Saving Money With VoIP Phones

One method of trying to save on your mobile phone or landline bills is to use an alternative method to communicate with people. The internet is a great way of contacting people quickly, provided you have installed the right programs and you use broadband internet, and the other party you are trying to contact have exactly the same setup as you on their computer. VoIP phones (Voce over Internet Protocol) have been around for many years, providing a very cheap alternative to using normal telephones.

Using VoIP phones can be free if you are calling from PC to PC; as long as both parties have added you on their profile account. It is as simple as downloading it onto your PC, setting up an account and adding people onto your profile - much like using MSN messenger. Internet bandwidths have improved massively, making the connection between the calls quicker and the sound quality much clearer - this is why it is now comparable to normal telephoning methods.

In the past when more people had narrow band (dial-up internet connection) internet connectivity there were more problems in sound quality, with the connection timing out and making it near impossible to call people via the internet.

Sending messages across using messenger programs were much slower and often not received by the other party. With broadband connection, you are instantly connected to the internet as soon as you turn your PC or laptop on. VoIP phones help making calls across the globe much cheaper too. Normal telephony services charge a great deal of money to make a call outside of the local area.

This becomes even more expensive when using a mobile phone, making it difficult for people to make regular calls to family or friends abroad, without having to worry about breaking the bank! VoIP phones are much more reliable, affordable and normally have good sound quality. The VoIP software service providers are available to download from the internet, with the biggest programs being Skype, Google Talk and Babble.

These are relatively new on many desktop computers; however, they are far from being a new piece of technology and have been in development since 1973 since the very early stages of the internet. Transmitting conversations over the internet have been available for end-users since the early 1980s.

In 1993, a shrink wrapped software by VoiceTec was released with features such as voice mail and caller ID, however, this did not take off as well as only VoiceTec users were able to contact other VoiceTec users. It would not be until 1997 that a softswitch was developed, opening more gateways between telephones, making it possible to call up other landline phones from the PC. Calling up across the globe using VoIP phones is an extremely cheap way of sending information across, without having to rack up the price of your bill at the end of the month.

It is important that the user has a broadband connection; otherwise, their internet telephony will not provide good sound quality...

VoIP for the Home

There is no doubt that you have heard about VoIP by now. It’s made headlines and is plastered everywhere both in online and TV advertisements. Just in case you haven’t caught on to the hype yet, VoIP is the abbreviated term for Voice over Internet Protocol.

Voice over Internet Protocol is basically the ability to communicate on a phone over your Internet connection. With VoIP, the promise is the ability to make local and global long distance calls at a significantly lower rate than over a plain old telephone line through your local carrier.

The VoIP trend has caught on and large enterprises all over the globe are adopting this new technology to reduce their cost of business communications which may include fax, conference calling, along with streaming video applications. VoIP has been around for some time, but it has only been until recently that it has finally matured to the stage worthy of replacing everyday phone use.

At the household level, it is certain by now that you are compelled to embrace this technology somewhat, but are not sure how to go about it or even if this technology has any real benefit for your family. You are probably wondering, “How much? How difficult? Is it necessary?”

This article hopefully will clear up a few unanswered questions you may have regarding this technology and maybe even excite you enough to go on out and get VoIP hooked up in your own home.

First off, you must have an Internet connection. No, not your 56k dial up connection, but an actual high speed Internet connection. This can be cable, satellite, or DSL Internet, but you will need high speed Internet for VoIP to function properly and become your new calling station. Dialup just doesn’t have the capacity or speed to transfer voice digitally without significant quality loss.

A company named SpeakEasy has recently come out with a new DSL product that requires no current phone line for high speed Internet if DSL is your current favorite of broadband services and if you are planning on replacing your current phone service with VoIP. Secondly you will need what is called a gateway. The gateway is connected between your computer and Ethernet modem.

The VoIP gateway is where your phone line will be plugged into. Gateways enable freedom from possible computer problems that can shut down calling capabilities or deteriorate voice quality. Computer crashes, slow memory, and many other computer problems that plague us in everyday life, you do not want to plague your ability to make phone calls. Gateways are specifically designed for VoIP phones but adapters are available for current phones should you not want to buy a brand new phone.

