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05 Feb

VoIP Communication Technology Helps Your Business

Communication has come a long way from the time of smoke signals. What was new yesterday is considered required today. Technology advances are fast and furious and to keep ahead in the business world you must advance along with it, or risk missing out on the new moon.

The speed and effectiveness of your communication infrastructure is vital in today’s marketplace, where clients expect instant results. In addition, your ability to virtualize your office is key in a decentralized and mobile environment. Assisting your customers and making them feel serviced is vital in a world where price comparisons can be retrieved in an instant. Service will set you apart. This is where advanced communication technology can help.

The following is an example of how Life Communications LLC assisted a business improve their communications effectiveness, work product and bottom line. Saran Importers Inc. (name has been changed) is an importer of many products, including clothing, undergarments and electronics. They have small offices in California, Michigan and Texas with their headquarters in Brooklyn, NY. The Michigan and Texas offices have two salesmen per location, while the California office has three operations people and one salesman. The Brooklyn headquarters has 10 operations people and three salesmen. For the sake of simplicity, the definition of “operations people” is people who don’t travel extensively, while salesmen do.

They had a Lucent Partner system in Brooklyn and small SOHO (Small Office Home Office) Panasonic multi-phones in the remote locations. They communicated with the remote locations by calling them over a regular phone line and with the salesman by office number or cell phones, which they also gave to the clients. Some problems arose from this arrangement. The following are a sample:

- High cost of inter-office communications.

- Multiple places for voice-mail. Hard to manage.

- If the cell phone was dead or otherwise not available the calls went to voicemail or were lost.

- If a salesman was unavailable for extended periods (more than one day) it affected communications with clients.

- No call accounting. No management of remote offices.

Life Communications replaced their Lucent system with a customized PC-based advanced phone system. In the remote locations they put Voice Over IP (VOIP) phones that communicated directly with the VoIP phone system over secure private network DSL lines. This enabled the remote offices to have all the advanced features of the main office.

They also setup a feature that enabled the salesman to manage where they can be reached. In doing so, they would be able to give out a single phone number that routed through the phone system. They would direct where the phone would ring or even the order of where they can be reached and the amount of times it would ring by each location. If the call would go to voicemail the voicemail would actually reside on the phone system and a voice file would be emailed to the salesman. Some salesmen chose to have a copy, of the voice file, also emailed to the operations person who handled their accounts.

This solved their problems by doing the following:

- Cut down, drastically, on the cost of inter-office communications. The costs of the DSL lines are marginalized due to their dual-use as data lines. All calls between offices are now as if they are in the same office, they communicate by calling the extension, not an outside number.

- One place for voice-mail, all located on the phone system. Cell phone calls are now called by the phone system and if the salesman is unavailable it puts it in the internal voice-mail. This allows for easier voice-mail management.

- Due to the advanced routing feature, calls can ring by multiple places to reach a person who can help the client.

- When salesmen are now unavailable the calls can be automatically rerouted to another salesman who can help.

- All calls, in all offices, can now be managed and kept track of. Client communications can be more effectively handled.

This is just a small sample of the improvements made to the business process. Another advantage to the VoIP system is; as new features, and advancements, come out they can be integrated into Saran’s current platform. Expandability is also part and parcel of this VoIP experience; the system can grow as Saran grows.

Cy Yablonsky is
a realtor associate at Othello Realty,
http://www.OthelloRealty.com. Cy has an
extensive background in technology
and communications and applies that to the real estate
market. Feel free to reprint this article as long as
all links stay live and no changes are
made.

29 Jan

VoIP is Less Taxing than Traditional Telephone Service

When it comes to VoIP Broadband Telephone service, there are many benefits. Unlimited local and long distance calling, included features such as CallerID, Call Waiting, Find Me/Follow Me, etc., and reduced costs. Many people overlook one thing when they are comparing the price of a VoIP provider and their Traditional Telephone service, and that is “What taxes are associated with VoIP telephone service vs. what taxes are associated with traditional telephone services?”

In my opinion, this is a huge factor in making the decision to go with a VoIP Broadband Telephone solution. The only VoIP Tax (as of the writing Feb. 2005) associated with a VoIP service is a Federal Excise Tax of only 3% of the bill. For example, if you signed up for a VoIP unlimited calling plan for only $19.95 per month your monthly total would equal $20.55. This $20.55 per month would cover all of your calls to the U.S. and Canada, all of the included features, and quality customer service. (Noted exception: Vonage customers located in N.J. are required to pay sales tax on their Vonage VoIP service.)

