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Voip Service
Great Services, Great Solutions
The VoIP Service Provider
Residential VoIP Solutions for the Consumer
by Michael 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.
Telco's as VoIP Providers
Just as deregulation and the advent of cellular technology in the past, VoIP is poised to
revolutionize the Telecommunications Industry. And the large telephone companies, even the
cellular phone companies are entering this new era kicking and screaming.
Telco's like AT&T, the regional Bells and others are happy to provide broadband internet access
through DSL, but very few are willing to unbundle the internet service from their conventional
telephone services. They could do it technologically, and a few local phone companies are offering
DSL on the "local loop", without the wire with the dial tone. The fact is, having a broadband
connection that requires you to also buy a conventional telephone connection pretty much defeats
the purpose, thus making VoIP through DSL impractical for most people.
That said, the Telco's see the writing on the wall and are slowly beginning to implement Voice
over IP telephony. AT&T and Quest Communications offer residential VoIP solutions starting at
$25.00 and $30.00 respectively, just slightly higher than a pure VoIP service provider. All of
the basic features such as call forwarding, speed dialing, and 3-way calling are included, and
premium services like virtual phone numbers, conference calling, and call filtering can be had
for an additional charge. International rates seem to be somewhat higher than pure play rates,
though only by pennies.
VoIP and Cable Companies
If anyone is in a position to win the Telecommunication wars, it's the cable companies. Massive
consolidation in the cable industry has led to huge privately owned networks that in many cases
make it unnecessary to route calls over the public Internet. Quality of Service issues can be
handled in house, and after all, companies like Cisco Systems pretty much built the Internet and
are largely responsible for the development of Voice over IP Telephony.
Cable companies as VoIP service providers have the ability to bundle voice with high speed data
and digital cable TV, and are even now running introductory offers of all three for 99.00 a month
in some markets. But be careful, introductory offers end and VoIP plans with the cable companies
are some of the most expensive to be had.
While VoIP service providers like Comcast and Time Warner generally receive good reviews for sound
quality, monthly calling plans cost $40.00 and $45.00 respectively. Not bad when looking at a $70.00
phone bill from Bell South, but over twice as much as a pure-play VoIP service provider. No doubt,
a good reliable broadband connection through a cable modem is the ideal VoIP solution
(wireless notwithstanding), but you don't have to use your cable company for VoIP.
In the end, it all depends on whats important to you. If all you need is to call a friend in China
on the same network, then a peer to peer VoIP service provider is for you. If you live in an area
where it's offered, a telecom VoIP solution promises lower bills than their conventional connections,
provided you can drop the land line.
For those that have cable modems, the choice of VoIP service providers is vast. For the monthly cost
of another broadband connection, cable companies will come out to install the equipment and rewire
every jack in your house. And they are just a service call away. Alternatively, the pure play VoIP
providers offer the lowest rates around, and the quality is usually just as good.
Just remember, it's all in the pipe. Calls will be as clear as your VoIP service providers' network is uncongested.
Article Source: ABC Article Directory
Author Michael Talbert is a certified systems engineer and web designer with over 7 years experience
in the industry. For more information on Voice over IP Telephony, visit the website VoIP-Facts.net,
or the VoIP Blog for up to date industry news and commentary.
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• Reliance iCall offers free international VOIP Calls
by ut.godmode@gmail.com (Vinay)
6 Jan 2009 at 11:26am
Reliance Globalcom has entered the VOIP space with Reliance iCall. Beware all Free VOIP Providers, Reliance can give you a run for your money. They are now offering totally free international VOIP Calls to multiple locations.
Reliance Globalcom is one of the biggest carriers in the world and now they have launched Reliance iCall. With acquisiton of Flag telecom a few years back, the industry analyst believe over 85% of international call traffic is crossing through reliance network. Thats huge and massive for any telecom company. As we all know because being a leader in telecom, reliance can offer their partner rates as close to 1 cent to India. They are currently offering calls to india at 4.49 cents.
The big news is they are offering free international calls as a part of their launch promotion. You can make totally free international VOIP Calls to the following countries: USA,UK,Canada,Germany,China,France,Australia,Singapore,Japan,Brazil. This includes landling and mobile as well. WOW, UK mobile for FREE? Thats just too good to be true.
The bad news is the free calls are only available till 15th January 2008, so make the most of it before this free voip calls offer is over.
RelianceiCall works via their softphone, which you can download. We still do not know SIP settings for Reliance iCall. They are not published anywhere and a ping to sip.relianceicall.com doesnt not give any response.
We strongly suggest you give them a try. Never miss a Free VOIP service and especially from Reliance :-). If you are using Reliance India Call, then Reliance icall can be good alternative.
• Qttel.com offers Unlimited free VOIP calls
by ut.godmode@gmail.com (Vinay)
4 Jan 2009 at 9:58am
We are already in 2009 and expecting that more and more VOIP Providers join the "free VOIP" revolution and offers unlimited free international calls around the world.
Today we take a look at Qttel, a simple Phone to Phone based VOIP Service which promises to give unlimited free voip calls to over 50 countries. Thanks to comment on our VOIP Provider of the Year 2008, thats where we discovered about this service, which seem to have changed the name recently. I remember using this service but a non-free version of it.
You must enter your number in international format.
We have embedded their softphone into this post, you can start making calls right now. Use the following Qttel widget to make free calls.
QtTel is however a browser based VOIP service. It askes you to enter your phone number and your party's number and then Call. Qttel will first call you and then call the destination number. The biggest limitation of this service is it only works for 5 countries, Australia (FIX only),Canada (FIX & GSM!),UK (FIX only),Holland (FIX only),USA (FIX & GSM!). That means only people from this country can make calls. Of course if you have a incoming phone number from any of these country you should be able to receive calls from Qttel and of course make free voip calls.