VoIP providers usually have the adapters available for sale so you don’t have to shop around for one yourself. Before you write off buying a new phone however, video phones are the newest product line and it won’t be long before this trend explodes. You may want to get your video phone so you aren’t left out of exciting face to face conversations with friends and relatives when they get theirs. Packet8 VoIP has a good video phone sold separately with their services.

The services included with VoIP usually include all the convenient bells and whistles your current phone service provides including your own local VoIP telephone number, call waiting, voice messaging, 3 way calling, and more.

There are some important things to remember with VoIP before you go diving in to this feature rich voice technology. You should check with your VoIP provider for local 911 emergency coverage. Some VoIP providers charge extra on a monthly basis for both 911 and 411 access so make sure you know how much it is going to cost you before committing to a calling contract.

One last important thing to remember is that your gateway is reliant on electricity to function. This means power outages will put your phone line out of service, but then isn’t your phone already only functional with electricity these days?

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Ten Tips For Choosing A VoIP Provider

What should you consider when choosing a VoIP provider? Read our simple tips before you make your decision.VoIP phone service is a fast growing business. There are many VoIP companies in the market these days, but professional VoIP reviews are very few. Here are some simple tips to help you compare individual VoIP providers before making your decision.

1) Price– Many people look for the lowest price when choosing a VoIP provider. However, price should never be your first priority. With keen competition in the market today, price difference among individual VoIP providers is very small. You should consider other factors such as service quality, customer support, service plan options etc. After all, what is the point to get the cheapest service if you cannot receive a quality phone call?

2) Service – Look for quality and reliable service. The quality of VoIP service also depends on broadband connection speed. If you want to use some standalone VoIP providers, such as Vonage and Packet8, make sure you also have high quality broadband connection.

3) Customer support – The VoIP provider should provide good customer support including 24 hours phone support 7 days a week. If you encounter any problems while installing or using the VoIP service, you could have someone to help you.

4) Satisfaction guarantee – Most VoIP companies require you to sign a one year contract. It is better to choose a company that provides satisfaction guarantee or free trial. If you don’t like their service, you can terminate it within 30 days without paying a penalty fee.

5) Company size – Large companies are often better run and have more sophisticated equipments and facilities than small companies.

6) Service plans – Some plans provide unlimited local and long distance calls; some even provide unlimited global calls to international cities. If you use the VoIP phone as a secondary phone line, you can sign up for some basic plans which give you limited calling minutes at a lower monthly fee. Choose a plan that is most suitable for your need.

7) Local area codes – Find a VoIP provider which can offer a local area code. Otherwise, your friends living in your area will be charged for long distance calls when they call you using an analog phone. However, if most of your friends and relatives are living in another area, you can also choose an area code for that area, so they will only be charged for local calls when they call you.

8) Additional features – Call forwarding, voicemail, call waiting, conference call, caller ID, call filtering are all very useful bonuses. Many VoIP providers provide these services for free.

9) E911 – Make sure the VoIP provider offers E911 service (enhanced 911), which allows personal information such as your name and address to be given to local dispatch center automatically during an emergency.

10) User reviews – Read some online customer reviews as a reference. However, bear in mind that these reviews can be tainted and the quality of VoIP service is affected by other factors such as broadband connection. If in doubt, call the VoIP companies to express your concern and ask for clarification...

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Using VoIP over Satellite

VOIP (Voice over Internet protocol) technology has revolutionized the way voice communication is done over international long distance. It is better known as Internet telephony and is offered by many service providers. The service is offered over Internet protocols and not over conventional telecommunication infrastructure.

In this age of convergence Internet telephone, World Wide Web and even video can be transferred over a single fiber cable laid underneath the oceans across continents. Using your Broadband Internet connection you can connect to any person around the world in a second. VOIP technology has evolved over time, but still there are many challenges that need to be overcome. Delay in the delivery of voice packets, congestion and the order in which packets are delivered to the receiver are some of the challenges that VOIP providers are still trying to find a solution to.

