Understanding Internet Voice or VOIP

If you have long distance phone bills on your home phone that are more than $50 a month, it is time to consider ways that you can save some real money by making use of one of many different technologies called digital voice or Voice over Internet Protocol (also called VoIP or Internet Phone). This article will compare the various services that are offered and provide information to help you decide whether or not this service is appropriate for you. For simplicity's sake, we call this Internet Voice.

The notion is simple, but the subtleties are confounding. You replace your standard wired home telephone line from your local phone company with a service that is carried over your high-speed Internet service provider. If you don't yet have high-speed Internet, you can choose one of the "double-play" or "triple-play" combination bundles -- meaning that telephone service is paired with high-speed Internet and other services, typically at a discount.
 
The potential savings is huge -- most of the Internet voice providers offer unlimited local and long distance calling within North America. Some offer lower-priced plans for unlimited local calls only, and charge per-call for long distance or international calls at pennies per minute.

Who should NOT get Internet voice service
But these services aren't for everyone. If you have young children (say under the age of 5) or if you are in ill health and live alone, you should steer clear of this service because it is less reliable than a standard phone. In case of a power outage, most ordinary phones (but not cordless) can still work over the low-voltage lines that the phone company maintains. All of these Internet voice services require AC wall power to work.

The other issue for emergency use is that ordinary phone lines do a better job of connecting to 911 call centers than Internet voice providers. While most of the providers have made progress in this area, there are still situations where an emergency call doesn't directly go to the closest call center or where your address doesn't automatically display for the dispatcher. That could be just a matter of seconds or minutes in answering your emergency call, something that could make a difference in some emergencies.

If you have multiple devices other than telephones connected to your current phone lines, such as fax machines, home security monitoring panels, and TiVO video recorders, you also might not want to go through the trouble of testing each of these to ensure that they will work with your new Internet voice line. While most of the Internet voice carriers support other things besides straight phones, some don't, and troubleshooting them could be more than you bargained for.

Also, if you have had your local phone number for some time, some of the Internet voice providers can allow you to keep that number, and some can't. It is important to ask up front before getting service, particularly if changing phone numbers is unappealing. It can also take several weeks to perform the transfer, something else to keep in mind. Some of the providers, such as Vonage and Packet8, allow you to check this from their Web sites directly.

Finally, most of the providers require you to sign up for a year of service in advance to obtain free hardware or rebates, just like the cell contracts. If you cancel before your year is up, you have to pay additional fees. If you are planning on moving or not sure whether these services are for you, then consider that as well.

What are some of the benefits of Internet voice?
There are plenty of reasons that might motivate you to switch to Internet voice other than price.

First off are the features. All of the providers offer features that typically you would have to pay extra for with your traditional phone company, such as voice mail, call forwarding, caller ID, last number redial, call waiting, three-way calling, and "find me" multiple simultaneous line rings. Some of the Internet voice providers also offer additional features such as 800-toll free numbers or support for multiple area codes on a single line, so that your family or customers can make local calls to you.

The multiple-line ringing feature deserves some additional explanation, and is one of the most useful ones. Say you run a small business from your home, and have a separate line for your business calls. When you are away from your office, you can set up the Internet phone service to first ring your cell phone, and if that doesn't answer, then ring some other line. Or they can all ring at the same time, which can be interesting. It is a great way to be productive and it doesn't cost anything extra. Remember, if you pick up the call on your cell phone, it is charged against your plan's available minutes.

Second is that the providers let you manage your phone's features from a Web page. You'll never again have to talk to a phone company representative or stay on hold. All of the providers have call logs, the ability to change features (such as turn on do-not-disturb or change call forwarding information) on the fly. That is appealing to some people.

Third, you can take your phone number with you, when you travel or if you have a second home. You'll need high-speed Internet service at your second home, and how your service is configured for 911 identification is important.

Finally, you can appear to be someplace that you aren't by having a local phone number in another city. If you do business elsewhere, or if you have many friends and family in a distant city, you can attach a second or third local phone number to your Internet voice line and let your callers make local calls to you, even though you are elsewhere. All of those "extra" numbers can ring the same phone in your house.

Here you can read more about how to choose the right Internet Service provider and also how to pick Internet voice for your small business.