Traveling with VoIP

VoIP Features

The vast array of features that VoIP has to offer allows the technology to be used in a myriad of ways. One advantage VoIP telephony has over traditional phone service is its ability to travel with you. By this, we mean that with VoIP you can travel locally or internationally and keep the same number, move house and have no break in service or simply go on vacation and have your same number and features. Cell phones can potentially fill this niche, however it is expensive to have a service that will work internationally and when moving house or going on vacation there is no guarantee that there will be coverage at your new location.

VoIP offers a number of features that not only allow you to travel but will make it an advantage to take your VoIP phone with you rather than say a cell phone or pay those expensive hotel rates. Below we will introduce a few of these features.

VoIP Features

First, you must find a plan that that has the travel global feature. Use ouradvanced search to see all the Service Providers that support this feature. This feature, allows you to take your IP ready phone or ATA and plug it into any broadband connection around the world and you will have the same service and features you are accustomed to at home.

This can be extremely useful to you when visiting family abroad as I do. I take my VoIP phone with me and stay in touch for free. Having the same phone number also means that you can easily be reached and there are no surprise phone charges for the people who call you. Not something you are likely to see with a cell phone plan.

For business users Call transfer is an extremely beneficial feature. This allows you to transfer a call you have already answered to another number. Effectively you are taking your office network with you. Again this feature is not available with your standard Cell phone but does came as standard with most VoIP plans.

PC to Phone or sometimes referred to as softphone can be a cheaper alternative or more convenient than traveling with an ATA or an IP ready phone. A simple software download and you can turn your PC into your telephone. You will still have all the features of VoIP but you will use your laptop to make and receive calls. For business travelers you are almost guaranteed a phone service from anywhere in the world, excellent value for money at $10 a month.

The above features are network features in that they depend upon the Service Provider you choose. However, the introduction in recent years of the IP ready phone, which has the ATA built in, offers consumers a whole host of new features and applications. The Video Phone is one such application that is becoming more and more common place. Video over cellular networks such as TDMA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE or even 3G networks have proved problematic. Only when using 3G networks is it realistically possible and that then depends on the number of people sharing your wireless bandwidth. If you take into account the size of 3G cell phones, video becomes impractical. With VoIP, as you are using a broadband internet connection, you are guaranteed the bandwidth to have good resolution video.

There are many broadband internet solutions for hotels so actually getting access to the internet while you are traveling should not be an issue.

VoIP is expanding at an exponential rate and with its protocol well defined, it promises the integration that has been promised but has never been realized with the cell phone industry. New standards like WI-MAX are well suited to VoIP and several service providers have been testing their service using this new standard. The future of VoIP is well assured, and perhaps it won’t be long before you are carrying your IP ready phone rather than a cell phone and battery charger.

This article highlights some of the many benefits of having a VoIP broadband phone service. Find the best rated VoIP providers and start saving today.

Choose VoIP Service and Reduce College Costs

Saving with VoIP

Are you a parent who has a son or daughter about to enroll in college or already there and concerned about the spiraling costs of sending them to college? If so then continue reading, this article could saveyou almost $500 a year on average.

Simply replace your regular phone service with a VoIP broadband phone plan and let it subsidize some of those high college costs. The vast array of features with this technology will also help make life easier for your family during your son or daughter's transition to further education.

It is not difficult to see why VoIP is experiencing such rapid growth and popularity. A regular phone service bill when you have children away from home can easily reach over $100 per month. For less than $20 per month you can get an unlimited long distance VoIP phone plan to anywhere in the US and Canada. This is all you pay each month, all long distance calls you make are free of charge and some VoIP service provider plans even include free international calling to specific countries.

VoIP Features

So what about that vast VoIP feature set? Well there are many features available with this technology, most of which are provided free of charge. The following paragraphs discuss a few of the useful features when your children "leave the nest".

One of the most appealing features is referred to as "Virtual Numbers". With this your children can call you free of charge even if you are a long distance phone call away. No more expensive collect calls on your monthly phone bill!

For example, if you live in Seattle and your daughter moves to Boston, simply add a virtual phone number for the Boston area to your VoIP service. When your daughter calls you she dials your Boston number which is a local call for her. Your VoIP service provider knows this is a virtual number so passes the call over the Internet to your main line in Seattle. Some plans include this service free of charge others have a small monthly fee, typically less than $5.

