Educational Questions & Answers

Can Your PC Hear me Now?

Voice over Internet Protocol - VoIP is the technology that allows you to make phone calls with the use of your home or office computer network. VoIP runs over a linked data network just as the Internet does. The voice signal from your phone is converted by this VoIP technology into a signal that is digitized to travel by Internet. It then is converted back to telephone technology so that a regular phone conversation is possible with any standard telephone number. When you place a phone call by VoIP using your standard phone with a VoIP adapter you hear a regular dial tone and you dial just as if it were a regular call over your telephone line. With VoIP you are sometimes able to call right from your computer using a conventional microphone or telephone.

There are two different approaches to the accomplishment of a VoIP enabled phone call. An adapter installed and connected directly to your Internet connection is one way. If you do it this you, the phone carrier you use sends the call to a VoIP provider. Then the phone call routs over the Internet to the phone company at the other end - the one used by the recipient of your call. Or, you can simply take your favorite headset, costly or cheap - it doesn't matter - and combine it with a microphone and plug right into your computer. When you do it this way you type the phone number on your keyboard and let the cable modem do the dialing for you. All you need to set up VoIP is speed on the Web - broadband, DSL or local area network. Without this you'll need an adaptor to attach to your phone. You can also choose to hook up a standard microphone into your PC or laptop.

Costs for VoIP services vary by provider. Some charge nothing for their services if you're calling people who are also their subscribers. Your provider of voice over Internet Protocol might permit you to choose an area code that is not your local home area code. What this will do is give you free local calls to this area code, which saves on the long distance charges. It can affect the price of calls that people make to you, however, either negatively or positively. If your VoIP offers this service you'd want to choose an area code that is most active for your outgoing as well as incoming calls. There are VoIP providers that charge long distance fees just as the local carriers do - for calls outside your local calling area. Others charge you a flat rate to call anywhere for a predetermined maximum number of minutes.

Who you can call with VoIP depends on which provider you use. You might be only able to call those who have the same provider or you might be able to make a call to anyone you choose anywhere in any country. You can make a VoIP call to a local landline, a cell phone, or a long distance domestic or international call. VoIP even allows conference calls. Whoever you are calling does not need VoIP, an adapter or even a computer. They just need a phone like any other call.

VoIP is digital, unlike the standard landline, and so there are services and features that you can't get with a conventional telephone. If your Internet connection is broadband then you can save yourself the expense of an additional phone line for calls. VoIP is advantageous because it can save you the cost of a landline and with the right provider can save you long distance charges. Some disadvantages of VoIP are that you may not be able to call out during a power or cable outage, and you may not have a direct 911 connection. You also may not have any directory assistance or white page listing.

Is VoIP Vital?

VoIP, which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, is the latest technology for phone conversations, letting you call from your high speed Web connection and your computer. The VoIP is used to convert your voice signal so that it can travel across your online connection and then convert back to standard phone signal so you can talk to the person at the other end. With VoIP you can have a telephone conversation that mimics those you've had for decades. When you use your phone to make the VoIP enabled call it sounds just like it always did - dial tone as ever - and you call just as you always did - dialing the number. You might also be able, depending on your provider, to make that call right from your computer with the use of some cheap mic or your everyday ordinary phone.

There are two options for calling by VoIP. The first is to install an adaptor to your broadband Internet connection. This way the call would actually go through your local phone carrier to a provider of VoIP. The call goes out over the Internet to the local phone carrier of the person you are calling to have the call completed. Another way you can use VoIP is to plug a headset with microphone into your PC or laptop and then dial from your keyboard and route it through your cable modem. To get your VoIP telephone connection active you'll need the use of a cable modem or other high- speed connection such as local area network or DSL. You can directly connect a telephone directly to the phone adaptor or buy an inexpensive microphone and hook it up directly to the computer.

There is no standard VoIP service price. Each provider has its own charge. Some may even let you call other of its providers for free. Your VoIP provider may also offer you an area code of your own at no long distance charge. If you choose an area code elsewhere than your local one those calls, just as your home area calls, will be free of charges for long distance. The only problem, of course, would be if most of your callers are local. This could leave them with long distance charges to call you. Just be careful which area code you choose, with consideration for your consistent callers.

Who you can call with VoIP depends on which provider you use. You might be only able to call those who have the same provider or you might be able to make a call to anyone you choose anywhere in any country. You can make a VoIP call to a local landline, a cell phone, or a long distance domestic or international call. VoIP even allows conference calls. Whoever you are calling does not need VoIP, an adapter or even a computer. They just need a phone like any other call.

Because of the digitization of VoIP it offers some things that standard phones don't. If you have broadband for your Web connection then you get to save the money that you have been spending on your phone line and service. What's good about VoIP is that it can save you phone service costs as well as long distance fees. What's bad about it is that you might not be able to make a call if the power goes out and you might not be able to call 911. Directory assistance and the standard residential and business white page listings might not be offered either.

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Can Your PC Hear me Now?