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Internet Phone Service Comes To Your Living Room
(ARA) - By now you have heard of VoIP, or Internet phone. But is it really
something for the average consumer?
In short: If you care about saving money, the answer is yes.
This new technology is much easier than it sounds. You have regular phone
numbers, use regular phones and dial regular numbers. You can make and receive
calls to and from any phone in the world, just like you do now. Set-up is
simple. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection and an adapter that you
plug into your cable or DSL modem and you're set.
The niftiest part of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) that it reduces home
telephone bills by about half, or by hundreds of dollars every year.
VoIP has been around for years. Back in the late '90s the techno-wizards were
talking across the Internet to other computer users, buying special microphones
and loving the science of making it all work. But just like the Internet itself
went mainstream, now VoIP has too.
The bottom line -- Internet phone service is now as good as your
"regular" phone line. It is easy to install, includes those important
extras like voice mail and caller ID, and the high-speed Internet connections
necessary are widely available throughout America. Best of all, you don't pay
for all of those added features, and it leverages the high-speed Internet access
line you already have.
Cutting your phone bill in half is no exaggeration. Prices can be found in the
mid $20s per month of unlimited phone service. The best similar offering from a
traditional phone company selling a month of unlimited long-distance and local
calls is $50 per month. And they charge extra for voice mail and caller ID. And
by the time you're done with taxes and fees, that $50 a month is up to $70.
There are several heavily funded VoIP companies out there - most wanting to
attract the lucrative small-business market. But the real innovations are coming
from some smaller companies who are targeting the home user. These companies are
relying on superior service, innovative ideas and cost savings to win new
business.
One such company, called SunRocket (www.SunRocket.com) offers an entire year of
home service for $199 -- with no "gotchas" -- no hidden charges,
activation fees, contracts, taxes, shipping and handling or other
"surprise" charges you find on other phone bills. This one-year
package is a first for the industry - and the rate is less than $17 per month.
SunRocket was started by two telecom executives who left MCI to "build a
better phone company" and saw this new technology as a way to do just that.
There are now over 400 companies selling VoIP services. So when you are ready to
give VoIP some consideration, do not get overly tied up in the details until you
are sure about the fundamentals of the company you are about to buy from. Are
they reputable? Will this be easy to hook up? Are there going to be any hidden
charges? Is there a guarantee? Will they help me if I have questions? With this
much competition, it will be important to keep these fundamentals in view,
because you don't need degree in engineering or put up with poor service if you
want to take advantage of VoIP. VoIP is here. The future is now.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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