Technological innovations are happening rapidly and VOIP companies are working constantly to upgrade their technology. The services are offered over different protocols and some of these are Gateway Control Protocol, Media Gateway Control Protocol, Session Initiation Protocol and more. There are different bandwidth requirements and varies depending upon the coding algorithms that are being used for packets transferring the voice packets.

With rapidly changes in VOIP technology standardization is also taking place quickly and providers are adopting certain minimum standards to offer quality services to customers. MOS or Mean Opinion Score is one of the most commonly used Quality standardization methods used in VOIP service.

The Mean Option Score standard is based on a scale of 1 to 5 in ascending order. Globally there are many companies which provide users with free VOIP service. Some of the companies which offer free or cheap VOIP service are Skype, Yahoo, Vonage. VOIP has become one of the primary means of communication for people living in different countries. It is the cheapest and one of the best modes of communication to stay in touch with friends and relatives living in different countries.

Offering VOIP at cheap rates or free is possible because providers use underutilized bandwidth to transfer voice packets. The networks have dual functionality and can be used for data transfer also.There are different channels through which VOIP services can be offered. It can be a PC to Phone service and vice-versa, larger companies use Virtual Private Networks to transfer secure data and Wireless Connectivity.

Net-meetings, conference calls and other communication methods often take place over virtual networks using VOIP technology. In some cases VOIP is being misused by individuals and corporations to bring down communication costs. Corporations prefer to use VOIP over conventional telecommunication methods because of cost and relatively good quality.

Since VOIP companies don’t fall under the ambit of the taxation in all countries where they offer service regulators are worried that VOIP may cause huge revenue loss to the government. In countries like India where IT and ITeS outsourcing boom has made VOIP very popular, laws are being framed to prevent irregularities in utilizing VOIP services...

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Criteria for Selecting Your VOIP Solution

Introduction to VoIP Business CommunicationsMigrating your business communications to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) from the legacy Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN) or PBX is a sound business decision, now that VoIP has achieved acceptance as a mainstream communications service.

However, business VoIP solutions come in many varieties, from VoIP call termination service to IP Centrex service. The primary motivation for businesses to migrate their communications network infrastructure to VoIP services comes from the ability to make much less expensive voice calls and faxes.

Deployed properly, business VoIP, whether implemented in small, medium, or large organizations, can lead to improved productivity and increases in profitability.

Types of Business VoIP Solutions

One solution for businesses looking to reduce their communications costs is known as Voice over IP Call Termination through which a business could potentially save up to 50% on calls as compared to the PSTN.

This service uses the public Internet or privately managed IP network to terminate your business calls instead of the PSTN, thereby realizing substantial savings for you. Another business communications replacement service is known as IP Centrex, or Hosted Centrex service.

This can be thought of as a virtual PBX replacement service. The Service Provider you choose provides PBX-like features from their "host" softswitch at their POP over your business' existing broadband connection. You should determine which type of service best suits your business needs as part of your business VoIP solution evaluation.Evaluation GuidelinesBecause of the increasing popularity of VoIP to reduce business communications costs, there have been many recent Service Provider entries into the marketplace.

With the current proliferation of new providers, they are often newly minted wholesale carrier Service Providers and individual resellers who make very attractive price and quality claims that they cannot meet.

This of course will lead to your dissatisfaction with VoIP business service and a negative outcome to your decision to switch. For these reasons, it is best to create a "short list" of well-known, established and reliable VoIP Service Providers.

A reliable VoIP Service Provider would be any communications provider who has a solid customer base, seasoned telecom management and engineers, with 2 or more years of reputable service experience.

Evaluation Criteria to Select Your Premier Business VoIP Service ProviderAll well-established VoIP carriers in the market will claim to offer the best VoIP business solution. So how do you choose who should be on your "short list" and final choice to implement your VoIP solution? The following criteria should all be considered when selecting the best business VoIP provider:

1. Voice Quality:

A premier Service Provider will have multiple POPs (Point of Presence) and softswitches, resulting in minimum latency (aka delay) and allowing for faster connections. Minimizing delay and jitter (the short term instability in the quality of a call) are 2 crucial parameters of providing high quality VoIP voice and fax calls. Another critical parameter that should be used to gauge voice quality is the Service Provider's MOS (Mean Opinion Score) number.