Conversely, a Traditional telephone bill includes numerous taxes and surcharges. For example, I had a discount telephone company that only charged me $9.99 per month for a basic Traditional Telephone service in California. Please look at the breakdown of all of the taxes and charges.

BASIC MONTHY CHARGE $9.99

CALL WAITING $3.20

FCC ACCESS CHARGE $4.49

DIRECTORY LISTING/ NON-PUBLISHED $0.79

FEDERAL TAX $0.54

CA RELAT SVC AND COMM DEVICE FUND $0.04

E911 TAX $0.09

UNIVERSAL LIFELINE SERVICE CHARGE $0.16

CA HIGH COST FUND SURCHARGE A $0.02

STATE REGULATORY FEE $0.01

UNIVERAL SERVICE FUND $0.39

CA HIGH COST FUND SURCHARGE B $0.30

TOTAL TAXES, FEES AND SURCHARGES $10.03

So, my bill total was $20.02 for the month and that was before I ever picked up the telephone to make a telephone call. Also the only feature that I opted for was Call Waiting.

You can draw your own conclusions on whether or not VoIP is right for you. If you don’t make any outgoing calls then you may want to stick to your traditional telephone company. But from an economical stand point, VoIP is clearly the less expensive option if you make any long distance telephone calls.

Economics is only one part of the equation. Be sure to read my other article on “Things You Should Consider When Selecting a VoIP Provider” found at http://www.voipchoices.com/voip-considerations.html.

For a listing of popular VoIP providers and to do a side by side comparison of VoIP providers and services please visit www.VoIPChoices.com.

Chris Landry is the foremost authority on residential and small business VoIP providers. Chris is the founder of http://www.VoIPChoices.com. He has prequalified several high-quality VoIP providers and compares them by price and features at http://www.VoIPChoices.com. Chris can be reach via email at Chris@VoIPChoices.com.

22 Jan

Introducing VoIP

As VoIP gets more popular, more companies are beginning to offer this service to its customers. Some think that VoIP will replace the traditional telephone system. To help you make the switch, here is a list of VoIP service providers and some general information about what they have to offer.



Verizon VoiceWing - Their plans start at $19.95 a month for 500 calling minutes to the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. If you already have Verizon DSL, they offer a discount on their unlimited plan ($29.95 instead of $34.95). (https://www22.verizon.com/ForYourhome/voip/voiphome.aspx)



Comcast Di gital Voice - They have both national and international calling options. If you use Comcast for any other services, you are eligible for their discounted rates. If you have Comcast Cable and High Speed Internet, Digital Voice is an extra $39.95.
(http://www.comcast.com/Benefits/VoiceBenefits.ashx)



Lingo - This seems to be one of the best services. They offer your first month for free. Plans start at $19.95 for both national and international calling. Their basic service starts at $7.95 a month. (http://www.lingo.com)

Vonage - Prices start at $14.99 for their basic service and $24.99 for their unlimited service. Long distance calling rates are listed on their site, as they change depending on the country. (http://www.vonage.com)



Earthlink - Even Earthlink has begun offering VoIP service. TrueVoice offers home internet phone for rates starting at $14.95 a month. If you also use Earthlink for your DSL connection, yo u are eligible for their package deal. Also check out Vling- a free software download called Vling which allows you to talk with other Vling users for free. (http://www.earthlink.net/voice/dslhomephone/)

Mike Bell is the webmaster of http://www.VoIP-Journal.com, a site devoted to providing users with VoIP news and information.

15 Jan

Reduce Operating Costs, Gain efficiency, and Compete Effectively with VoIP

Imagine phones (that look like regular phones as we-know-it-today) connecting to the Internet via an Ethernet jack (similar to a PC) instead of the phone plug on the wall. These are called IP-based phones. These phones do not use analog phone lines - instead they get connected to the Internet. One would pick up the receiver and make a phone call just as it is done today and VoIP converts the human voice into IP packets (data similar to email data) and pushes it out through the Internet to the phone switch where it is terminated. In a nut shell, VoIP digitalizes voice into data packets, sending them and reconverting them back into voice at destination.

What are the benefits of VoIP and why you should consider it? To compete effectively in the eWorld, a decent businesses infrastructure MUST HAVE two essential components: A High-speed Internet connection and a sophisticated phone system.

