Residential Voip - What It Means To You

VoIP is a new technology in the world of communication. It stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol, which in general terms means that you can make phone calls using the Internet rather than your existing telephone line.

VoIP is a digital substitute to analog phone lines. However it is far more than that; it is a completely new way of making phone calls which will forever change the landscape of voice communication.

Where VoIP used to be almost entirely a business service, it is rapidly becoming a real choice for the residential user.

It may all sound very mysterious and complicated, but it's really not. Fundamentally, all a VoIP service does is convert your voice into a digital signal and transmit it over the Internet. If you're calling another VoIP user, that's all there is; your voice is transmitted digitally. If however, you're using a VoIP phone to call someone on a regular phone, your voice is converted back into a signal those phones can understand. It all happens instantly, you won’t even know and the call on a VoIP phone system sounds exactly like the call on a telephone system. Chances are you have spoken to someone using VoIP on the other end and have not even known.

So, with this new technology, you are probably wondering what you need to connect to a VoIP phone service in your home.

The most basic thing you'll need is broadband Internet service, such as cable or DSL.

You will then need some way to connect to the VoIP service. With most providers, your computer connects to the service through a special modem, and you can continue using your existing phones.

Some providers, however, require specialized VoIP phones. Many of these providers offer free phones or may lease equipment.

Since the VoIP residential service is new, the question, "Why would I want VoIP in my home?" is a legitimate and sensible one.

There are three reasons you might consider VoIP.

The first, of course, is cost; many VoIP providers offer free or low-cost long distance, and the overall phone bill is often quite lower than the bill from the local telephone provider.

VoIP offers many features which local providers may not, including, with some providers, the ability to get email notifications of new voicemail and check voicemail online, which is useful for people running a home business.

Finally, some people switch to VoIP because of difficulties with their local telephone company. The days of "We're the telephone company. We don't care. We don't have to" are definitely over, and VoIP is a big part of that.

While VoIP is fairly young in the residential area, it is growing quickly, and the service providers are becoming more recognized and more practiced in supporting their residential customers.

It is fascinating, from a technological point of view, to watch as VoIP matures and to see how the fixed line phone companies respond to that maturation.

But what will be truly fascinating is seeing how residential customers respond to it and how residential VoIP evolves.

With You in Technology

Adam White