What is VOIP?
As most people know, Alexander Graham Bell invented telephone. I wonder what he would've thought about the way phones work these days. When Mr. Bell was doing his work, the only way a signal could be carried was over a line.
The idea of carrying sounds over a line was first tried by using Morse code on the telegraph. Soon, there were telegraph offices in many cities and towns in the country. A few clicks would quickly run the length of the telegraph line and get routed to the point where they were supposed to be.
The First Phones
Mr. Bell took this technology one step further by adding his own voice to the mix. Soon, those who had money had a telephone in their home. They just have to be careful what they said because the operator at the switchboard may be prone to spreading gossip. The telephone line infrastructure spread around the country. It was not long before most homes had at least one phone.
Although Mr. Bell's invention was wonderful, there will more amazing things in store for the world. The cell phone came along and became popular in the 1990s. Soon people were dumping their home phone in favor of the new cell phone. It offered freedom from the phone cord and the ability to travel most anywhere and still have contact with other people.
Computers Impact Communications
During the same time, computers were becoming commonplace. As the price of computers dropped, more and more people had at least one computer in their home. Computers became more and more portable with people having the ability to take laptops and notebooks everywhere they went. Wireless Internet came into being, allowing people to access their Internet anywhere they could have a cell phone connection.
Every year, more and more people spend the bulk of their time on the Internet. They surf the Internet looking for information and spending time in social sites getting to know other people in ways they never could just 10 years before that. Online shopping sales continue to have increased market share every year. I Online sales are quick and easy.
Into this new world comes more and more ways to communicate. Some smart people had an idea to send voice signals piggybacked onto Internet connections. Voice over Internet protocol or VoIP is the new name for this technology. At first, this new technology did not have very many interested people, because the sound quality was very poor. High-speed Internet connections and cable Internet offered better quality. The new Internet phone companies just had to perfect their own service.
VOIP is Here to Stay
Skype was one of first companies to offer service on the Internet. At first it was very controversial. Lawsuits were threatened on every corner, but once it was introduced the service was here to stay. Today, Skype offers pay-as-you-go services or monthly memberships, whatever works for the client. They have phones that can attach to your computer or you can use your headset and have video calls. Skype is always trying to improve their service, however. Most people comment that it sounds like you were speaking in a tunnel. You can use PayPal to pay for your Skype account and set it up in such a way that it will automatically refill your account when it gets low.
Vonage commercials are everywhere. This company has also been embroiled all kinds of lawsuits, but that has not stopped the company from biting into a large market share of traditional communications companies. Vonage offers local and long-distance calls for free. Their packages also include some of the traditional things like call forwarding, call waiting, and voicemail for no additional charge. The nice thing about Vonage is that it only cost $24.99 per month.
Traditional telephone companies like Qwest communications are also getting it onto the VoIP bandwagon. They offer VoIP services for some customers.
T-Mobile recently began offering cell phone customers home phone service for $10 each month. Long-distance is free. Other services come with the package. The only restriction for the services that you already have to have a cell phone account set up with them in order to access their VoIP program.
If you're thinking about ditching your home phone, make sure that you have cable Internet service. If you have a broadband connection and your Internet service is not through your home phone company, then you should be okay to ditch the landline and choose a VoIP carrier. The service will probably continue to grow in popularity because people can still have the benefit of a home phone without the problem of running up their minutes on their cell phones.
Before you choose a VoIP carrier, search online to find as much information about each company as you can. Once you find the one that you think will suit your interests best, then you can proceed to contact that company and initiate services.