| Those were still the early days of the entry of VOIP in | | | | services such as failure to function during a power |
| the market. Still an esoteric term to many of us. Not so | | | | outage, especially as when your service provider may |
| much today. Once feared and revered as an elite | | | | not offer backup power for these situations. |
| technology that only the experts could make head or | | | | VOIP technology has revolutionised the way calls are |
| tail of, it has of today, become an organic mass | | | | being made and billed around the world. |
| system of means of communication. It would not be | | | | It has made talking to anyone around the world as |
| an overstatement to say that VOIP is leading the way | | | | easy as surfing the internet. and this means of |
| in digital communication. | | | | telephony often costs you nothing more than than the |
| To cut through the rhetoric, what we know is that | | | | rate of a local phone call. |
| VOIP refers to Voice over Internet Protocol. This | | | | Certain things to be kept in mind while using this |
| technology converts spoken sounds into digital signals. | | | | service: Your service provider may charge you for |
| This allows the voice to be transmitted over a | | | | calls outside your area, so make sure to check the |
| network such as the internet. Your voice is transmitted | | | | terms of service for the same. You may also avail |
| as sound data packets across the internet to the | | | | these services at flat rates as offered by some |
| receiver at the other end. The internet should be | | | | providers to be able to make long-distance calls at the |
| broadband or high speed connection. Apart from this, | | | | lowest rates you would have ever imagined. These |
| you will require a cable modem or other means of | | | | services may be availed with either your traditional |
| wireless services, a phone equipped with this facility or | | | | handset phone or with a microphone over the Internet. |
| a special software inside it for this purpose. | | | | Accessibility at economic rates is no more an issue |
| There are also a few minor problems with these | | | | with VOIP. |