VoIP Fundamentals for Land-line Lubbers
Leanne Tremblay
Voice-over-IP, or "VoIP" for short, is all about making phone calls on the Internet instead of on the conventional telephone network. To use VoIP, you need a broadband connection, basically a high-speed Internet service provided through a cable or DSL modem. Normally, you subscribe to high speed Internet so that you can surf the web, send emails and transfer files quickly and efficiently, but when using your broadband connection to make VoIP calls, computers aren't necessary.
Why is this? To make a VoIP call from your phone to another phone, you need an Analog Terminal Adaptor (ATA) plugged into your broadband modem to convert your voice signals into data. When you subscribe to a VoIP service such as Vonage or Packet8, they provide you with an ATA. That's all you need. So, unless you're using VoIP software to make the call from your PC, you don't need to have a computer running or even connected to the Internet.
That being said, there are still some great advantages to using your computer for making Internet calls. In fact, one of the easiest ways to give VoIP a try is to place a phone call between two computers. This is called a computer-to-computer voice connection. All you need is a computer, a headset consisting of earphones and microphone, and some VoIP software. VoIP software is usually free to download. Installation is straightforward and once your account is set up, you can call any computer in the world running the same software.
Skype, Gizmo Project, and FWD (Free World Dialup) are some of the more commonly used free services. Instant Messenger (chat) programs like Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and GoogleTalk also allow you to make voice calls. There is no charge for this type of connection and calls can be made to anywhere in the world.
You can also use VoIP software to call traditional land-line telephones connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) instead of the Internet. In most cases, VoIP phone calls to land-line phones are not free, but the cost is quite a bit lower than what your telephone company charges. For example, the cost of a cross-country long distance VoIP call to a land-line phone is somewhere in the range of 2¢ to 3¢ per minute. Depending on the VoIP service, you an even make calls to cellular phones.
There are a few companies, like VoipBuster.com offering free calls to land-line phones in select countries, but with restrictions on the length of time you can talk.
One final note to remember. Only the person making the call from their computer needs VoIP software. Parties receiving land-line or cellular calls do not need any extra equipment or software.
About the author:
Leanne Tremblay is the owner of http://www.quickstartvoip.com.
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