A feature known as "Distinctive Ringing" can be very useful in conjunction with virtual numbers. Select a different ring tone for each of your phone numbers, primary or virtual. This way you will know if your daughter is calling you simply by the ring tone on your phone. Alternatively use "Caller ID with Name" and see your daughter's name and number on your caller ID box. Many VoIP service providers provide this feature free of charge.

Do you find you are still inundated with calls after your daughter has left home? A VoIP feature known as "Call Transfer" allows you to answer the phone call and then transfer it to another phone number, such as your daughter's. If you would like to keep all three of you on the line at the same time, "3-way calling" takes care of this. Many VoIP service providers support this feature and it can be particularly useful if you have two children away from home and you wish to have a 3-way conversation. This saves you all time and helps to keep your family in touch with one another.

This article highlights some of the many benefits of having a VoIP broadband phone service and how effective it can be when members of the family leave home. Find the best rated VoIP providers and start saving today.

What is VoIP, Broadband Phone, Internet Phone and Digital Phone Service?

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also referred to as VoIP Phone, Digital Phone, Internet Phone or Broadband Phone service, is a way of making regular phone calls over a Broadband High Speed Internet connection instead of a regular telephone line. With VoIP, there are no unexplained taxes and service charges, or expensive monthly fees and lots of great features come standard. Unlimited local and long distance calling can be yours for as little as $199 per YEAR! This represents yearly savings of over $500 for many VoIP phone users.

You simply pick up your regular phone, dial a number and talk just like you would with a traditional phone service. It doesn't matter if the person you are calling has a VoIP phone or a traditional phone service as this is all taken care of by your VoIP provider.

To make a VoIP phone call the only additional piece of equipment that you need is an Analog Telephone Adaptor (often called ATA or gizmo). This is supplied by your VoIP provider when you sign up for service and it allows you to make phone calls using your regular telephone.

The only requirement for this technology is a Broadband High Speed Internet Service, such as DSL or Cable, since VoIP service relies on a High Speed Internet connection to work correctly.

Why switch to a VoIP solution? VoIP is cheap, easy to setup, and it is for everyone!

Compare VoIP Provider Solutions

It is hardly surprising that VoIP phone service, often referred to as internet phone service, is taking the world by storm. Promising unlimited local and long distance calling for as little as $199 per YEAR, this represents yearly savings of over $500 for many Broadband phone users. In addition to the substantial cost savings, a VoIP phone service delivers a tremendous array of features all included in the low monthly fee.

The interest VoIP internet phone services are generating both from residential customers and SOHO/SMB businesses has resulted in the emergence of hundreds of VoIP service providers and more of these VoIP providers are offering a VoIP phone solution on a weekly basis.

It is our goal at WhichVoIP.com to review, rate and compare VoIP providers to help you choose the best VoIP solution for your particular phone needs. Our FREE service allows you to:

• Compare residential VoIP service at WhichVoIP.com. Find a local VoIP provider that best meets your needs.
• Understand how VoIP actually works. Read our Guide to VoIP and other VoIP articles to help you gain an understanding of this exciting technology and how it can benefit you.
• Confused by all the terms used to describe the same digital phone service? Depending on the service provider they may refer to their service as VoIP, Digital Phone, Digital Voice, Internet Phone or Broadband Phone. Read our article Digital Phone - Internet Phone - VoIP - Broadband Phone : Confused what to go for?and let us shed some light on this marketing nightmare!
• Find FREE VoIP Service Reviews in our VoIP review section. Best VoIP Provider reviews, posted by other WhichVoIP.com readers.
• Learn about all the VoIP features Broadband Phone service has to offer and how important we rate them.
• Read the latest industry and VoIP service provider news.
• Run our VoIP Speed Test to see if you have a good enough Broadband High Speed Data connection for VoIP. Alternatively use this tool to debug your VoIP issues.
• Buy other VoIP hardware for your VoIP solution such as IP phones, routers etc.
• Get answers to questions you may have on Voice over IP. Check out our VoIP FAQ and VoIP dictionary pages.
• Looking for VoIP service in Canada, Australia or the United Kingdom? We now have a page dedicated to Canadian VoIP service, Australian VoIP service and British VoIP service.