Up until now, to build a solid infrastructure, small businesses had to spend lots of money for having multiple phone lines, perhaps an 800 line, fax line, credit card machine, to name a few. These days the ONLY essential component to worry about is having a reliable high-speed Internet connection. Connectivity can be addressed with either cable or DSL service (typically $250 per month) through cable providers such as Comcast, RCN, etc. and DSL can be provided through the Verizons of the world. The good news is that with the arrival of VoIP, there is no need to pay a dime for multiple phone lines, any phone system (PBX), any local/long distance calls, phone maintenance, etc. At 30% to 50% less than the cost of a typical phone system, a VoIP system will provide a more sophisticated system with increased functionality than any analog phone system. It offers an enterprise-level system that was affordable ONLY by fortune 500 companies. Now small businesses can compete like big corporations at a fraction of the cost!

Small businesses are beginning to realize that IP-based phone system streamlines their communications needs and their call flow in ways that was not possible a year ago. As a result they can improve the customer experience and combined with wireless IP communications, employees can become completely mobile. The beauty of it is that IP enables the phone to be anywhere - this is a perfect solution for companies with remote/satellite offices who wish to have one uniform phone system for all employees regardless of their location.

There’s a whole list of benefits unlocked by VoIP beyond the obvious. One of the most important advantages of using VoIP is reliable continuity. Imagine having a system that can stay operational through the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, or the August blackout and a whole list of building failures by the central phone system. In a typical VoIP system the main elements of the network are offsite, they’re automatically protected from these sort of issues. Another benefit is, unlike a traditional phone system [Time-Division Multiplexed TDM], where the environment is a common point of failure, in a VoIP it is very easy to put in redundancy in which all clients connect to the outside world by more than one path. This guarantees phone connectivity and no call is ever lost.

IP telephony lowers the costs of communications system tremendously while increases productivity in more ways than one. Consider a world where ALL communications, including eMail, voice messages, conference calls, and/or even wireless devices can be integrated through a single system where employees, no matter of the location, can be contacted. For companies with multiple locations, VoIP system can eliminate the need for several receptionists - which is growing in popularity.

The benefits of VoIP are endless. It eliminates the need for having an expensive PBX system; it saves time and resources associated with the maintenance & supporting such systems; it removes the hassle of dealing with phone companies; on and on while offering a superior phone system at 30 to 50% of the cost.

Hadi Shavarini is the General Manager and co-founder of Blue Robin Inc.- Building eBusiness Infrastructures. Blue Robin offers cost effective enterprise-level VoIP systems. Hadi Shavarini has been involved with VoIP development since 2002. http://www.bluerobininc.com

08 Jan

VOIP Facilitates Small Businesses

Imagine, VOIP has been declared by greats like Forbes.com to be “the four letter word for growth.” It is widely acknowledged that technology can spur growth and businesses, even small ones that integrate new technologies, have a strategic and competitive edge over others.

VOIP offers great benefits. It involves the setting up of just one network that will encompass so many functions at extremely affordable costs. Studies show that the phone bill can be culled to half or even lower.

Although cost savings is reason 1 for installing VoIP there are by other great advantages. In the case of small businesses, you can choose any area code irrespective of where you operate from. So, if most of your clients are in Atlanta but you are based in New York you can choose a connection with an Atlanta code. This enables you to create a sound business presence in many cities. The system allows setting up of toll-free lines which creates the image of a large business. If you choose a plan carefully you will be able to make unlimited free calls for a fixed payment, forward calls, call internationally for a very low charge, and expand the reach of your operation.

A VoIP system moves with you, erasing the problems associated with business travel or other kinds of moves like shifting office or home.

As a business person, you or you office staff will always know who called because of “unified messaging.” And the system collates all the messages such that you can prioritize responses. And, what is even more alluring is that business can retrieve messages via telephone, PC, laptop, or PDA. So, your customers receive 24/7 service and are never disappointed.

The VoIP system allows multiple employees to manage customer calls. Creates a “mini” call center expanding business potential and facilitates better utilization of scarce resources. This leads to immediate solutions for customers. Useful features are click-to-call, web based voice mail, integrated conferencing, auto-attendant capabilities, and call routing.

In case of corporate use, VoIP allows the use of a single high speed internet connection for all voice, video, and data communications. It permits convergence. By incorporating a single data network across all offices and employees the business can reduce operating costs, increase productivity and efficacy, and enhance communications and customer services.

What you need to do, is seek expert advice and find out all you can about quality, infrastructure, costs, and advantages as well as disadvantages. Technology moves with time so keep in mind aspects like upgrading of system and maintenance.

The system introduces efficiency, effectiveness, professionalism, and a customer oriented approach to the smallest of businesses, lending the business the advantages of otherwise unattainable infrastructure.

Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1866Voip.com , the premier website to find help on Voip including topics on online voip, voip phone, voip service providers, voip solutions, business voip, internet telephony voip and more. He also freelances for the premier site http://www.1888Restaurants.com

01 Jan

Most Underrated Use of VoIP Telephony

With the proliferation, affordability, and convenience of broadband Internet and cell phone service, customers are foregoing traditional telephone service all together. Having a cell phone instead of a land line seems like a terrific idea. Cell phone customers do not have to be tied down to a location, they can get phone calls from anywhere, and plus they get long-distance included. In theory it seems like a good idea but actually it does not tend to work out as planned. Cell phones were not designed to be used for regular everyday calls while in your home. They were designed as mobile phones and most service plans treat them as such, with outrageous fees for going over the allotted monthly minutes. Most cell phone only customers find they run out of minutes every month and have enormous cell phone bills as a result. So they would be better off having a land line or paying for enormous monthly minutes on their cell phone service. There is a better way.

VoIP phone service is a wonderful way to eliminate the need for expensive, regular telephone service. With a VoIP adapter and VoIP service, customers can use their broadband Internet service and regular telephone to make local and long-distance calls for a low monthly fee. The monthly fee usually includes such typical services as unlimited long-distance, call waiting, caller ID, voicemail, 3-way calling, call forwarding, and other lesser used features that regular telephone companies charge extra. So for a modest monthly fee VoIP customers can have broadband Internet and land line phone services and still afford to keep their cell phone. VoIP saves money by eliminating expensive traditional telephone service and allows cell phone minutes to be used when necessary.

Visit http://www.cleardigitalvoice.com for more information on how to save money with VoIP phone service.

Sol is the owner of ClearDigitalVoice.com, a new VoIP provider for residential and small business customers. http://www.cleardigitalvoice.com

25 Dec

10 Reasons Why VoIP is Great for Business

I’ve used VoIP technology for the past few years for my home
line, and recently made the switch to using VoIP for my business,
as well. For those who may not know, the acronym VoIP stands for
“voice-over-ip”, and, essentially, means that our phone calls can
now travel over data lines, much the same way our email does.

If you follow telecommunications at all, you may remember the
early days of this kind internet telephony: users needed a
computer, an internet connection, and a headset with microphone
in order to make and receive calls. The amount of equipment
required was rather cumbersome, and one could only make calls
while sitting at the computer. Now, though, the communications
landscape has changed, as VoIP can be utilized in much the same
way as a traditional land-line– you can use a wireless phone and
take VoIP around the house, or you can get a so-called “soft
phone”, which enables you to take your calling around the world.

VoIP plans are less expensive than traditional calling plans, and
come standard with desirable features such as call-waiting,
call-forwarding, 3-way calling, and voicemail. In fact, you can
even have your voicemail delivered as an audio file to your email
account, saving you the time and hassle of calling in to retrieve
messages.

Aside from the cost savings, calling features, and convenience,
(reasons 1, 2, and 3) VoIP is great for business in seven other
ways. First, you can choose your area code. So, for example, if
you have clients in Los Angeles, but you work from New York, you
can obtain a Los Angeles area code so you seem to be right next
door. This can be a good way to create a business presence in
multiple cities very cost effectively. Next, you can order
toll-free lines for less than traditional carriers. Having a toll
free line makes your business seem bigger. Also, you can take
your calling plan on the road when you travel, and can use your
’softphone’ to make calls to/from hotels. No more paying
exorbitant fees for local calls, which saves you money (reason 6)

The higher end VoIP plans allow you to place an unlimited number
of calls for one set fee. This can help you budget your business
expenses more effectively. You can forward calls to any number
when you’re out of the office, meaning more flexibility. VoIP
also allows you to call internationally for very low rates, so
you can expand your business reach and influence across the
globe. (reason 9). Setting up a VoIP phone system is easy, and
can often be done in less than five minutes, provided you have high
speed internet and an IP-usable phone (reason 10).

So, for all these reasons, VoIP is great for business. It’s
affordable, convenient, and simple to use. As the world of
business gets more complex, it’s nice to know your
telecommunication systems doen’t have to follow suit.

Jane Perkis is a technology enthusiast who uses VoIP for home and business. Please visit http://www.voice-over-ip-advice to learn more about VoIP for your home or office.

