In spite of the growing popularity of IP telephony, there are still many people who do not know what a VoIP phone is. Wha5A0t is the difference between a VoIP phone and an ordinary phone?

As far as you are concerned, probably not a lot. You can still use your own landline phone if need be, though in its simplest form there is no VoIP phone handset as such. Just a microphone and speakers will do. All you need is some software which is supplied by the provider.

You can use your normal land-line phone. Just like digital TV requires a box, either set-top or included in the set, VoIP needs a box which you can either buy yourself, or get from your VoIP provider. Once you connect your phone to the box and the box to your internet connection, you have your VoIP phone system using your own phone. Due to the connection speeds involved you have to have broadband or another high-speed internet connection.

Your telephone conversation passes through the internet in packets in the same way as any other file does. As you speak, your analogue voice signal is digitized by the VoIP software into binary form, and the digital stream broken up into small 'packets' which are sent through the internet. These packets each take their own fastest route through the internet, from computer to computer, till they reach their destination. This is the way that all files are sent through IP.

The problem with a streamed signal, such as a VoIP phone conversation, and a packet system, is that the packets do not always arrive in the correct orde5A0r. This is due to the releative amount of internet traffic each packet comes up against, and the fact that they can each take different routes. Also, some packets are lost, or 'dropped'.

Modern software is becoming increasingly better at arranging packets in the correct order (often through slight time delays which allow them to be rearranged) and covering up 'dropped' packets. VoIP phone conversations are therefore more audible now than they were in the early days of VoIP phone systems.

As I said, you can use your computer microphone and speakers to make and receive conversations, but you can also get a dedicated VoIP phone if you prefer. It's all a matter of choice and does not significantly affect the services you can have.

Some of the services supplied free with VoIP phone systems are:

* Caller ID
* Call waiting
* Call forwarding
* Voicemail
* Conference calls
* Call transfer
* Group pick-up

Once you have your box, any calls you make to another VoIP are free anywhere. For calls to non-VoIP phones there is a charge, but this is generally lower than normal land-line charges.

Your phone number relates to the adaptor, so you can take this with you and use it on any computer with fast internet connection. You can also buy a VoIP phone to go with your laptop and make telephone calls anywhere at any time; just as you can with a mobile,55C but at a fraction of the cost, and usually free to any other IP phone. This is an excellent inexpensive solution for businesses with a network of offices all calls between them will be free throughout the world.

Another cool feature is virtual phone numbers. You can get local area numbers allocated to your regular phone number, so that if your family live in LA and you are in New York they can ring your LA local number with their landline and speak to you in New York at local rates. How cool is that!

A VoIP phone is now an attractive option for anyone, both as a cheap alternative to a mobile phone and as a complete replacement for a landline.

Copyright 2006 Peter Nisbet

Over 90% of computer phones (VoIP) are not secure because they use a public known codex (publicly known encryption of sound packets) and a publicly known protocol to transport voice conversations. Therefore, users of these type of services are unknowingly exposing themselves to anyone who wants to listen in or access their confidential information. In addition, because of the public openness, the users computers vulnerability can result in a costly computer crash and total loss of all information.

Peer-to-peer computer phones are on unsecure lines.

There are five areas to address when checking for Security when looking for a VoIP Service Provider. Heres how a VoIP Service should protect your security, whether on dial-up, wireless, satellite, or cable connections.

1. Call Security: A VoIP services audio (your voice) should compress your voice into proprietary encryption packets to travel across the internet, and return back to voice at destination. That particular VoIP service should host proprietary software, and as such, the only on5A8e that can interpret the voice and data contained in those packets.

2. Computer Phone Identity: When your first download and install a VoIP providers computer phone, a confidential phone number and password should be given to protect against unauthorized installation. To protect against unauthorized installation, your computer phones setup process should combine the phone name and hardware data from the PC on which it was installed to create a unique ID string known only to that VoIPs own server. Because of the association between the unique ID with that particular PC, it prevents one person from reconfiguring their VoIP services computer phone to spoof another. It also prevents someone from copying that VoIP services software to another PC and then using it without having gone through the password-protected installation process.

3. Client Server Model: The VoIP service should follow a client-server model. The client is the softphone offered by a particular VoIP service. That particular VoIP services Server should be behind a highly secure proprietary firewall hosted in a professional facility. Any information shared should therefore only be between the client and server of that particular VoIP service. This means, that unlike some peer-to-peer solutions, private information about buddy lists or call patterns, etc., remains entirely confidential.

