New VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, or Voice over IP) technology offers everyone the chance make cheap internet calls over their existing broadband connection. But as well as the cost savings, there are many other benefits to using an internet phone service, some of which you may not have considered. Here, then, is a look at some of the neat and useful ways in which an internet phone service might make life easier for you. VoIP is a new kind of communication technology. It can send voice communications over networks such as the Internet. In short, VoIP first converts your voice into a digital format for transmission over the Internet. At the other end, it reverses the process, and the person at the other end of the line hears your voice as normal. Because it uses broadband, VoIP technology can save telephone customers a stack of money. Customers enjoy significant savings because of the following: •set-up fees are low; •call plans subscriptions are affordable; •international tariffs are cheap; •cable broadband customers can cancel their existing telephone line rental. But as well as the well-known money-saving benefits, there are other many other advantages of an internet phone service. Here are some of them. 1. You use your existing broadband connection. This means that it's very easy, and very quick, to get started with an internet phone service. You sign up online, in a matter of minutes, and get a new internet phone number almost immediately. 2. For a phone-to-phone internet phone service, you can use your existing telephone handset. It's simply a matter of connecting your phone to your modem or router, using the adapter that the VoIP provider will send you when you sign up. 3. You can either keep this new number, or you can usually transfer your original telephone number if you want to. 4. Internet phone service providers offer a broad range of low-cost call plans. So instead of paying minute-by-minute, you simply pay for your monthly call plan. From then, calls to landlines (and sometimes mobiles) in countries listed within your call plan are unlimited and ‘anytime'. 5. Once you've signed up, you can benefit from the all the other cheap tariffs the VoIP provider offers for calls to countries that aren't included in your call plan. 6. With a phone-to-phone VoIP provider, you're not tied to the computer. You can simply use your telephone as you always have done. Simply pick up the handset and dial the number you want to call. 7. VoIP providers often offer their customers a fistful of free features that other telephone service providers will typically charge for. These are features such as call waiting, ringback, caller ID, voicemail, call diversion etc. These are usually included as standard, no matter what call plan you choose, for you to enjoy as and when you need them. 8. Your internet phone is portable. As long as you've got access to a broadband connection and a telephone handset, you can take your VoIP adapter with you wherever you go. No matter where in the world you are, you can make and receive calls as though you were still at home. People won't even know you've gone away! 9. With VoIP, you often get the option of signing up for interesting and useful add-ons. These are services that no traditional telephone company could offer. For example, you can get extra numbers added to your account, as and when you need them. Or you can set up an add-on that allows you to make calls from your laptop. Or you might want to set up a ‘virtual' phone number for friends, family or colleagues overseas - this is a number that has a code that's local to them, but which rings through to your own internet phone. This means that they can call you internationally, but pay only the cost of a local call. 10. You can manage everything to do with your internet phone online. That includes activating free features, ordering useful add-ons, monitoring all calls made and received, and updating your account in anyway, as and when you need to do so. So as you can see, internet phones, using modern VoIP technology, offer much more than just a way of saving a lot of money. They offer lots of useful practical benefits, too.
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