18 Dec

VoIP - What Is It and Why Do I Need It

In the dynamically changing world of technology, VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is one of the latest and potentially greatest wonders ever created by the human mind. Watch a techie show, read a techie magazine or talk to any cyber dude and most will acknowledge that VoIP is one of the coolest advancements they’ve ever been blessed to experience.

On the other hand, for the vast majority who are not techie-nerds and who are looking for a non-techie to English translation of what VoIP has done to induce such high praises, then sit back, relax and read a bit more. In a nutshell, VoIP allows you to make phone calls over the internet, using your computer, to pretty much anywhere on the planet. The VoIP acronym is simply a fancy, smancy technical term for what could just as easily be called an Internet phone.

The miracle of VoIP can be explained in a simple process. The analog voice signals, which are the technical term for the exchange of hot air you have with friends and family while talking for hours on the phone… Sorry, I couldn’t resist a bit of humor as I drifted back to days gone by and my youth. Ok, back to business.

VoIP converts the analog voice signals into digital data packets, which allows those packets of data to be transferred via cable lines (the internet) and then they are reconverted into analog voice signals at the other end so that once again, you can understand what is being said. Thanks to internet protocol, VoIP supports real time and two way transmission of conversations.

Sounds Good But How Do I Get Started With VoIP?

First, you have to know what type of internet service you have from your ISP (Internet Service Provider). The reason you need to know the type of service you have is because currently, VoIP works best with a cable or DSL internet connection because they are faster as in they can download more bits of information (data packets) per second and this allows better sound quality on your internet calls.

Although VoIP services are available for other types of ISP connections like dial up, prepaid and satellite… the technology with VoIP has yet to progress to the point where you will consistently experience crystal clear sound over slower internet connections. However, if you currently live in an area that hasn’t been wired for broadband, you shouldn’t have to wait too long for the technology to progress to where you can enjoy a quality conversation over a slower internet type connection. However, for the time-being, quality is still a bit patchy without a high speed connection.

How Much is This Internet Telephony, VoIP Thingy Going to Cost Me?

Cost is one of best things about VoIP because VoIP services cost less than residential phone service and much, much less than most monthly cell phone plans. And if your DSL or broadband internet company just happens to be one of companies that currently offers VoIP services, then so much the better because that usually translates into even lower rates than if you used an independent or outside company for your VoIP phone service.

How Reliable Is VoIP?

Because transmission is being done over the Internet, the voice quality is largely dependent on your internet connection speed. And at this moment in time, regardless of your ISP or connection speed the voice quality still hasn’t reached that of normal land based or mobile phones. Plus, although rare, if your internet connection goes down you wouldn’t be able to make or receive phone calls and VoIP is still more vulnerable to dropped calls due to a lack of signal strength.

Although VoIP still has a few drawbacks, once you try it you’ll quickly realize that they aren’t the type of problems that will stop you from wanting to use it especially when you get your bill each month because with VoIP the savings can be dramatic if you spend a bunch of time on the phone.

How Secure Is VoIP?

Because transmission is in an environment where the dreaded “hacker” reigns supreme this concern is an obvious and legitimate one. Let’s face it… although not perfectly secure it’s no less secure than sending emails and billions and billions of those are sent each day. And frankly, if you’re concerned about others listening in on your phone calls you should toss your cell phone because picking up those signals by the “unscrupulous” is much easier than sabotaging your VoIP phone calls.

If you are overly concerned with security due to the fact that VoIP is a relatively a new technology and that there still exists; although remote, a possibility that those cyber technicians will hijack your calls then you’ll just have to wait until you feel these issues are solved before you give VoIP a test drive.

Can You Keep Your Number?

Yes and No! In most instances you will be able to keep your current phone number but just to be safe you should ask this question before signing up for VoIP service. And frankly, in some cases you may be required to change numbers. Oh well nothings perfect.

Kevin Erickson is a contributing writer to: VoIP | Wifi Hotspots | Trade Show

11 Dec

Saving Money with VOIP Hosted PBX Service

There are so many ways that a VOIP Hosted PBX can save you money I can’t begin to cover them all in a short space. However, here a few of the major cost saving aspects of a VoIP Hosted PBX system:

Cash Flow - Controlling cash flow is a major factor that determines the ultimate success or failure of any business, regardless if you are a start-up or an established business. Tight control over capital expenditures and operating expense is essential. On average, a VOIP Hosted PBX costs 20-40% less than a premise-based PBX. Also, CAPEX is minimized because you don’t have to “Buy the “Box”.

Additionally, because of the way premised based PBX systems are designed, you have no choice but to buy more equipment than you actually need to support your current requirements.

