Your next phone may connect to the internet instead of a phone line.  The internet phone offers an alternative means of communication available today that can significantly reduce cost and provide small business with tools that before were only available to large companies and the scientific community.  While each of the internet phone providers has services with a cost, there are some that have plans with no cost at all, just a little investment in time and the use of a computer.  With a little more time and small monetary investment those capabilities can be integrated into your businesses communication capabilities.

I think nearly everyone has heard of Voice over IP or VoIP for short by now.  It is an internet protocol that has been around since the early 70’s, that routes voice over the internet.  Many of us have heard of commercial companies that offer these services, like Vonage.  But how many of us are aware of what companies like Google, AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others are doing with this technology?  They have launched a quiet revolution in the voice over IP service industry.  Each of these companies offer some form of free internet calls between their customers.  Some have an alliance that shares customer base to make calls.  All of them offer chat, user-to-user calls, and some offer conference calls and video calls.  There are also some providers that offer “real” phone numbers with a gateway to the public switched network for a fee. 

The most basic form of the VoIP technology requires a PC or laptop with a microphone and speakers and a reliable internet connection like DSL or broadband (cable).  Dial-up connections do not have the necessary bandwidth to support a VoIP connection.  There are improvements that can be made to the basic setup by adding a headset and webcam.  To take the technology to the next level you need an internet phone or a device to interface your existing phone to the computer.

While this technology has its pluses, there are some negatives you should be aware of too.  We have already mentioned that dial-ups can not support a VoIP connection.  Having a high speed internet connection with no bandwidth available can also be a problem.  If you have a satellite internet provider, the additional latency may cause other problems like “jitter”, “echo”, and packet loss.  These issues are not restricted to satellite connections, but are more prevalent.  Conventional phones are connected to the public switched network.  Those phones usually work under the worst conditions.  In the event of a power outage the internet phone may not work without a generator or alternate power source.  Sending faxes can also be a problem, depending on the provider.  Many providers do not have an adequate codec to support fax.

 This technology can offer small businesses and individuals with a capability that can reduce their cost or make possible a service that was not available before.  Careful examination of this technology is worth the effort.  The internet phone may not be suitable for all businesses but for those that depend on communications it is worth looking into.  It is a technology to keep your eye on.