Please note all calls are limited to 5 minutes but it seems you may dial the same number and over and over. Please let us know your feedback on Qttel.
• 
VOIP Provider of the Year 2008 Winners Declared
by ut.godmode@gmail.com (Vinay)
2 Jan 2009 at 8:12am
Finally, we got all the results from our VOIP Provider of the Year 2008 Polls. There were multiple categories in which these VOIP Provider battled out against their close competitors. Read the full report.
We had multiple categories for VOIP Provider of the Year 2008. Around 1000 voters voted on some of the best VOIP Providers and chose the best in each category.
Lets analyse the results. There are some very shocking results.
1) Free International Call Providers: Over 517 users voted for this category.
Winner of Free International Call Provider in 2008: PokeTalk.
PokeTalk won this category with 167 votes, but it was a close finish with 160 votes for Mediaring, making it a very tough competitor to Poketalk. Surprisingly, Betamax lagged behind with barely 72 votes. Another indication that people are most likely fed up with their policies and billing issues.
2)Cheap International Call Provider: No surprises here. Localphone totally washed away all competitors. I guess its time for other VOIP Providers to start looking at Localphone as their leader and learn from them. As I always said, Localphone is my current most favorite VOIP Provider.
Total 268 votes were registered. Localphone got 174 and the closest competitor was Betmax with 47 votes.See the huge difference. again betamax loosing on because of their policies. Surprisingly Rebtel and Mediaring didnt get many votes.
3)Residential Phone Service Provider: Again, Two fairly new companies dominated over the veterans here. Lingo and PhonePower got same number of votes, Vonage lagged behind. There was a tie between Lingo and PhonePower. We highly recommend PhonePower(Read PhonePower Reviews), since its the cheapest residential phone service provider in USA today.
4) Best SIP Softphones in 2008: This was one off Poll, to see the interest amongst users for SIP Softphones. As we said Xlite is still extremely popular. Xlite got over 46 votes from the total of 80, clearly showing that it dominates this market.
If anyone wants detailed reports of this poll, please contact me on ut(dot)godmode@gmail.com. The results from this poll were exciting and i hope they give good indication to VOIP companies on how they are doing and where they need to work on. Hopefully we see a great 2009 for VOIP. Wish you all a very happy new year!
• Best SIP Softphones in 2008
by ut.godmode@gmail.com (Vinay)
30 Dec 2008 at 9:10am
We are back again with the Best VOIP Stuff in 2008. Today, we look at some of the best SIP softphones we could use for our VOIP needs. For newbies, There are many more better softphones than X-lite :-)
X-lite is probably the most widely used SIP softphone in the world. SIP was originally designed by Henning Schulzrinne (Columbia University) and Mark Handley (UCL) starting in 1996.If you are still new to the whole SIP technology and SIP based VOIP, then read our SIP Guide.
There are many more SIP softphones which were recently launched or have been around for a while just not yet noticed by the whole VOIP world or just limited to the Professionals. Today, we vote for the best of the best SIP softphones.
1) X-lite: World's most widely used Free SIP Softphone. The biggest disadvantage is you can have only one SIP account at one time.
2) Ekiga: One of the latest SIP softphones which is open source and stable. Offers VoIP and video conferencing and supports SIP and H.253 Protocol which is used for Video conferencing.
3) 3CX Softphone: 3CX is totally a windows based company. They make Windows based PBX and offer a excellent SIP softphone. We recommended them last time as Must Download SIP Softphone.
4) Linphone: Similar to Twinkle, its a Linux based SIP softphone. Getting popular lately. Not recommended for novice users, coz its more complicated to use.
5) ZOIPER: Zoiper is a SIP/IAX softphone client. Also supports T.38 FAX OVER IP. Zoiper is extremely popular these days and has received good media coverage. Another recommended Softphone.
I am sure there are many more good SIP softphones, Just list them down as "Other". Please vote below for your most favorite SIP softphone in 2008.
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• MetroCast Selects Cedar Point Communications to Deliver VoIP ... - MSNBC
6 Jan 2009 at 10:00am
MetroCast Selects Cedar Point Communications to Deliver VoIP ...
MSNBC - 4 hours ago
DERRY, NH - Cedar Point Communications Inc., a worldwide leader in integrated Voice over IP (VoIP) switching technologies for service providers and ...
• AT&T Business Solutions Receives Wholesale Company and Product of ... - IT Ne...
6 Jan 2009 at 8:32am
AT&T Business Solutions Receives Wholesale Company and Product of ...
IT News Online, India - 5 hours ago
AVOICS is the flagship wholesale VoIP service offered to US service providers that requires IP-based connectivity to the company's global IP network for ...
• 8 VoIP Trends to Watch in 2009 - VoIP-News
5 Jan 2009 at 5:48pm
8 VoIP Trends to Watch in 2009
VoIP-News, CA - 20 hours ago
The answer for them is, naturally, VoIP services that preserve traditional features. 8x8 Inc., as noted in VoIP-News' Top 25 VoIP Innovations list, ...
VoIP 'has bright future' 8el
The Future of VoIP: Where can it take you? ITP.net
Mobivox Helps California Drivers with Voice-to-Text Service TMCnet
SearchVoIP
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• Looking Ahead to VoIP in 2009 - Enterprise VoIP Planet
5 Jan 2009 at 10:30am
Looking Ahead to VoIP in 2009
Enterprise VoIP Planet, CT - Jan 5, 2009
In the year past, PBX system vendors began to certify VoIP service providers that worked with their equipment. Microsoft, for example, certified Junction ...
Make Free Calls Using Internet Phones TMC Net
all 2 news articles
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