How to Find Your Best Value for A VOIP Solution

You may have heard the acronym VoIP and wondered what it is and what all the hype is about. VoIP is a telephone service that works over the Internet instead of through your traditional telephone. If VoIP doesn’t sound familiar, you may have heard one of its other names such as IP Telephony, Internet Telephony, Broadband Telephony or as the acronym means Voice over Internet Protocols. If you are considering using this service for your home, then there is information that you need to help you find the best VoIP for your money.

There are cost saving advantages to using a VoIP service. There are many companies that offer a discounted rate for service if they are able to bundle a package for you such as Internet service and phone or cable service and phone. This is great if the quality of your Internet connection is reasonable or above. Many people have this service in their homes, where the package is bundled with Internet. In many cases, people have reported savings of $30 or more every month over what they had before. That is almost $400 per year!
Another advantage for having VoIP phone service versus traditional phone service is that usually you pay a flat rate per month and that includes long distance and local calls. VoIP eliminates the toll charges that you incur with traditional telephone phone service. VoIP does not require that the person you are calling also have the service, it works in conjunction with traditional phone service. It is also possible with VoIP to take your home phone with you when you go on a trip. The incoming calls are routed to your VoIP phone where ever you plug into an Internet connection, like at your in-laws home or your hotel room.

Depending on your service provider, some features may cost extra or not be available with VoIP, such as call forwarding, auto redial and 3 way calling. VoIP is almost always less expensive than the local phone company. There is no more long distance charges or certain times that we have to call to get a discounted rate. Calls are crystal clear, no static and have all the features and more that you would get with traditional phone service.

Another possible downside and a reason some homes still keep a land line or cell phone handy is because the phone with VoIP is powered by electricity. If the power goes out, so does your phone. Likewise, if your highspeed Internet connection goes down, you will not be able to make or receive calls, since your VOIP service uses your Internet connection.

When you are looking at a VOIP phone service and deciding which service to go with, you need to do your homework. Make sure that the provider offers the services you need and want where you live. Make sure that you have a good Internet connection, since a good and reliable Internet connection will be one of the major keys to the quality of the VOIP service.