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Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 Time: 3:47 AM
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Voice over IP (VoIP) was developed to provide anyone, anywhere with an internet connection with the ability to access voice communication. In most countries making a long distance telephone call to another country can be quite expensive, with VoIP it is far cheaper and if you don't mind compromising on quality it can even be free (with applications such as Skype). VoIP is not without its pitfalls though, like most new technology it is still ironing itself out, so to speak.

If you are not using VoIP for your communication then you are using a phone service that uses PSTN. On a PSTN line you really are paying for the time you use, each minute you spend talking, you will be charged for. This is exacerbated with long distance phone calls to other countries. However, if you were to switch to VoIP you would eradicate all of those costs and just be left with your monthly internet bill to your ISP. You will of course, need a relatively fast broadband connection. What most people find effective with VoIP is unlimited 24/7 ADSL internet service, with a fixed monthly amount. That means that you can speak as much as you please on VoIP and pay the same connection cost. Experts estimate that switching from a traditional landline to a VoIP phone could save you between 30 - 90%. It is likely that the 90% is more likely to be applicable in cases where the user makes long distance phone calls on a regular basis. That said, a saving of 30% (which is applicable to those that make local calls) is not to be overlooked, that could still translate to savings in the £100's.

Unlimited Numbers

You can speak for as many minutes as you like to as many people as you like. On top of that, you are no longer restricted to talking to just one person at one time. With VoIP you can set up a conference call, whereby a whole team of people can communicate in real time. This is viable because VoIP compresses data packets during the transmission and this method allows for more data to be handled over the carrier. So therefore, more people can speak at once on one line.

Software and Hardware

If you are already an internet user and have a high speed broadband connection, then the only hardware you would need in order to utilise VoIP is a sound card, speakers and a microphone (many computers these days already come with these features). Alternatively you could get an Internet Phone, which looks and acts like a regular phone, you just plug this in to your internet connection and you're ready to go. You will also need software; you could download a free application such as Skype. Or you could set up an account with a VoIP service provider such as Vonage or Packet8 which will come with user friendly software for you to use.

Extra Features

VoIP also comes with a lot of features which a traditional phone service would not be able to provide. For example, contact lists, caller ID, call forwarding, call anywhere anytime and so on.

About the Author

Costas Kariolis - Senior Director Online - UK & Canada. Vonage are leading business VoIP (voice over IP) phone service providers. VoIP enables you to use your current high speed internet service and phone to make cheap calls to India and other locations across the globe.