Cost Attractiveness Of VoIP

Making a phone call was once a matter of turning cranks, waiting for human operators to make the right, very limited connections and then waiting for the right party to get to the other line. The phone company automated and phone operators were out of jobs. Phones soon found their way into nearly every home. When cellular or wireless service became the norm and landlines started disappearing, especially in areas where reliable, clear cell phone service is the norm rather than the exception.

But, even with all of the competition between traditional and cell phone service, the costs are still fairly high and people started looking for ways to lower their communication costs. That was the cue for the VoIP softphone to enter into the fray and start vying for consumers eager for a price break.

Early Adoption Of VoIP

Early VoIP technology was not attractive to both business people and individuals. Voice quality was poor and the voice routing equipment does not guarantee QoS (Quality of Service). VoIP softphones are of limited choice and functionality.

The original VoIP customers were the large companies that do a lot of overseas conferencing or that have outsourced their collection and direct to consumer calling. Hooking their call centers up to us IP services was cheaper than trying to maintain the ever-changing rates of oversea calling with a traditional landline based phone system. Initial outlay for equipment and training was still better than waiting for the next billing cycle to renegotiate for a better rate through the phone companies. Deregulation, mergers and battles with the public utilities commissions in various parts of the country made the IP systems even more attractive.

Emerging VoIP Lifestyle

Over years VoIP technology has evolved and mature products are readily available at low cost. Quality of voice is comparable to direct telephone connection. Most importantly, QoS of VoIP is almost on par with other voice communications.

Smaller businesses started switching over to VoIP system after the larger companies worked out some of the customary, initial bugs and soon the systems were being targeted toward everyday client for personal communication use. The size of the client does not matter; the general set up is basically the same – a broadband connection, the downloadable softphone into any PC or portable platform for use. The softphone is easy to install and understand and soon everyone from major companies to the average man on the street can be using the voice over IP system to make high quality, low cost phone calls.

VoIP On Laptop

If you have a laptop computer with enough battery back up, you can usually use your voice over Internet service to make calls, provided that your additional equipment does not need electricity to work properly. If it does not, you can be making phone calls in the complete dark, regardless of your cell phone and its service availability.

As people often do, there are peak times for phone calls, especially during special occasions and holidays. We will all seemingly reach for the phone at the same time, which puts a mighty strain on the phone company and its networks. With more and more people reaching for their VoIP services instead, the phone companies should start experiencing far less network bog down than they ever had in the past. Of course, the phone company does not want anybody else to know that, but it is true. VoIP can be just the alternative that a person needs to make a quick, efficient phone call without having to wait for a non peak time to do so.

Selecting Suitable VoIP Service Provider

Of course, the first step should be to see if voice over internet is even an option for you. Ask yourself the following questions: Am I ready to start saving money on my long distance phone calls? Do I have a home or office computer? Do I have high speed Internet connectivity? What exactly am I waiting for ?

Start your research of this new technology on the web, looking up VoIP service providers and doing a side by side comparison of the ones that look promising to you. Again, make sure that the ones that you choose actually provide service to your area.

Selecting VoIP Phone Service Provider

Once you have figured out whether or not you have high speed Internet service or not, then you can start researching the different VoIP service providers. Do not sign up with the first one that you talk to, compare some prices, see what all is available for you in your area. There is a chance that there will be only one game in town for you, so the question will not be who will be the best provider, but whether or not the service is right for you or not. If you are lucky enough to have more than one company to choose from, make sure that you select the right service plan, at the best price for you. Take advantage of any special sign up bonuses and ask about shorter term contracts to be sure that you are happy with the service. There is nothing worse than signing up for a two year contract and finding out that you hate the service or cannot really use it. Make sure that you understand the contract, the equipment and the service itself before you sign anything at all.

Many of the services are stand alone companies, while others are tied in with existing telephone networks. The old fashioned phone companies saw a huge opportunity to jump on board with this fast growing technology or risk losing growing portions of their core customer base. To keep up with the times, the major PSTN are now offering VoIP services as well, and if they have not already, rest assured, it is in the works for them as well.

