The VoIP Service
Provider
The VoIP Service Provider: Residential VoIP
Solutions for the Consumer
-by M.L. Talbert
As technologies mature and more households gain
access to high speed Internet, consumers will come
to realize that it is simply more efficient and
cost effective to send packets of voice over the
Internet than over a point to point circuit
switched land line. Long distance charges become a
thing of the past, and international calls are
pennies a minute if not free to some countries.
VoIP solutions are readily available to anyone
with a high speed Internet connection, and the
only hardware needed is an Analog Telephone
Adapter (ATA) and a phone. For most consumers,
utilizing a calling plan from a VoIP service
provider is the best solution. Most VoIP service
providers will provide the ATA hardware (or
software) for free, and monthly charges range from
free on up.
Peer to Peer VoIP
The least expensive VoIP solution would be
using a computer on a peer to peer network.
Offered from such VoIP service providers as Skype
or the Gizmo Project, the software is free to
download and calls within the network are free
worldwide. Calls to PSTN numbers are charged at a
low VoIP rate. Peer to Peer VoIP is a software
solution, meaning that no ATA is required, and
your phone is a pair of earplugs and a microphone
plugged into your computer. The downside is that
call quality is lacking compared to some of the
hardware VoIP solutions available.
The "Pure Play" VoIP Service Provider
Over the past few years, a new generation of
upstarts has introduced themselves into the
residential VoIP arena. Probably the most
successful (at least popularity wise) would be the
VoIP service provider Vonage. Thanks to
their lavish spending on advertising, the
technology of VoIP is becoming mainstream, and the
general public is beginning to realize that if the
circumstances are right, Voice over IP can be a
viable cost saving alternative to the Plain Old
Telephone System (POTS).
Vonage, Packet8, and SunRocket are just a few of
many companies that are pure-play VoIP service
providers. They have no interest in selling
you cable TV, conventional telephone service, or
cellular minutes. Monthly plans range anywhere
from $7.00 to $40.00 and calls are free in the
U.S., Canada, and in some cases Europe.
International rates vary with many countries as
low as 2-3 cents a minute.
These are the companies that have pioneered
residential VoIP for the consumer and with
their low monthly calling plans, the companies
that will keep the giants in the
Telecommunications Industry honest.
Continued
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