Sounds crazy, but it’s true. Why spend precious dollars now on equipment you won’t need until six or 12 months later or longer? A VOIP Hosted PBX allows you to pay as you grow. In other words, you only buy what you need to support current requirements.

Adding new employees to the system is fast, easy, and cheap. More importantly, you don’t have to pay for something until you actually need it.

If you are ever affected by a downturn in business, a VOIP Hosted PBX gives you the flexibility to reduce your expenses accordingly by reducing your telecommunications requirements with no penalty since you only pay for what you need, when you need it. Generally, you cannot do that with a traditional premise-based PBX without incurring some form of financial penalty.

Moves, Adds, and Changes - Unlike a traditional PBX, in a VOIP Hosted PBX environment, Moves, Adds and Changes do not require an on-site technician to make changes to your phone system. A VoIP Hosted PBX can be remotely configured by the provider, thus providing you with the flexibility to add, change, delete or move users within hours instead of days.

Eliminating costly monthly maintenance contracts will reduce your expenses because there is no need for a technician to visit your location every time you want to make a change. This is done remotely by the VOIP Hosted PBX provider, which also gives you with greater flexibility to respond quickly to changing business or market conditions.

Significantly Reduce Depreciation Losses - Traditional PBX systems depreciate almost 70% the day you install them. With VoIP Hosted phone service, you won’t have to worry about depreciation since you’re not purchasing equipment.

Although there are many other reasons that a Hosted PBX can save you money, such as reduced maintenance, elimination of the need to track and implement software patches, no requirement to maintain PBX equipment inventories, no vendor finger-pointing, and faster trouble resolution, the overall savings can be summed up by considering the Total Cost of Ownership of a traditional PBX compared to that of a VOIP Hosted PBX.

In the December 2005 issue of Business Communications Review, Ken Dolsky and Warren Williams of InfoTech published an in-depth analysis comparing the TCO/ROI of a Hosted PBX to that of a premise-based IP PBX for a single location with 50 users. They concluded for most instances, the Hosted PBX environment was the clear financial and performance winner. Even though their analysis shows a significant opportunity to reduce costs with a VOIP Hosted PBX, it is important to point out that the analysis did not not take into account large savings associated with increasing employee productivity and revenue using the Hosted PBX’s advanced features.

Here’s another piece of advice.

When you replace your traditional PBX with a VOIP Hosted PBX system, then plan on buying a bigger piggybank, too.

Bill Casey is the VP of Marketing for Reignmaker Communications, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. They offer Hosted PBX service.

04 Dec

Getting Wired For VoIP

You finally made the switch to broadband phone service. The
friendly neighborhood UPS guy just came by with the DTA
adapter you’ll need to start using your new VoIP service.
Soon the wheels in your head begin to turn as you realize
your VoIP router is only connected to one telephone. You
want VoIP phone service in your whole house, don’t you?

Getting wired for VoIP in your whole house is fairly simple.
You don’t need a degree in rocket science, though it does
take a bit more of a hands on approach than just letting the
telephone company switch you over, but is also more
rewarding. Along with a much cheaper phone bill, your
friends will think you are some kind of computer genius.

Installing your VoIP system is really pretty easy, and for
the most part all VoIP adapters install the same way. If you
have a wireless network router, just think of your Internet
connection as running from your modem, through your VoIP
adapter first, then through your wireless router, and
finally out to your computer. Consult your install guide.

If you do not have a wireless router, then your Internet
connection comes from your cable, or DSL modem, through your
VoIP adapter, and out to your computer. In either case, plug
in your telephone line and finally power everything up. Be
patient as this can take a few minutes to propagate the
first time you connect. See your owners manual.

The easy way to get your whole home wired for VoIP is to buy
a wireless whole house VoIP phone system with the VoIP
router already built into the telephone. Broadband telephone
companies like Packet8 offer these phones at a discount when
you sign up for service and continue to sell additional
compatible wireless handsets as needed.

Another approach is to run the phone cord from your VoIP
adapter that would normally plug into your telephone, out to
your network interface box outside, commonly referred to as
the phone box. Unplug the phone companies line and plug in
your own. This will connect all the phone jacks in your home
to the VoIP Service.

When you wire your home for VoIP with the network interface
box, make sure to put up a sign to insure the telephone
company does not plug their line back in. If they do, it
could damage your VoIP adapter. If you have a newer home,
you may already be equipped with a system to connect your
broadband phone service to the whole house.

Daymon Hoag is the Editor for Cheapest Service and provisioner of VoIP Broadband Phone Service