Signup VoIP Service Plan

Just like cell phones, many of the VoIP providers have a monthly rate plan that allows users to sign up and pay a single, flat rate for the entire month for a basic plan. Additional fees for additional services will apply, of course, but in most cases, long distance service is included for free. Again, make sure you understand the contract before signing it, because some companies will charge additional fees and penalties for early termination of service.

Additional information that you will need before signing up for service are things like, who pays for installation and other setup tasks? Which equipment will be provided and which will have to be purchased by you, yourself? How difficult is the recommended equipment to set up and use and last, but possibly most importantly, is there a tech desk to answer any installation or usage questions that may arise?

Automatic Redial And Call Forwarding

Automatic redial will allow you to reattempt a connection if the first failed for one reason or another. Connecting with VoIP requires the same type of information as a regular phone call, with the exception that VoIP is using IP addresses and the PSTN call uses phone numbers. Either way, it is a bother to have to continually re-key the same information over and over and this service ends that problem.

Call forwarding, which can be a blessing on those days that you cannot pinpoint exactly where you will be from minute to minute will allow your calls to be sent to VoIP if you are heading back to your office or to switch from VoIP to your cell phone if your are going to have to go mobile for one reason or another.

Caller ID And Conferencing

Caller ID is probably the one feature that most people would pay nearly any amount for. The advantage of being able to choose what calls you answer and when is a huge advantage, especially if you are trying to avoid the timewasters, the annoying prattlers, and of course, the in-laws. In the business world, caller id can give the advantage of being able to refer to a caller by their name right off the bat, which can sometimes give a bit of an edge in this ultra-competitive world.

Teleconferencing with VoIP though, may have a distinct advantage over the same service with the more traditional phone company. When you are using the phone for a teleconferencing call and find that you need information beyond what you already have, you may find yourself having to move to another location to find it. With VoIP teleconferencing, you are right there on your computer and all of the information that you could possibly want or need is right there at your fingertips, just a mouse click away. Many of the voice over Internet services have additional software specifically for teleconferencing usage, something the traditional phone company cannot boast at all.

Integrated Online Services

VoIP offers the distinct advantage over the PSTN by allowing users to access other aspects of Internet service while using their computer based telephone. With the traditional phone, you can both surf and talk if you are lucky enough to have a high speed connection and can multitask or, if you are not as lucky, you can surf than talk if you are stuck with a dial up internet connection.

With your service integrated right into your computer, you can set up file transfers and have video conversations all with from the same computer and Internet connection. You will no longer have to transfer files, then call to make sure that the files were received by the one they were sent to, as it can be done all at one time. Some cell phones do have web capabilities, but because of their small size, they do not have the available memory space to hold very large files and can be unreliable during such applications to begin with. It is safer to trust a phone call made over your Internet connection during file transfers than the other way around.

Advanced Mobile VoIP Technology

Many cell phones have picture taking abilities, and some do some very brief life footage video, but none can offer a multi person video conference conversation as efficiently as the VoIP. For this reason alone, many people are switching over to VoIP, especially for business usage.

And although you will probably be paying some additional charges for these services with voice over Internet IP, it is not likely to be more than what you are paying for comparable services with a PSTN. Your savings with long distance phone calls alone should more than make up for any fees that you would have to pay for additional services.

In the end, you must realize that nothing comes free, and that most things in life include some kind of a tradeoff. With VoIP you get free long distance service over a reliable network with many of the traditional phone company’s perks and benefits. Yes, you do have to pay for them, but you would have to pay for them anyway, and pay for long distance service on top of it!

VoIP Startup Investment

The equipment is not expensive to get started. In many cases the software is a free download. Hook up the right connections to the right places, download and install the right program and off you go, making phone calls while you are busy doing other things. This set up would truly benefit the people who want to do away with their expensive landlines but do not want to over use their cell phones either. It would also be beneficial to those people who find that they do not have cell phone service at one location or another for whatever reason.

Do some researches before you rush out and buy the gear however, remember, you will need high speed internet access to make VoIP phone calls, and you may not have that in certain places. Many rural areas remain cell and high-speed Internet service free, so know what is available to you.

