Increasing use of VOIP services

When people first started using the voice over internet protocol services for long distance telephony, it was not easy for them to believe that they are doing the same at rates as low as the local ones. There were some time lags and gaps in this communication which used the computers. The Voip services, as these are called in short, were not that good in quality in the beginning. Besides the time gap in communication, there were problems of occasional signal breakages. This was essentially due to the less developed VOIP technology and partly due to the internet speeds.

For VOIP to be used with great effectiveness it was important to have broadband connections of the internet. This meant that the dialer internet connectivity could not work any longer. Things have changed since the old days. The high bandwidth infrastructure is now well laid out. Further, technology has enabled the use of not only the computers but also the mobiles which make use of this VOIP functionality.

What actually is voice over internet protocol, or VOIP? In simple terms, it makes use of the internet wires to send the voice over to the other person. The voice is converted into small packets or files which are then transmitted through the internet protocol. It does not make use of the regular telephones lines for this purpose. A software is required to be downloaded which carries out this task.

There are three different ways in which this internet-based communication can happen. One of the ways is to make use of the computer, headset and microphones. Software is downloaded onto the computer which acts as a real life telephone. The calls can be made using this software. Headphones are used for listening and the microphone for listening. The second way is to make use of the Voip phonewhich is attached to the computer as well as to the internet wires. This is like the normal telephone instrument which is used for making the calls, but over the internet. The third way of using this is by way of downloading the software in the mobile and getting connected using the wired or wireless internet. The wireless internet connectivity is achieved using the WLANs or it can be taken from the internet service providers as well. Since it does not cost much to the bills of internet usage, especially if you are making use of the unlimited plans, only nominal charges are to be paid to the service provider.

It is not just the telephony but also a number of other features which make it much sought after method of telephony. Free PC to PC calls using the same service provider is one of them. Then you can actually have the video conferencing free of cost between the different locations. The transfer of files, instant messages, call forwarding, diverting and a range of other features make is quite a useful application. These are helpful in cutting down the telephonic and other costs like fuel charges for commutation substantially.

Voice over IP

It is often said that advancement in communication technology has shrank the world. While this statement is true, it needs to be modified a little. The credit for shrinking the world does not go only to the communication technology, but also to the advancement in the field of IT. Essentially, it is the advancement in the convergence of technologies rather than their isolated development in their respective areas which is to be held responsible for this shrinking of the world. This is testified by the voice over IP technology.

VOIP services as these are called in short, have been made possible by the convergence of communication and internet technologies. What is VOIP? Voice over internet protocol is a way of communicating with the others by making use of the software which can be run on computers or mobiles and by using high bandwidth internet connectivity. Using it, you would be able to communicate with the people free of cost or at a fraction of cost of the traditional telephonic methods. You are required to download and install the program on the computer or the mobile and get connected to the internet for communicating with the others.

VOIP has many benefits, which can be summed up below:

1.Allows for making free and cheaper long distance calls. The rates are a fraction of the costs involved through the traditional medium.

2.VOIP services are not just about voice communication. It allows for multiple ways of communication. You can do chatting with the people (send them I.M.), send SMS to mobiles of people, do group chatting or video conferencing, etc.

3.It also comes with additional features like call holding, diverting, barring or forwarding. You can even transfer files from computer to the other person and make adjustments or changes to the various functionalities.

4. Business VOIP services are especially helpful in managing multi-location communications among the employees. Some of the businesses make extensive use of VOIP services. These are the ones which have to deal with international clients, or the ones which are required to communicate frequently with distant employees. Some of the businesses are based on VOIP exclusively, like the call centre or the BPO operations.

5.The VOIP services can be had in different ways. You can use the computers based software to communicate, if you are working on computers. You can even attach the VOIP phone to the system to make it more convenient to receive or make calls. Even the Cordless phones can be used which can obviate the need for keep sitting at one place. If you are on the move, but are connected to the WLAN, or through the mobile internet service provider, then you can use the mobiles loaded with the VOIP software to make or take the calls.

6.Contributes to environmental improvement: If it were not for the VOIP phone services, people would have moved or traveled around more leading to greater stress on the fuel resources and contributing to environmental deterioration.

VOIP services redefine the way people communicate with telephones

Voice over Internet protocol mode of communication makes use of the packets of information to be transferred from one place to another, riding on the internet cables. This mode of communication is quick, inexpensive as well as multi-modal in nature and has distinct advantages when compared with the other PSTN network based telephonic communication. There is one requirement of the internet connection, which is a pre-requisite for this mode of communication to be successful. So, in theory and also in practice, wherever you have an internet connection, you can very well make and take calls from any other person using the VOIP services.

This essentially means that the voice over IP calls can be made using your computer by using software for the same. The software allows you to make, forward, divert, keep on hold and auto-attend the calls; send the files of different types as well as the instant and the short messages; and, even make the video calls as well as conference calls using the same. Besides these, the advanced software used in the computers can also help you manage the calls within the organization. This voice over IP technology can be used with the centralised PBX systems to help manage the telephonic communication better.

Besides the computers, the internet facility can be had in the mobiles as well. This internet facility is provided by the internet service provider and is wireless technology which is used for the same. The software is downloaded into the mobiles of the people who are using them and then the same is used to make the calls from one place to another. The same mobile platform for the VOIP services can also be used for making the video calls between the two people as well.

People also use instruments of the VOIP phones along with the computer systems for ease of communication. They can perform all the normal functions of the computer based VOIP phone using these instruments. The use of this telephonic communication has been the most prevalent in the international long distance calling. This is because this communication is relatively inexpensive. The people, having the account with the same service provider can in fact communicate free of cost. There are no issues of quality either, though the same can be dependent on a number of other factors, most prominent being the bandwidth of the internet connection.

Some of the businesses have benefitted particularly by this voice over IP . The call centres are one such business and this service has been used by them to outsource their business processes for cheaper rates. The businesses who need to call frequently to distant places, or the organizations who need to interact with their branches at different and distant locations make use of this service to make cheaper calls. The organisations can also provide the mobile VOIP phones to the salespeople for the purpose of communication while they are out on in the field.