VoIP Service Providers

If you wish to use Internet telephony to replace or supplement your existing phone service, you need to sign up with a VoIP service provider. They will give (or sell) you the necessary equipment for VoIP telephony and assign you a phone number that can be used like a regular phone number in PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).

Your VoIP equipment includes a broadband modem and an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) or IP phone. Both the ATA and the IP phone connect directly to the modem but the ATA allows you to use older analog phones for VoIP. No matter which device you use, it has a unique number associated with it that identifies your current IP (Internet Protocol) address. If you are constantly on the move and connect to the Internet at various locations, your VoIP provider keeps track of your current IP address which allows other people to contact you no matter where you are.

Even if you use your Internet phone from just one location, a VoIP provider is still necessary for most people. The majority of residential Internet connections have 'dynamic' IP addresses -- this means that each time you connect to the Internet you are assigned a new IP address by your service provider.

Even if you have a static IP address (a permanent IP address that never changes) the VoIP broadband phone provider is useful because people can contact you by entering your username rather than your IP address.

Does this mean you can bypass a VoIP service provider and enter IP addresses by yourself? In some cases, the answer is yes. Some hardware does allow you to enter IP addresses manually or with some form of shortcut, but this method is very impractical except for testing purposes. As we mentioned above, most people have dynamic IP addresses, so there is no way to know what the IP address is of a certain person at a certain time unless they first contact you and give you this information and then you initiate a VoIP broadband phone call before they disconnect from the Internet.

So, VoIP service providers are very useful, and they are also very cheap. In fact, most providers offer VoIP broadband connections free of charge. They make money by charging for calls to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). Most VoIP service providers allow you to call any phone number in the world for a relatively low price.

Some VoIP providers are Vonage, BroadVoice, Diamond, iConnectHere, Lingo, mywebphone, Packet8, and VoicePulse. Most of these companies are based in the United States but may also have offices in other parts of the world. For relatively low monthly fees (about $8-$20) they offer unlimited calls in certain geographic areas and offer features like voicemail, call forwarding, and conference calls at no extra charge.

When choosing a VoIP service provider, keep in mind the protocol they use. SIP seems to be the emerging standard and offers relatively easy connection routes between various VoIP providers. Other protocols include H.323 and IAX -- these are sometimes offered in addition to SIP. Skype (one of the most popular PC-to-PC VoIP systems) uses a proprietary protocol which means that it is not easy to connect to the Skype network from another VoIP provider. Skype has a service called SkypeIn, however, which allows Skype users to receive incoming calls from PSTN networks.

How to Choose a VoIP Provider

There are two basic routes you can go with VoIP -- you can use one of the many free VoIP services (such as Skype or SIPphone) or you can sign up with a VoIP service provider which charges a monthly fee.

Choosing which way is best depends on how you expect to use VoIP. If you simply want to communicate with friends and family over the Internet, one of the free services may be sufficient. However, if you're looking for a real alternative to your existing PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) phone service, you should consider signing up with a VoIP service provider that offers package deals based on their monthly fee.

The problem is, there are many to choose from. How can you know which one will provide the best service for your money? In order to answer this question, you must decide which kind of services are necessary for you, and whether or not you want to give up your existing PSTN service completely.

Most VoIP service providers offer a package deal which includes free calls to a certain geographical area. For example, iConnectHere offers 800 minutes calling time within the USA and Canada for $15.99 a month (August 2005). Almost every VoIP provider will offer free services such as call waiting, call display and conference calls.

So if most VoIP service providers offer the same basic package for a similar monthly fee, are there any differences?

The answer is -- Yes. There is a lot of competition between VoIP broadband phone providers, and each company strives to provide services which set it apart from the others. When choosing a VoIP service provider, you will have to wade through the many packages available to see what is most appropriate for you.

For example, if you make a lot of overseas calls you want a package that includes these calls in the basic monthly fee. If you receive most of your calls from a certain geographic area or city, try to find a service provider that offers a PSTN phone number in that location. This will allow people to call you at local rates.

For example, if you live in Florida, but you have a lot of friends and relatives who live in England, try to find a VoIP service provider that will give you an alternate number based in London. That way, people can dial your London phone number and reach you in Florida at the same cost as a local call.

Service and reliability is another important factor when choosing a VoIP provider. This is much harder to determine independently. You can get this information from reading reviews on the Internet or talking with friends and associates about which VoIP service providers they are using. If you hear a lot of negative comments or see a lot of negative reviews, that's a warning sign, but keep in mind that not everybody will be satisfied all the time, so weigh the good reviews with the bad. Try to find a company that offers a money back guarantee -- that way if you are dissatisfied with the service you will not be out any money.

On the technical side, try to find out how much bandwidth is required for a particular VoIP broadband phone provider. This information may not be available on the company's web site, so if necessary, send them an e-mail to verify that your broadband connection is suitable for VoIP. Generally speaking, though, if you have 128 kbps on the upload side it should be sufficient for VoIP.

You may wish to keep your existing phone number when signing up for VoIP service. This may be possible if the VoIP service provider offers local phone numbers in your city. Not all providers offer this service so if it is important to keep your number, be sure to find a provider that can do this.

Emergency Calls

Emergency 911 calls are one of the most difficult technical problems of VoIP. The main problem is that it is hard to determine your physical location when you are making a VoIP phone call, so 911 calls may not be routed to the correct call center, and even if they are, the operators cannot determine your location if you are unable to speak.

Various VoIP service providers have come up with a number of solutions including registering your address with the provider, having a notification system that calls friends and relatives, as well as hardware solutions built into the VoIP equipment.