Immediate Savings On Investment

Voice over Internet IP will allow other aspects of your telecommunications network to remain active in the money making aspect of your business, and it will save you money. Say that for instance, you are making a ten phone calls to Fresno during a week’s time. Those phone calls cost roughly $15 each, for a total of $150. During the course of a month, those calls are going to equal out to $600, a huge chunk for any company to expend on one business contact. Now, say that if a call is known to last over ten minutes of time, it will be made using VoIP and all other calls will be made with either system; the savings would be immediate and remarkable. The business does not think that Fresno is any less important, nor do they care any less, they are just going to save money and increase their profit margin.

Embracing VoIP Technology

The same concept can be applied to VoIP for home use as well. For those calls that are local or brief in duration, it would be perfectly fine to use the landline telephone, but if you calling relatives in another state, it would be cheaper in the long run to use voice over internet IP. Because you can call anybody, no matter what type of network they are currently using, there is no need to let anybody know that how you are calling.

Either way, home or office, it might not be the best idea to make voice over internet your only telecommunications method for beginners. However, in time to come, the efficient and economical VoIP is likely to be the only communication in home or office.

From Telephone To Mobile Phone

Of course, technology never stagnates for long, and the telecommunications arena soon had a new contender when mobile calling became a reality. It was nothing to see busy city streets filled with people chatting away on mammoth wireless phones. The networks soon got bigger to keep up with the ever growing demand, while the phones got smaller to please the public.

Soon the basic phone had features like built in cameras, music and games. The boring ring gave way to nearly any sound bite or effect that you could imagine. Cell phones are now in every color, and some do more tricks than even the most techno forward people could imagine. But cell phone plans can be tricky and very expensive; at times they are even more expensive than the traditional landline phone service. Fed up, phone customers far and wide have cried out for a more cost effective alternative for their telecommunication needs and finally, their cries have been heard.

VoIP Products And Services

Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP has actually been around for a while now, but is really seeing a surge in usage now. With VoIP, a user can make long distance calls via your broadband Internet connection for free. With a minimum of equipment, the user is soon seeing huge savings for all of their calls, often enough to more than make up for some of the minor disadvantages of the service. There are bound to be some bugs in the system, and while some are more serious than others, customers should rest assured that the service will only improve with time and its own growing popularity.

Many companies have brought VoIP in as an integral part of their telecommunications system although many have stopped short of converting to a solely VoIP network. The bugs in the systems and the inherent drawbacks prevent that at this time, but it will probably be a reality in the coming years. Both the business and private user should be confident in the service and its coming improvement.

VoIP Growth Potential

The service offers many of the same features of the traditional telephone service, including call waiting, caller id and others, although just like the phone company, VoIP service providers may charge extra fees for these.

VoIP is not a passing fancy; the technology will catch on for more and more people. Regular phone systems will be phased out in certain parts of the country as the demand for service overextends and overtaxes the circuit based systems. Circuits are expense to install and maintain, driving the cost of using them beyond the reach of many families. Packet switching, such as that by used VoIP is more cost effective and much more efficient. The savings are then passed on to the customer who enjoys a low monthly fee and free long distance service, a win-win for everyone.

Convergent Of Voice And Messaging

Instant messaging, one of the most vital and user friendly portions of your PC, will now be offering a new adaptation of VoIP through their own services. Known as Voice Over Instant Messaging, or VoIM, this new version of the technology looks to take advantage of the over 860 million account holders. This number is expected to grow to a billion by the end of the coming year, with VoIP reaching a majority of those customers in that same time period as well.

The analysts say that VoIP has not changed the use of instant messaging, but that VoIM may well have some serious impact on voice over Internet. VoIM is not totally new of course, the major instant messaging services have provided at least some form of voice connectivity – with some serious limitation, including less than stellar quality of service.

Voice Message Coder-Decoder

VoIP and VoIM are both going to improve with time, especially as more customers sign up for the services and demand improvements. Voice quality must be made equivalent to landline phones to stay competitive. Besides customer demand for better service, one of the major reasons for vast improvements is related to codec.