4. Softphone Setup: Firew5A8alls vary widely and each network configuration may be quite different. When a VoIP services softphone first initializes, it discovers its ability to reach that VoIPs service server, as well as a variety of ports and protocols for placing calls, depending on the results of its discovery. In a strict environment, the VoIP services softphone uses the same path the proprietary firewall already permits for web browsing (typically TCP ports 80 and 443). This allows users to make calls from anywhere without compromising or reconfiguring their own firewalls.

The VoIP services softphone should be able to initiate conversations with that VoIP services server and keep the server updated as to its status. By doing this, no public IP address needs to be setup for the PC running the computer phone. It also enables user flexibility without concern about security or privacy when moving from network to network. The VoIP services computer phone should be compatible with Network Address Translation (NAT) and Port Address Translation (PAT), and the kind of dynamic addressing that is found in wireless hotspots, hotel internet access, and dial-up.

5. Monitoring Capability: A strong security model should include an auditing mechanism to monitor usage and activity. This means that each computer phone should include its own usage log, enabling users to look through their own personal history of inbound, 478outbound, and missed calls. In addition, the VoIP services website should provide users the ability to view all individual phone call charges using the already set up confidential number and password.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Telephony is the process of routing voice conversations over an Internet Protocol network, rather than thr5A8ough traditional circuit-switched telephone lines. The voice information is converted into digital data packets and then transmitted over an IP network, such as the internet, or a local area network.

The main advantage of VoIP is the fact that it is highly efficient, and thus very affordable. The cost of transferring digital information over an IP telephony network is significantly less than that of transferring analog information over a traditional telephone line. Because of this, VoIP users can make long distance and international calls to anywhere in the world, at any time of day, for a fraction of what an ordinary phone company would charge.

Although call quality was originally a problem for VoIP customers, this issue has improved greatly with todays progressing technology. Because of the fact that VoIP traffic goes over a broadband line, there is enough bandwidth available to allow for very good sound quality.

As anyone familiar with telecommunications would probably tell you, VoIP Telephony is revolutionizing the way that people around the world make phone calls. More and more people are seeing the benefits of VoIP, and the number of users worldwide is growing at an astounding pace.

If you have a broadband internet connection, and a touch tone telephone, you are fully equipped to set up your very own broadband phone s461ystem, and start making use of VoIP Telephony to save money on all your long distance phone calls.

For more information on the benefits of VoIP, and how you can start using it to save money on your phone bill, please click here.

Wireless Computer Headsets

Till recently, few options were available to people interested in using cordless headsets with their computers. Dedicated wireless Headsets are available, however they often cost upwards of $200 US putting them out of reach of the average user.

Bluetooth Headsets

Cellular telephone users have long embraced the benefits of Bluetooth Technology for use with their handsets. One of the more popular Bluetooth devices available to Cell phone users are Bluetooth Headsets. Although Bluetooth Headsets were initially quite expensive, the average price has dropped considerably in recent years bringing them within reach of millions of people.

Aside from using Bluetooth Headsets with Cellular Telephones, Bluetooth Headsets can be used just as effectively with computers. All one needs to do is make their computer 'Bluetooth Enabled' and the procedures involved in using the Bluetooth Headset with a computer compare with those used for cellular telephones.

Bluetooth Computer Headsets

There are literally hundreds of different Cellular Telephone Bluetooth Headsets available on the market. Any of these Headsets will work with your computer however end-users are anxiously awaiting the introduction of dedi5A8cated Bluetooth Computer Headsets. Although they haven't hit the market at time of writing, rumours and press releases hint at the imminent arrival of dedicated Bluetooth Computer Headsets.

Price

Initially, one can anticipate that Bluetooth Computer Headsets will be relatively expensive when compared to their 'corded' couterparts. However, as with most computer-related hardware, the price should drop once additional manufacturers release Bluetooth Computer Headsets and competition thrives.

Logically, one could also anticipate that Bluetooth Computer Headsets will be less expensive to manufacture than their cellular telephone headset counterparts due primarily to the fact that a far lesser degree of miniturization will be required. Whereas cellular telephone Bluetooth Headsets are designed to be portable, Bluetooth Computer Headsets will likely be designed primarily for comfort, audio quality and range. Lesser miniturization generally results in lower manufacturing costs which hopefully will be passed on to the consumer.