MOS Scoring is a subjective test of a call's quality originally designed by the Bell Companies to quantify the quality of a voice call, with 1 being unacceptable and 5 being superlative. A typical range for Voice over IP would be from 3.5 to 4.2 using a G.711 Codec. In contrast, a score of 2.8 to 3.2 is typically seen for cell phone calls. For your business VoIP service, you should specify a minimum 4.0 MOS score from your potential provider, with a goal of getting as close to 4.4 (which equates to PSTN "toll quality" network service) as possible. Good voice quality is one crucial factor in your evaluation that separates the average provider from the best.

2. Pricing:

One of the most critical areas that probably attracted your business to moving to VoIP service in the first place was to reduce its telecommunications costs. Make sure to thoroughly understand the rate structure of the various providers you have chosen to evaluate. Due to increasing competition in the business VoIP space recently, rate can vary widely. All VoIP networks are not created equally, and a provider's internal cost structure and profit margin requirements can create a wide range of pricing structures. Also be sure to negotiate discounts based on volume of calling, generally expressed as MOU (Minutes of Use) that you plan to send to the Service Provider.

3. Network Integration:

All businesses in operation today have an existing telecom network to meet their various telecommunications needs. Migrating to VoIP service should be a seamless and relatively painless transition for your business. The VoIP Service Provider of your choice should be able to easily integrate your existing service with VoIP so that your network operations are minimally affected during the migration process.

4. Feature Richness:

A wonderful aspect of both Voice over IP termination and hosted IP services is the wide variety of value-added features they allow to be offered. Call waiting, call forwarding, 3 way calling, speed calling, pre-established teleconferencing, even video- conferencing (and many others) are are available, usually at little or no cost, which will help achieve your goal of increasing productivity. Choose the provider who offers you the features & services that meet your business needs and will add value to your particular organization.

5. Billing:

All premier VoIP Service Providers should offer a real-time billing capability with demonstrable expertise to exert proper control over the VoIP minutes used by their large number of individual customers. CDRs (Call Detail Records) should be available on every single call billed, allowing them to optimize their network and you to ensure the rate structure you signed up for is being charged accurately and consistently.

6. Trial Results:

To verify the claims regarding the quality of the network, your service, and user friendliness of features that will ultimately determine your overall service satisfaction, you should always sign up for a live test trial from the VoIP provider being evaluated. The trial should be no less than 48 hours, preferably longer. This will give you a good representation of the services and features being offered. During the trial, be sure to get measures of the ACD (Average Call Duration), ASR (Average Success Ratio), and PDD (Post-Dial Delay) which also can be used to compare different providers' QoS (Quality of Service).

Ultimately, you should choose the best business VoIP service for you and your organization, based on the evaluation criteria, to attain a high level of satisfaction with your new VoIP business service. In this way, you will achieve the original goals for moving your business communications to VoIP of cost reduction and productivity improvement...

http://www.voipvipcenter.com

What can you do with the new VoIP SIP SDK (part1)

Let us first know what is the VoIP SIP SDK is all about, the SDK stands for Software Developer Kit which means that this is the kit that contains all the tools and methods that you may need to set up a dial and receive soft phone to your application.

It is a powerful kit that contains all the features that will turn your soft phone to be like a real one, except that you are paying much less money. Features The added features in this amazing software developer kit is all what you will need to set up your VoIP soft phone, no matter what is your intention from doing this but, you will be able to add the suitable features that serve your goals and intentions.

Regardless of the version that you will be using from this amazing Active X, all of them is based on the universal IETF standards so, it could be used with any program that you are comfortable with including Asterisk and OpenSER. In fact, you will be able to use the VoIP SIP SDK with any program based on STUN and SIP. This is the beauty of VoIP SIP SDK. Now with the final version you will be able to get a full array of features that will add a lot to your VoIP application so, let us browse through these features one by one.

The first added feature, which was added in the 1.1 VER, is to play an audio file while the conversation is taking place. This means that you can let your client listen to an audio file before you continue talking to him. Not only that but you will also get an alert when the playing is finished so, there won’t be a pause but you will pick up the conversation after the audio playing is finished.