For the techno-illiterate, a codec is a computer program, or a device that will encode or in some cases decode a digital data stream or signal. There are many types of codec, each with separate uses and applications. Codec all have some limitations, but many can be more than adequate for their usage in the right arena. Those codec that are being used for cell phone calls for instance must have lower latency rates so that calls are not distorted or of such poor quality that they cannot be tolerated.

VoIM Service Providers

Regardless of what Internet service provider you use, or which messenger you have been plugging along with in recent months, the experts agree that almost every user will at least try voice over instant messenger once. Many will do it simply for the thrill of using a cutting edge technology, while others will do it to keep up with techno-trends and to be able to keep up with water cooler techno-talk. Will every customer that tries VoIM keep it up and use it on the daily basis? The answer is No – of course NOT. Even the service providers are not even expecting such a thing to happen.

Depending on what type of VoIP enabled phone is being used by the customer, and which codec is used by the provider, ratings of the call quality can range from “okay” to “comparable to the traditional landline phone”. The theory about whether or not VoIM is truly the next big thing or not is also up for debate – some industry insiders say that it is, while some are not so sure. They all agree that VoIP and by default, VOIM, will not be fading off into the sunset anytime soon, but the question of which will really take the top spot is still a question mark.

Open Platform For VoIM

What they do hope is that of every ten customers that do give it a try, two or three stick around and become loyal VoIM users. As long as the quality continues to improve and the pricing remains stable and reasonable, this new technology will remain on the lips of its customers.

VoIM will probably seek out a partnership with another, outside source for lines other equipment, and although that relationship has not been solidified as of yet, a likely contender for this could be a bundled service provider or a traditional phone company.

Improvement On VoIP Infrastructure

Voice over Internet will find its way into virtually every business, no matter what size. These companies will find that VoIP works best in conjunction with existing phone systems rather than as a replacement. Voice over Internet does have some drawbacks to consider, making it less viable for total office switchover at this time. That is likely to change very soon, as new networks, new providers and new codec are put into place to keep pace with the ever growing demand.

Businesses and families are feeling the pinch of a faltering budget and any boost to their shrinking profit margins is a bonus. As the technology improves over time, there will be new developments and uses that enmesh all forms of communication, making it a complete package that complements and enhances each part, rather than separate entities.

Better VoIP Offerings

Look for the companies to partner up with each other and allow for more bundling of services, just like the option now of bundling your cable television, telephone and high-speed Internet services. It is only a matter of time before customers can look at a menu of options and choose the ones that suit their best purposes.

VoIP provides the phone service that customers need and with improvements will provide the quality that they want. More and more customers will find themselves researching the voice over Internet option as the price they pay for long distance service continues to grow beyond their means.

VoIP Fast Growth Area

Customers who are out of the reach of these services right now may not remain that way for long. Rural customers may well end up representing the lion’s share of the VoIP market in the near future. They are the ones who are the most isolated from businesses and in many cases, family members and would therefore stand to benefit the most from free long distance service. First, they would need to be within the reach of a broadband Internet connection and then they would be good to go.

Voice over Internet messaging will grow in popularity, spurred by the techies who will throng to the next hottest thing. Although it may not gain the widespread use that the other communications types have, there will be many people who try it at least once and become hooked. Those who doubt that the future of telecommunications is here now should look back to the days when the telephone was decried as nothing more than a gimmick, a frivolity, a time waster that would never catch on.

Better Mobile Phone And Text Offerings

The number of people that no longer have a landline phone in their homes is staggering, and where do those people turn for service? They use their cell phones of course, and more and more of them rely on their cell phones for more than just making a simple telephone call. They text people when a conversation would be out of the question, and they use their cells to provide music, to take pictures, watch videos and to surf the Web while they are out and about. The world is moving faster and faster, and the techno tools we all use must keep pace.

Our cell phones have many of the tools that we find ourselves needing as we work and play in an ever changing world. The most advanced, most equipped phones can do the work of ten or more different gadgets, all from the palm of its user’s hand. Plus, it allows us to make and receive clear, fast phone calls without being tied to wires or even having to stay in on location. You can chat on your phone while doing your grocery shopping, pay and then get in your car and drive away, all the while still on your telephone!