Expectations

So what can one expect from a Bluetooth Computer Headset? Ideally they'll be light-weight, comfortable, incorporate an integrated boom microphone, be capable of stereo sound and above all, be realistically priced. Furthermore, Bluetooth Computer Headsets should be simple to576 install/use and boast an operating range that encompasses the average user's home or office.

Provided these basic requirements are met, Bluetooth Computer Headsets should prove extremely popular once released and we await their arrival with eager anticipation.

I hear allot about VOIP what is it?

VOIP stands for voice over internet protocol. Basically it means making phones calls over your local area network (LAN) or even across the Internet.

VOIP is normally cheaper than your PSTN thats public switched telephone network i.e. your local carrier.

VOIP is a good choice for businesses as well to save money on long distance calls if they have many satellite offices. VOIP service providers usually have lower fees because they are not a government regulated currently as the phone systems which at one time were a monopoly. VOIP can even be free if you connect directly to another VOIP client.

VOIP routers can send your incoming phone calls to you anywhere thus cutting down on the number of lines and you can be reached anywhere you have a Internet connection.

This and the combination of technologies like WiFi are going to make for one huge network. That voice, data and video will be sent everywhere and from anywhere. With this VOIP technology you have allot more features as well such as Caller ID, Call Forwarding and answering services all from your computer or PDA.

There are some issues to still be worked o496n.

Here are some:

The amount of band with required.

Security issues- what type of encryption should be used and how much is going to slow down the call and network?

This is a exciting and new technology which I will be writing more about.

For those who have never heard about the potential of VoIP, be prepared to radically change the way you think about your current long-distance calling plan. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is very simply, a method for taking ordinary analog audio signals and turning them into digital signals that can be sent over the Internet.

So what? Well, for those of you who are already paying a monthly fee for an Internet connection, this means that you can use that same connection to place free long distance phone calls. This process works by using already available VoIP software to make phone calls over the Internet, essentially circumventing phone companies and their service charges.

Interestingly, VoIP is not an entirely new thing. In fact, a number of providing companies have been around for some time. But it has only been with the more recent explosion of high-speed internet access usage, that VoIP has gotten any attention. Now the major telephone carriers are setting up their own VoIP calling plans throughout the US, another testament to the potential of the technology.

How VoIP Is Used

While there are a number of ways that VoIP is currently being used, most individual callers fall into one of three categories: ATA, IP Phones, and Computer-to-Computer.

ATA or Analog Telephone Adaptor, is the most common way of using VoIP. This adaptor actually allows you to hook up the phone that i5A8s already in your house, to your computer, and then your Internet connection. What the ATA does, is turn the analog signals your phone sends out into digital signals that can be sent over the Internet. Setting up this system is quite simple. It simply requires that you order an ATA (its an adaptor remember), plug the cable from your phone which would normally go into the wall socket into the ATA, and then the ATA gets plugged into your computer, which is connected to the internet. Some ATAs include software that has to be installed on your computer before its ready, but basically it's quite a simple process. Then you are ready to make some calls.

The next type of VoIP usage utilizes IP Phones instead of your home phone. The IP Phone looks just like a normal phone, with all the same buttons and cradle, the only difference is that instead of having a normal wall jack connector, it has an Ethernet connector. This means, that instead of plugging in your IP phone to the wall jack like you would with a regular analog phone, it gets plugged directly into your router.

This option allows you to circumvent your personal computer, and it also means that you will not have to install any software, because its all built in to the handset. In addition, the fact that Wi-Fi IP phones will soon be available, which will allow subscribing callers to make VoIP calls from any Wi-Fi hot spot, make this option an exciting possib5A8ility.

The simplest and cheapest way to use VoIP is through computer-to-computer calls. These calls are entirely free, meaning no calling plan whatsoever. The only thing you need, is the software which can be found for free on the internet, a good internet connection, a microphone, speakers, and a sound card. Except for your monthly internet service fee, there is literally no cost for making these calls, no matter how many you make.

