VoIP Service Provider

A Little About Voip Providers

A VOIP service provider is analogous to a telephone service provider. They essentially have the same function, but the actual mechanics behind their work is very different. VOIP technology uses the internet to get your voice signals to the other party while regular calls are made through phone lines. This means that for VOIP much less infrastructure is needed because hardware can be plugged into an Ethernet port and the internet is also already readily available. VOIP service providers do maintain their own gateway switches so you can use a VOIP phone to call a mainland line.

Vonage

Vonage is the old man of the VOIP industry and gives some of the best features to its customers. After signing up you get start-up pack that includes a Linksys RT31P2 router/telephone adapter, an installation-and-troubleshooting guide, a user guide, and a card showing how to configure your voicemail. Voage also has a service that sets up a 911 line, in case of an emergency they will know what address to go to. Voicemail, call forwarding and  transfer, caller ID,  three-way calling,  international call block are just someof the free features every account receives. Some critisism has been voices because of Vonage's customer service and the hardships of leaving them, but the large majority of subscribers are happy.

To install you will need to pay about $40 which include the sign-up and activation.  For $24.99 they offer unlimited US and Canadian calls, for $14.99 they allow 500 minutes of calls (above which a 3.99 cents a minute rate is applied). The best part is that these subscriptions don't need contract and of course calls to Vonage subscribers are free. Business plans are $49.99 for unlimited calls or $39.99 for a 1.500 minute package.

Packet8

This provider company is also a sturdy choice as it has already proven itself. It gives many of Vonage's features, although some services like advanced 911are not free. They recently introduced a dual phone adapter though, making it possible to hook up two phones. Start up is very similar to Vonage cost-wise but for the dual line system you pay $24.99 for the first line, but only $9.99 for the second.

Their unlimited plan is only $19.99 so that's great and you can also subscribe to videophone services for $19.95 which probably wont be a problem if you have the near $500 to buy the equipment. European customers can also purchase the unlimited plan for the same amount although they will have a 1000 minute restriction.

These are just some features out on the US market brought up as an example. Many packages are available with separate ones for non-US customers. To find which suits your needs most check out the company websites.