To remain competitive, not only with each other, but with the new and ever growing forms of communications, the telephone companies will have to develop and nurture their own versions of not only VoIP but VoIM as well. Partnering with another, outside company may allow for faster, cheaper expansion for them, but they must make inroads into this new frontier. The more customers that demand these services, the higher the competition stakes will become. When companies compete, the customer benefits.

Callback is a service that allows users to set-up long-distance calls via low cost VoIP technology. User first calls into a local telephone number that asks for access codes. The successful call will be captured by callback server and the call will be disconnected automatically. The server will then initiate a return call to user to ask for dialing destination number. The server will then connect the user to the destination number by a VoIP call.

Early VoIP Callback Service

JaJah is one of the first VoIP companies that’s getting a head start in taking advantage of the tremendous growth market provided by new data/internet mobile phone capabilities, and the high demand in certain countries for alternatives to poor local phone service (see search trends at the start of this report.) JaJah calls the service “web-activated telephony, and it uses VoIP technologies to connect from the Internet to land or mobile phones. While the service requires an Internet connection to establish the call, the communication takes place on a cell phone.

The process of VoIP callback starts with login on to JaJah website as a registered user. Just enter in your local phone number and the destination number of your recipient. JaJah service will establish the end-to-end call by first calling your phone first, and then your destination phone and you are no longer tied to the PC.

Advanced Callback Service

Another way around having to use the PC at all is if a mobile phone is Internet enabled. The JaJah site could be used to initiate the call straight from the mobile phone itself. In this approach, the mobile phone need to be installed with VoIP softphone which will pass the destination number to VoIP server directly for onward connection with the destination.

VoIP Switching Network

While it sounds more complex, it is actually as simple as your information (packet) traveling along the road (network) and bypassing any types of traffic that it might encounter. Networks that use packet switching can rely on smaller branches of the same network with limited loss of service quality and do not have to rely on one single, straight line from one phone to another.

This flexibility allows the providers to keep their costs lower, a savings they can pass on to their customers. More and more people are discovering VoIP that has been one of the best kept secrets in recent years. The technology is improving, their customer bases are growing and the phone companies are scurrying around to offer the same kind of service for fear of being left behind.

VoIP Helps To Cut Business Cost

Anyone who is familiar with business concepts should realize what that increased sense of competition will mean for them: better service at even better prices. Right now, the number of VoIP providers is small, but as the technology grows and becomes more in demand, there will be more and more providers to choose from, allowing the customer to find the right plan, with the right features for their own business situation.

VoIP is also a major advantage of businesses of nearly every size as they struggle to cut costs while maintaining their customer service. No matter what product or service is offered by the company, it is a sure bet that they will have to use some form of communication at some point during their busy working day. They may have to call a distributor about shipping a part or a product to keep up their own productivity. They may also have to speak to a customer about an order, or to field complains and also compliment! While they could use their mobile phones or computers to communicate, email may not move fast enough, and mobile phone plans can be so confusing for most companies that they do not really encourage their use for sanity and profit’s sake.

Limitations Of VoIP

Of course, there will still be those customers who will not be able to use VoIP because of the limited availability of the required broadband Internet connection. Rural customers especially will be among the last to be able to take advantage of this great, money saving technology.

Again, there are drawbacks with VoIP, so a business should carefully consider what those drawbacks are and come up with a Plan B to deal with them. VoIP can truly fit in to a solid business communications network, to complement and enhance existing phone services.

One-Year Stock Trending

Vonage, being a purely VoIP company, should provide a much clearer picture of the VoIP industry specifically, apart from the telecom industry as a whole. As would be expected, the one year snapshot for Vonage performance indicates the generally constant (but slightly declining) level throughout 2008, a slight increase in that decline during the fall (when all other telecom companies were dropping significantly), and then a fascinating slight recovery at the very end of the year in December, with the stock climbing back up to its September level, before the overall fall decline of the Telecom markets.

Eight-Year Stock Trending

There is only stock information available for the last three years, since 2006. However, even this data provides interesting insight into industry patterns. The Vonage stock value dipped significantly just before October 2007 and then recovered almost to its original level. The fall telecom industry decline clearly impacted Vonage, but its recovery after October is already on an impressive upward trend.