For large companies, VoIP also offers some very unique possibilities. Some larger companies are already utilizing the technology by conducting all intra-office calls through a VoIP network. Because the quality of sound is comparable to and in some cases surpasses that of analog service, some international companies are using VoIP to route international calls through the branch of their company nearest the call's destination and then completing it on an analog system. This allows them to pay local rates internationally and still utilize the same intra-office VoIP network that they would if they were calling someone in the next cubicle over.

Other Advantages of VoIP

While your current long-distance plan covers you for only one location, say calls made from your office, with VoIP, you can make a call anywhere that you can get a broadband connection. That is because all three methods above, unlike analog calls, send the call information via the Internet. This means you5A8 can make calls from home, on vacation, on business trips, and almost anywhere else. Anywhere you go, with VoIP you can bring your home phone along with you. In the same way, computer-to-computer connections mean that as long as you have your laptop and a connection, you're ready to go.

There are also some nifty benefits to having your calls transmitted over the Internet. For example, some VoIP service providers allow you to check your voicemail via your e-mail, while others allow you to attach voice messages to your e-mails.

How VoIP Works

The current phone system relies on a reliable but largely inefficient method for connecting calls known as circuit switching. This technique, which has been used for over 100 years, means that when a call is made between two people a connection is maintained in both directions between callers for the duration of the call. This dual directional characteristic gives the system the name circuit.

If, for example, you made a 30-minute call the circuit would be continuously open, and thus used, between the two phones. Up until about 1960, this meant that every call had to have an actual dedicated wire connecting the two phones. Thus a long distance call cost so much, because you were paying for pieces of copper wire to be connected all the way from your phone to the destination phone, and for that connection to remain constant throughout the call.

Today, how5A8ever, your analog call is converted after leaving your house to a digital signal, where your call can be combined with many others on a single fiber optic cable. While this system is certainly an improvement over the past copper wire system, it is still quite inefficient. This inefficiency is due in part to the fact that the telephone line can't distinguish between useful talking and unneeded silences. For example, in a typical conversation while one person is talking the other person is listening.

Thus the current analog system uses roughly half its space sending useless messages like this silence. But there is also more information, even down to pauses in speech, which under a more efficient system can be effectively cut out rather than wasting the circuit space. This idea of only transmitting the noisy bits of a telephone call and saving a great deal on circuit space, is the basis of Packet-Switching, the alternative method to circuit switching that the VoIP phone system uses.

Packet-Switching is the same method that you use when you view a website. For example, as you read this website, your computer is not maintaining a constant connection to the site, but rather making connections to send and receive information only on an as needed basis (such as when you click on a link). Just as this system allows the transfer of information over the Internet to work so quickly, so also does it work in the VoIP sy5A8stem. While circuit switching maintains a constant and open connection, packet switching opens connections just long enough to send bits of data called packets from one computer to another.

This allows the network to send your call (in packets) along the least congested and cheapest lines available, while also keeping your computer or IP phone, free to send and receive messages and calls with other computers. This way of sending information, not to mention data compression, makes the amount of information which must be transmitted for every call at least 3-4 times less for VoIP than the exact same call in a conventional telephone system. For this reason, VoIP is so much cheaper than conventional calling plans.

The Future of VoIP

While most analysts believe it will be at least a decade before companies and telephone providers make the full switch to VoIP, the potential for the technology's use today is already quite astounding. A report by the Forrester Research Group predicts that by the end of 2006, nearly 5 million U.S. households will be using VoIP phone service. With the savings and flexibility that the technology already offers, and new advances just ahead on the horizon, we can expect those numbers will only increase in the future.

VoIP has brought down the rates for long dist5A0ance and local calling so that many more people are trading in their PSTN telephones for spanking new digital VoIP phones. Since this is a new market there are many companies engaged in furious competition. This brings more services and lower costs to a greater number of people every year.

However, while there are several advantages to VoIP telephones in terms of lower costs and better features, there are the pitfalls of VoIP that need to be considered by everyone thinking of switching over to VoIP.

One of the disadvantages of VoIP is that there can often be delays in hearing from the other end making conversation difficult or confusing when there are echoes. These problems are noticeably absent from PSTN telephones. What happens in a VoIP telephone is that when you speak, your voice is taken as digital data that is compressed before it is sent over the internet. This compressed packet then reaches the other end and needs to be decompressed and converted back into sound waves. What happens is that sometimes because of a slow processor or due to insufficient internet bandwidth, the compression or transmission (or both) can result in delays. In the worst of cases it can even result in packet loss resulting in an "information gap" where what you say never reaches the other end. The typical delay in information processing in a PSTN phone is 10 milliseconds under most conditions. When a VoIP phone goes wrong, 590that delay can increase to a staggering 400 milliseconds.