The supported file type is WAV which is the best for internet usage because of its small size. Now you will be able to record any call into a WAV file. It is a smart move to keep track of what happened in the previous call. You can use this as a method of quality control or you can use it for coaching your agents.

Holding and retrieving your calls is now available with the VoIP SIP SDK tool kit. Transferring calls is something very important and there are two methods to do this, either to blind or attend the transfer.

Guess what, both methods are available with this toolkit. Transferring is important and you should have full control on the call and be able to transfer it in the appropriate way. Muting a call or holding the voice of the speaker for a period of time is an important feature in ordinary phones but you do not have it in other soft phone application easily. Here, call muting is very easy to implement and easy to use.

Audio control is very important because you do not want to have a fluctuation in the volume while you are talking through your soft phone. With the Auto gain feature you will enjoy stability in the volume with no fluctuation ever.

This active X control will stabilize the call volume and keep it where you want it exactly. The presence of the VPN support is something great with the VoIP SIP SDK; you will be able to extend your private network with a virtual private network option. The virtual private network will boost your call options and permit sending and receiving files in a better way. You will be also able to send and receive files through FTP.

With the adaptive jitter buffer, you will be able to overcome any latency in the sound and keep it at the highest quality. There will be no latency period during your calls and everything will go smooth like you are speaking on a standard phone line.

Having an excellent call quality is an essential demand for all business owners who want to keep their customers comfortable while calling or receiving calls Problem that occurs to most of soft phone users is the high noise level in the back ground, this is because most computer users are using a standard quality audio gadgets. After all, you are not calling from a studio but, you are calling from a small office or from home.

With VoIP SIP SDK, you will be able to enjoy a crystal clear sound because of the Noise Reduction feature added to this program. Adding telephone sets and using them could be sometimes tricky but, with VoIP SIP SDK soft phone program, you will be able to change the difficult usage into a very simple one. You will be able to get a DTMF tone on your telephone set. This means that when you pick up the phone handset you will hear a dial tone like the one you are used to in the standard phone you use at home or office.

Providing your telephone agents with simple technology will cut out the down time and keep the call time for your agents at its top level...

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What can you do with the new VoIP SIP SDK (part2)

No one will be able to use this software except those who are authorized to do so. With the authorization ID feature you will be able to get give an ID for everyone who is authorized to work with the program.

The former feature is very important because of one thing, the SDK comes in active X format which means that you are able to modify it and add more features or tweak the already implemented features to suite your business so the authorization ID will keep the modification exclusive for those who hold the authorization to work with the program. The software development kit comes with free sample in JAVA and C++ so you can use these samples or models to modify what you want in your program and keep it running according to your company’s policy.

The presence of the code samples is a very good addition because you do not have to be an expert in programming languages to work with these samples, except if you want to do something very special. All you need to do in standard cases is to change some values and you are done. The best feature ever of the VoIP SIP SDK is that it is nearly free. First of all it is free to try; you will be able to download the latest version of this development kit without any kind of commitment or any kind of payment.

All you need to do is to submit your name and email then a download link will be delivered to your e-mail. After trying the program, you may want to buy it from the producer company. At that case, you need to pay only one time and enjoy for life time.

Yes, you do not need to pay for a monthly or even yearly subscription fees. You will only pay for the software development kit one time and that is when you buy it after that, you will be able to enjoy all the features provided in it without paying any extra amount of money.

Not only that but, you will be able to get all the updates that takes place on the kit at no extra charge. On regular intervals of time, the company releases newer and improved versions of the VoIP SIP SDK soft phone kit, you will also get all of these versions once they are released for free. So, you will be getting the kit forever without paying anything except the price that you had paid for in the first time you purchased it.

After you knew the most important features about the kit now you may want to know more about how to use it in the proper way. It is important to set everything in the right way in order to avoid any conflicts after you run your soft phone application. Adjust your STUN by setting the local SIP port to 5060 and the local RTP port to 5004. After that, type your STUN server or port in the designated box then you are ready to go. After that you need to enter your name, password and authorization ID in the designated fields below that and then click registration.

Doing this will enable you to permit the person who know the three parameters (user name, password and authorization id) to enter, use and modify your VoIP program. After setting your user name, password and authorization ID, you will need to set your Proxy. The proxy setting as well, needs a user name, password and proxy address.

