VoIP, short for Voice Over Internet Protocol, is an alternative way to place phone calls using the Internet as opposed to a traditional phone line. The technology has slowly been gaining public acceptance over the past ten years. With widespread availability of broadband Internet connections opening the way for the amount of bandwidth needed to support VoIP, more and more people are gaining interest in the service. With the additional government requirement to offer the 911 emergency service as well, this technology will likely grow in use and in technological advancement in huge bounds over the next decade.
There are many providers of this type of service that you can get for your home. Verizon has a product called VoiceWing. It has additional features such as a call log which displays all the incoming and outgoing calls you have made, an enhanced call forwarding that works on a schedule basis, an address book, simultaneous ring which will call up to 3 numbers at one time, and a do not disturb function that will turn off your ringer. Also, AT&T has a product available in some markets called U-Verse. This is an all encompassing package that includes internet access, VoIP phone service, and television service as well.
VoIP service is subject to the same issues as most internet access accounts, so you should be aware of those potential problems before entering into this new technology. Unlike traditional phone lines that stay active during a power outage, without a reliable and full uninterpretable power supply along the entire stream of use (to include you and your service provider), you could lose phone connectivity during a power outage. Also, users should be aware of latency and jitter which will affect the performance of every phone call. Bandwidth will also have an affect on performance. As the internet usage in general increases and larger files are in more widespread use, bandwidth will shrink and with it, performace could degrade.
I, even though I consider myself very tech savvy, have not yet embraced this technology. The primary reason for this is the need for redundant systems in life in my opinion. It is always good to have a backup plan even for the most simple things. The house my wife and I recently purchased is wired for FiOS which can deliver our internet, TV, and phone service if we so desire. We instead chose to break the services up in case on of them fails and that has proven to be a good choice for us. We use a traditional phone service through Verizon however our cable and internet are serviced through Comcast. On occasion, when it rains, our phone service goes out and this has not been fixable by Verizon. I would hate to imagine what would happen if we lost phone, TV, and internet all in one day. Would we survive?
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