This sort of problem does not matter for the casual user who is using a free service (not paying a monthly charge to a VoIP telephone company) and the nature of the calls is not critical, as it would be for a business. The problem reaches intolerable proportions when corporations (or even a small group of people) rely on VoIP for their business. Since most corporate networks operate behind a firewall for security reasons, one of the problems with VoIP is that, at present, they are not too friendly with firewalls.

Another problem with using one broadband connection for multiple users with VoIP features is that there is no way to determine which user gets how much bandwidth. This makes it impossible to know the exact requirements in terms of bandwidth versus number of users.

Most of these problems occur only under two circumstances. When the internet connection is too slow (there is no point in using VoIP if you use a dialup connection, you need a broadband connection at a minimum) or there are too many users sharing one broadband connection while operating from behind a firewall.

These are merely technical limitations that most VoIP providers are confident to solve in the neat future.

Free Call Planet allows VoIP calling to 39 countries for free if the call originates from within the USA.

The way to use this internet phone service is by calling one of the so called gateway numbers placed throughout the States. If one lives outside toll free zone for that number then there is naturally a landline or cell phone company charge for calling it - unless one has a domestic or mobile phone plan that covers that. Otherwise, if one lives in the same call zone to which the gateway number corresponds then the call to it is automatically free.

For mobile phone users additional fees from their cell phone providers might apply. On unlimited minutes cell phone plans the call should be free although one needs to be careful not to press the 'send' or 'call' button or retrieve the number from the cell phones directory - after calling the gateway number - otherwise one can be billed the high rates by the given mobile phone provider.

On December 6th, this year - there is also to be released a list of additional 40 or so countries to which unlimited VoIP calling can be done for a flat fee of $10 per month, paid monthly.

Some other details include being able to call only from a pre-specified by user IP or phone number as well as $0.25 per minute charge to most countries not listed in the free call plan and $0.75 per minute to special access countries - when subscribed to their Free Call Planet 558Plus plan.

According to the company the free call plan has no termination point at this time although it is a part of their promotion program and can be withdrawn at any time.

A unique and nice feature of the Free Call Planet service is that it allows originating the calls through regular PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) service. In other words you can make the VoIP calls by using regular phone - no computer or IP phone is needed.

If you are using a VoIP phone then you can make a call in any of these three ways.

ATA Gateway

ATA stands for analogue telephone adaptor. As the name suggests, you can install a device on your existing telephone and use your regular phone for VoI5A8P purposes, even when it is not digital. The handset of your analog phone connects to the ATA, which in turn connects to your computer. Your computer needs to be connected to the internet in order for VoIP to work. The function of the ATA device is to convert the analogue signals of your regular phone into digital signals for use over the internet.

IP Phone

These are special handsets that look like regular phones but they have an Ethernet jack (RJ 45) instead of the regular telephone jack (RS 11). IP Phones are already configured with the required software to work using VoIP. These phones connect to the same device (router) that your computer connects to in order to hook up with the internet.

Peer to Peer (or computer to computer)

This is the easiest way of doing VoIP because it requires neither software nor hardware installation (as long as you have speakers/headphones and a microphone, and your computer is connected to the Internet). There are special services provided by several ISPs that include specific VoIP plans. While it is possible to use VoIP over your existing internet connection, if you truly want good quality and no signal loss with reliable voice connectivity then you must go for a separate VoIP plan instead of riding the back of your present connection. This is because VoIP needs a lot more dedicated bandwidth than is required for general web browsing.

Since all that is ne594eded to make VoIP work is a broadband internet connection, one convenience is that you can carry your IP phone or ATA device with you when you travel so that you never have to pay exorbitant long distance calling charges.

If you have a laptop that you carry with you then you can install a "softphone" in your laptop for VoIP access. A softphone is basically a software that behaves like a phone through a laptop or desktop computer. Some of these softwares even resemble phones in their interface.

VoIP offers significant savings for people and businesses that do a lot of business over their phone lines. The greater your phone bill right now, the more the savings through VoIP.