What is VOIP?
VoIP stands for Voice over
Internet Protocol. While this may sound confusing, it simply means using
your internet connection to carry your phone service. The quality is as
good as or better than traditional phone providers, and much more advanced
due to all the new features and technology. But, best of all, it's much
less expensive than old-fashioned phone providers!
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How does VOIP work?
You simply connect your
broadband Internet connection to the phone adapter that is provided to you
by the VoIP provider you choose, and then connect your telephone to the
phone adapter. When you make calls, your voice is routed through the
adapter to the internet. You can't tell that you're talking over the
internet, and the person you're talking to can't tell, either. The only
things you notice are the clarity of the call and all the great features
that come with the service. Oh, and the reduced phone bill is hard to
miss, too!
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Will VOIP save me Money?
Yes! You'll save a TON of
money over your traditional phone service. As a rule, VoIP is much cheaper
than traditional phone services. This is not just because of the
cost-effectiveness of using the Internet to route phone calls, but also
because of current government legislation that favors Internet phone
companies. Recent changes by the FCC mean that individual states won't be
able to restrict VoIP companies since they are not classified as phone
companies, and this saves everyone money. And as the technology becomes
more mature, prices are expected to continue to fall.
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What do I need in order to use an Internet Phone / VOIP System?
All you need is a broadband
internet connection (DSL or Cable) and the appropriate hardware as
determined by the VoIP provider you choose, usually a phone adapter box
provided by them and a standard network router supplied by you (contact
your provider for assistance in selecting a compatible router, and visit
our router page to buy one at a great online price). Once you receive the
hardware from your provider, you’ll simply follow simple instructions to
hook it all up. Once everything is connected properly, you’ll be up and
running.
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I have Satellite Internet, can I use VOIP?
Probably not. Because of the
way satellite internet works, there are delays in data transmission as the
data travels into space, and then back to earth. As a result, satellite
internet doesn't mix well with VoIP, as voice calls end up being delayed,
kind of like international calls sounded 20 years ago.
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Can
I give up my normal phone line if I sign up for VoIP?
That depends.
Most VoIP customers do indeed give up their normal phone lines once they
have their new Internet phones active, for lots of reasons. First, the
savings most people enjoy by replacing their normal phone lines with an
Internet phone are considerable, and increase even more when the savings
from long distance and international call rates are considered. Second,
the features most Internet phones offer are remarkable – most of which
normal phone providers can’t even come close to offering. There is a
downside to an Internet phone, however. Because the system relies
completely on your broadband connection (and therefore, electricity) in
order to function, the system won’t function in the event of a power
failure. The standard telephone line, by contrast, doesn’t require
electricity to run, so it will always work in the event of a power
failure. These days, however, most people own mobile phones, so there’s
usually a backup phone to use if the Internet phone is down.
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Probably..Each
VoIP provider offers numbers in lots of area codes, but not all. You may
find that your desired area code is offered by some providers, but not by
others. Check each provider for details.
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Maybe. Most
providers will assign you a number when your order is place, but you won't
get to choose it. Sunrocket, however, offers a unique system where you'll get to
choose your number from a long list of about 40 - 60 numbers (and since
Sunrocket offers a free second, "virtual" number, you'll get to choose
that one, too!).
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Yes. Internet
phone providers have spent millions of dollars on research and development
and have fine-tuned their hardware and services so that their sound
quality is indistinguishable from that of a regular phone. Consequently,
most Internet phone customers can’t tell the difference between their new
Internet phone line and their old standard phone line. Because the
Internet phone relies on your Internet connection, it can occasionally
experience some quality degradation if there are network problems from
your Internet provider. This situation is rare, however, and most Internet
phone services experience an extremely small amount of downtime and
interference.
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It depends.
Getting fax service (and your Tivo, DirecTV boxes, etc.) to work with VoIP
has been a challenge for VoIP providers, because the technology was
originally fine tuned to work well with voices, not data. Some providers,
such as Viatalk and Vonage are already offering fax service on a separate
line (usually about $9.95 extra per month), and others are hard at work on
a solution, and promise to offer it soon. Many customers have reported
success with faxing on providers who don't yet "officially" offer fax
service, like Sunrocket. Remember, you can try out most services risk-free
for 30 days and if you're dissatisfied, simply cancel the service and
return the hardware. You'll owe nothing.
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Probably. Many
of our customers have successfully set up their VoIP service to work on
all the phone jacks in their house, but doing so takes a bit of technical
know how and is not for the faint-of-heart. You can learn about this
procedure and find instructions from this post in our VoIP forum. Before you attempt this procedure, keep in mind
that we offer many mutli-handset cordless phones for sale which offer the
convenience of having a phone in every room, and save you from any wiring
confusion. Check our equipment page for more information on these fantastic cordless
phone systems.
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Depending on
your provider, making calls isn’t any different than what you’re already
used to. Some providers require that you dial a ‘1’ and the area code for
every call, even if the call is local. Other providers permit standard
7-digit dialing for local calls within the same area code. International
calls are made using the same dialing pattern as your normal phone.
Whatever the requirements, you’ll quickly become accustomed to the dialing
requirements and love the savings and features.
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What features does my Internet phone include?
All of them.
Seriously. Most Internet phone services include just about every feature
you can think of. Aside from the standard stuff, such as caller ID, call
waiting, call forwarding, and voicemail, there are lots of advanced
features that you probably didn’t even know you could get! Imagine having
your voicemail messages forwarded to you as attachments in email messages
- you can listen to your messages no matter where in the world you are.
Imagine forwarding your calls to your mobile phone (or any number in the
world) and paying virtually nothing for it. Imagine having a number with
any area code you desire, no matter where in the country you live – you
can now have local numbers for friends and family in other cities, and
have the calls forwarded to your home phone in any city. Imagine having
access to accurate logs of all calls placed and received, anytime you need
them just by logging into your provider’s website.
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Nope. Your VoIP
service only needs a high speed internet connection in order to work - it
doesn't need your computer (unless you're using a PC-based VoIP service).
In fact, you don't really even need a computer to use VoIP (you
will need one in order to visit your VoIP provider's webpage and log in to
your account to manage it). All you need to do is connect your VoIP
adapter to your internet connection (some providers require you to have a
router, others don't), and then connect a telephone to your VoIP adapter.
Your computer has nothing to do with it!
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You can pretty
much use any of them, subject to any usage laws in the country you're in.
The catch is that most of the US-based VoIP providers we review on
OrderVoIP.com will only ship to US addresses, and some of them may not
process international-based credit cards (though you'll have to check with
them about payment). However, many customers place an order and have the
VoIP adapter shipped to a friend's US address, then have the equipment
forwarded to the international destination. Once received, connect it
directly to local high speed internet, plug in a telephone, and begin
using the service. VoIP is ideal for people living outside of the US who
need to keep in touch with friends or relatives in the states. One low
monthly fee will provide unlimited calls from their international
destination to the US, and will allow US-based callers to call you without
any international calling charges. Keep in mind that some countries or
internet providers may not allow access to VoIP, which will prevent you
from using it in those areas. We recommend researching local laws prior to
ordering any services.
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Yep,
definitely. Check our comparison chart to find out the length of each
provider's free trial. As soon as you receive your VoIP equipment, hook it
up and activate it so that you can maximize your free trial and see how
great VoIP is. Some providers impose a minute limitation for the free
trial, so don't go over your limit until you're sure you love it like we
know you will. If for some reason you decide to cancel, please contact the
provider you ordered from directly to set up the return.
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