The final step is always optional, after that you will be able to download any audio codecs that you may need for your audio to work properly. You will get a full array of audio codecs that you can download. After setting all of these parameters, you will be able to do your first call through the soft phone.

It is a great technology that will keep moving forward till the end of the days. The best thing about the VoIP technology is that it literally does not cost anything at all. Consider it this way, inside the company, many agents who want to communicate together to get the work done. Also, it could be used to communicate with clients and for advertisement through the internet. This means that most of your calls are made with a minimal amount of money that is a fraction of the standard phone expenses that you are paying now.

Many businesses are now changing to VoIP to cut down expenses, especially with the current economical status. Even if you do not intend to use the VoIP service to communicate with agents and clients, you can offer this service to your clients to use it between each other. This is an excellent idea for a business on its own.

All you need is the setup fee and the running cost will be very low. You can offer your subscribers the Voice over Internet Protocol service to use. VoIP is one of these internet fields that are growing exponentially and it serves many business venues all over the internet. Conducting your business through the internet is something crucial and doing this over the regular phone would be very expensive in some cases.

If your business only requires local calls then you may not benefit a lot from the VoIP service but the majority of businesses require calling mobile phones, long distance calls and international calls. Long distance and international calls can make your phone bill explode and the only method to avoid this is to use a very cost effective method of communication.

With the VoIP SIP SDK you will be able to tweak your VoIP service and make it serve your business in the best way. It will boost the quality of the VoIP soft phone service you are using and enable you to talk and send messages through the internet in an efficient way that is even better than using an ordinary land line.

There are several VoIP soft phone solutions out there through the internet and most of them are free to download and use but how can you make sure that they include all the features that you may need? The best solution is to put your mind at ease and get a development kit like the VoIP SIP SDK to help you implement and use hundreds of essential features through your soft phone application...

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Advantages Of VoIP

VoIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocol, has achieved immense popularity since its inception because it is cheap compared to traditional phone systems and relatively easy to use. Residences and businesses alike are flocking to get their hands on this new technology.

It is the leading alternative for traditional phones, and fast becoming a common household product. This is not to say that VoIP is perfect. There are still flaws and shortcomings that need to be addressed, but nothing serious that would hinder your everyday communication. Besides, the features and advantages of using VoIP outweigh any disadvantage that one might think of. So what are the advantages of VoIP?

Below is a list of some features that IP telephony has to offer. Huge savings. You can cut your phone bills up to 90 percent using VoIP, especially if you are fond of making long distance calls. This is why VoIP is popular among people with relatives or loved ones on another country. Businesses with clients or customers abroad also take advantage of this feature. Almost all VoIP companies offer unlimited calling plans to their subscribers.

This means you can talk all you want without monitoring your minutes. If in case you are in a limited call plan, expect discounts that may save you those hard earned dollars. In addition, there are software widely available that allows you to make unlimited PC-to-PC calls, all for free. Portability. As long as there is an internet connection at hand, you can make and receive calls. Simply plug-in your headset, sign in to your account, and you are ready to go.

This works with Phone-to-Phone VoIP as well. Most internet phones are small and light enough to carry around. The number that was assigned to you when you signed up for a VoIP service goes with you wherever you go so there is no worry of missing a call. Number of options. There is literally no traditional phone feature that VoIP phones do not and can not have. From call waiting to three-way calling, IP phones can have it all. This of course depends on you package or plan. Some companies give their subscribers all the feature that they may want, but some requires special fees.

Popular features include speed dialing, caller ID, caller ID block, voice mail, call forwarding, call return, conferencing, and many more. Some even offer the option of choosing your own phone number. Not just voice. Some parts of this advantage are for PC-to-PC calls only. Aside from speaking with someone, you can both enhance interactivity by sharing files like photos or videos. Better yet, use a webcam and you can see the person that you are talking to.

Several VoIP packages send your voice mail or fax to your email address. Video conferencing is also a popular feature among business people. VoIP technology is advancing fast. The list of its advantages and features are sure to grow in the near future. One thing is for sure, though. VoIP is definitely a money saver...

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