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VOIP Phone Services - A Quick Overview
by Fawn Rawson
http://www.frphone.com

While internet phone has been available for close to ten
years, it's only recently that technology has improved to
the point where it's viable as a real alternative to
traditional ground lines. In the past eight to ten months,
there's been a veritable explosion of VOIP (Voice Over
Internet Protocol) services.

The spate of advertising that has given the 'new' tech its
sudden visibility is powered by names like Vonage, Lingo,
Voicewing and CallVantage. Some of these, like AT&T's
CallVantage, are the newest products from standard telephone
companies. Others, like Vonage and Lingo, are new startups
with a quickly growing user base. Vonage, for example,
boasts 1500 new subscribers a month.

What are the advantages of switching from a conventional
land line to VOIP service? The major advantage is cost. By
utilizing your high speed internet connection to carry voice
messages, you can virtually eliminate all long distance
charges. It will cost you no more to call from Boston to San
Francisco than it will to call from Boston to Worcester,
less than 100 miles away.

In addition, with the ability to keep your current phone
number, known as local number portability, you may be able
to keep one phone number for life. That same number
portability opens other options for customers. Want a
virtual phone number in Daytona Beach even though you live
in Oregon? You can do it. Want to list a phone number with a
local exchange in Dallas, Chicago and Seattle? It can be
done.

Is VoIP reliable phone service? VoIP has been around as a
low-cost way to make phone calls from your computer for a
lot of years. In general, your VoIP service will work as
long as a) your internet connection is up and running and b)
your electrical service is on. It won't operate during a
power outage, and losing your DSL or cable will also put
your phone out of service. If your internet carrier goes
down even occasionally, you'll want to keep regular phone
service at least as a backup - or get an uninterruptable
power supply.

Can I keep my phone number? Usually, the answer is yes. The
same rules that make it possible to keep your cell phone
number wherever you go also make it possible to keep your
existing phone number with a VoIP account. It can take a
while to transfer the number to your VoIP account, though,
and in the meantime, you'll be paying for two phone service
providers.

Can I use my VOiP phone number when I'm traveling? In a
word, yes. You'll have your phone with you wherever you plug
in your 'box', whether it's your living room or a hotel room
in Naples.

However, the technology advances every day. Vonage, the
acknowledged independent leader in the field, reports new
subscribers at the rate of 1500 per month. That sort of
growth sparks further advances nearly every day. Expect that
VOIP will advance at least as quickly as the acceptance of
cell phones as a fact of modern life.

There is one other disadvantage - and one other advantage -
worth mentioning. The disadvantage is in the way that VOIP
handles the 911 emergency response system. It doesn't.
Because VOIP numbers are essentially portable, they aren't
tied into the 911 emergency response system. While most
major VOIP services offer some option to allow the use of
911 to reach emergency services, the calls are routed to a
central dispatch rather than to an ERT center. Emergency
operators reached that way will have no way to determine
location from a 911 call made on a VOIP line.

Where can I find out more about VoIP phone service? You can
check the home pages of these VoIP providers: Vonage
(www.vonage.com) At&T CallVantage (www.callvantage.com)
Lingo (www.lingo.com) Verizon Voicewing (www.voicewing.com)

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