| orld has shrunk, thanks to an invention called the | | | | and cellular phones. One example is caller ID, for both |
| Internet. Communication is now made easier. Barely | | | | incoming and outgoing calls. Some providers even go |
| two decades ago, a person in Thailand has to wait for | | | | as far as providing the option of blocking caller |
| weeks for a letter from the United States. Now, a | | | | information. Call forwarding to landlines, cellular phones, |
| letter can be sent in a matter of seconds, through | | | | and other VoIP phone numbers is also offered. |
| e-mail or electronic mail. A few years ago, talking to a | | | | Furthermore, other providers are also currently offering |
| person halfway across the world is guaranteed to | | | | toll-free numbers, virtual phone numbers, softphones |
| cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Now, with | | | | for added portability, fax lines, and multiply phone lines, |
| the advent of VoIP telephony, it costs nothing more | | | | and only recently, text messaging service, a milestone |
| than a local phone call to your neighbour. Sometimes, | | | | for VoIP telephony. |
| it’s even for free! | | | | What You Need to Go VoIP |
| Defining VoIP | | | | To fully appreciate the wonders of VoIP telephony, a |
| Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP telephony, is the | | | | high-speed Internet connection is a must. The |
| routing of voice conversations over the Internet. It | | | | technology relies heavily on bandwidth, making it |
| allows anybody to utilize the internet as one gigantic | | | | impossible for a slow dial-up connection to support it. |
| phone line. With VoIP telephony, you can now indulge in | | | | Power supply is also essential in VoIP telephony. |
| talking until your ears heat up and go numb, even if the | | | | Routers are connected to computers so an outage in |
| conversation is with someone from another continent. | | | | power also leads to an outage in phone service. |
| VoIP telephony is very straightforward. To avail of this | | | | VoIP and Emergency |
| technology, all you need is a computer, a stable | | | | In the past, emergency services posed a problem for |
| Internet connection, and a provider. | | | | VoIP telephony. Owing to the static nature of IP |
| What Does VoIP telephony Have for You? | | | | addresses, a call to 911 does not guarantee a |
| Though still a fairly new technology, VoIP telephony is | | | | connection with the local dispatch center of the caller. |
| capable of facilitating tasks that ordinary landlines and | | | | Service providers have long since addressed this |
| mobile phones can’t achieve. VoIP | | | | obstacle by requiring the registration of the physical |
| telephony’s number one feature is portability. It | | | | address where the VoIP line is used. A call to 911 |
| is location-independent, requiring only an Internet | | | | would then display the caller’s address, making |
| connection to connect with a provider. Most providers | | | | it easy for the dispatcher to route the call to the local |
| give subscribers a router to connect to their | | | | emergency center. This workaround is called E911 or |
| computers. Take this router with you on vacation or a | | | | Enhanced 911. |
| business trip, and hook it up to a local computer with | | | | Like all new technologies, VoIP telephony is far from |
| Internet connection. It’s guaranteed that you will | | | | perfect. There have been reports of bad voice quality |
| never miss a single phone call, wherever you are in the | | | | in phone calls. However, these issues are being |
| world. You can even choose a phone number that's | | | | addressed one by one and most VoIP telephony |
| registered to a city or state other than the one you're | | | | subscribers have seen a great improvement in the |
| in at the moment. | | | | quality of their voice calls. You’ll be able to |
| Most of the leading VoIP telephony providers have | | | | enjoy full voice clarity in no time at all. |
| introduced several features that rival those of landline | | | | |