Many people assume that if they are using voice over Internet, they will lose many of the additional features that they enjoy from the regular phone company. Not true, my friend, not true at all. Many, if not all of the features that you need and enjoy from your traditional phone company are offered with voice over Internet IP. You should know however, that like the phone company, VoIP does charge an additional fee for these services as well.

 

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!