What is VoIP?

First things first, VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. At a base level that means phone calls over your broadband connection. You really do need a high-speed connection to take advantage of VoIP to get phone calls comparable to a normal landline phone. Traditional "dial-up" connections are not really sufficient.

VoIP works in a different way to your home phone. Your home phone is based on an analogue network, whereas VoIP is based on a digital one. Essentially when you speak into a VoIP enabled phone or headset your voice is converted into digital packets; it is then compressed to help your Internet connection run more efficiently and then it is transferred down the connection much like an email. Once it reaches its destination the process is reversed.

Why might I want to switch to VoIP?

It's a good question. We all have a working phone in our homes or business, why should we change? Lets look at the advantages and disadvantages of VoIP

Advantages

Well to put it simply - cost. VoIP makes calls significantly cheaper. And (Depending on your package) for a low cost monthly subscription local and national calls can be made for free, and international calls made at a significantly lower rate.

When you subscribe to a VoIP service it is possible to get a phone number for life. You will be able to take your number with you whenever you move (or even travel) with obvious benefits.

The contract packages that companies who are offering the service contain for the most part all the features and more that your current phone service supplier offers. You are likely to find most VoIP companies offering free voicemail, call forwarding, caller ID, call waiting, call waiting ID, 3 way calling, speed dialling and much more.

VoIP is very much in it's infancy; the technology is progressing all the time. Future benefits that we may not be able to envisage yet are certain to appear, you current analogue phone system will not be able to compete.

Disadvantages

Your VoIP phones system will be exclusively based on your broadband connection, if you ISP has a period of service downtime then you will not be able to make calls. Additionally if your electricity supply has a power out then you will not be able to make any calls, this includes calls to the emergency services. Some providers have already got a work around with the emergency calls, so make sure when you decide on a supplier they provide this.

A further disadvantage currently is the set up of the VoIP is not the simplest procedure to undertake, though many suppliers will assist with installation.

The quality of the call via VoIP can be slightly less than your current analogue phone, but the technology is steadily improving, and before long you will not be able to tell the difference in call quality between the two mediums.

Google Paints VoIP IP Telephony Chrome

The news that Google is working to install VoIP IP Telephony into its Chrome browser has passed relatively unnoticed this week but it could be one of the most seismic shifts to hit the way we work and communicate.

Currently using VoIP services requires pulling up a piece of hardware or software, or just clicking on your preinstalled Skype button.
Imagine the amount of time that could be saved by just accessing VoIP numbers directly through your browser?

Not only does that benefit users, but it fits into Google’s idea of personalized search. Having access to your call information as well as your search information will give Google even more targeted information about you.

There are two ways to look at that. Firstly it will either be useful as searching for exactly what you want will become quicker and more efficient. On the other hand it is quite scary to think about quite how much information Google now has about us, everything from when we were born to where we like to shop.

Yet the search giant will not mull over these important concerns and instead is plowing ahead with its open source VoIP IP Telephony project which will incorporate audio and video. Known as WebRTC, Chrome VoIP will now give access to real-time chat on our browser thanks to the collaboration of Google and their VoIP acquisition GIPS.

Take Advantage of Internet Phone Calls (VOIP)

Voice Over IP (VOIP) is a relatively new technology. Voice Over IP allows people to leave behind the old and very traditional analogue phone networks and now adapt in favor of the very new and very progressive Internet-based calling system infrastructure. Using this technology for your communications actually works out cheaper for you in the long run as it means you won't need to pay for calls if the people you are calling and speaking to are also using the same VOIP system.

Voice Over IP runs on several different types of infrastructure. This is the main reason why you should take the time to do your homework and find out how it works and what is involved, before you even consider setting up a Voice Over IP network at your home or place of business. When you do your homework you will see that invariably VOIP offers lots of advantages over and above the standard traditional telephone based analogue service that most people are currently using. Let's take a moment to examine some of the advantages of using Voice Over IP.

The main advantage of Voice Over IP is to be honest - the cost - the cost benefit goes directly back into your pocket. And because Voice Over IP uses the infrastructure of the Internet to make outgoing calls, you will never need to pay your traditional phone provider to maintain a telephone line or for phone and line rental. In addition, many Voice Over IP service providers allow customers to make long distance calls that attract minimal or no long distance charges at all. Many service providers even offer customer VOIP packages that allow you to opt for discounted internet call rates so you can save even more.

But what about this for a benefit? If you have Voice Over IP software installed on your PC and you want to speak to someone who is also uses Voice Over IP, then you are able to talk for as long as you want without having to pay a single cent. This is because your voice is actually transformed into digital data packets rather than audio, and the data is transferred in a similar fashion to that of email. Voice Over IP also makes it very easy and cheap to conduct conference calls and video calls.

There are, of course, some minor disadvantages to using Voice Over IP and you should consider these before you embark on setting up Voice Over IP. Since Voice Over IP is a relatively recent and largely untapped technology, Voice Over IP is prone to experience more errors than using a normal phone would. In addition, if you experience a power failure, then you would be unable to make a call, like you could with a traditional analogue phone. In any event, Voice Over IP is something that you should investigate for your own home and business needs and you should consider it soon while the rates are cheap and the deals are good.

Press8 Releases VoIP iPhone App

Press8 has released a Voice over Internet Protocol App for the iPhone so that customers can make and receive cheap calls on their smartphones.

In doing so it joins the market for existing VoIP iPhone apps by companies such as 3CX.

Industry research by the Insight Research Corporation showed that more than two thirds of all workers use wireless and mobile computing.

Like the 3CX phone system for Windows, Press8 is a VoIP PBX system which runs phone systems over the internet.

The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has been in operation for three years and serves a number of SME's and SMB's.

Transferring these benefits to an app allows for mobility and a number of remote features. These features mirror those advantages of being in an office such as call forwarding and call attendant.

Tamara Field, the President of Press8 Telecom, said: "Maintaining phone system communications is important for all types of businesses.

"Our new app caters to employees who are on the road. The Press8 Telecom iPhone App allows employees who are reluctant to travel to do so in the most efficient way possible while keeping in contact with the office.”