VoIP Phone Services: Vonage
Vonage is one of the VoIP phone services that is best known as a low-cost and accessible internet telephone. VOIP is a method where audio from a user at one end of the conversation is transmitted over an internet connection to a user at the other end.
Similar to e-mail and instant messaging, since this service is provided through the internet the associated costs are much lower than it would be over the regular telephone network. Monthly calling plans in North America are purchased for around $20 (e.g. 500 minutes of outbound calling anywhere in N.A.) to $30 (unlimited in N.A.) Costs per minute for overseas calling are also much lower than traditional phone services.
This product is similar to Skype, which is another service that is used to transmit audio via the Internet. In Skype, the user is typically interacting while stationed at their computer and has an interface which combines audio and video with instant messaging and other features (e.g. games.) They are also usually contacting other Skype users who are also stationed at their computers, or must pay a small per-minute fee to dial ‘regular’ phone numbers.
However, with Vonage the user is interacting in the traditional methods they are used to, i.e. picking up a phone and dialing the phone number they are trying to connect with, or answering the phone when it rings. The Internet aspect of the conversation takes place ‘behind the scenes’, with the telephone connecting to a router, modem or other device, which is then connected to the internet.
Vonage users are known to experience issues with call quality, particularly when using their internet bandwidth for other purposes (e.g. downloading or uploading music/video) while talking over their Vonage device. The most common incidence of poor call quality is a complete lack of sound, not being able to hear what the other participant in the conversation is saying – or if anything has been said at all. This is a particularly frustrating experience, but can often be remedied by decreasing the bandwidth load, hanging up and calling the person again.
Another common occurrence is very loud static, which again is sometimes remedied by calling the person again. For this reason Vonage is not usually recommended for business or professional uses. Technical support for Vonage is reached by their 800-number, although paradoxically it is often difficult or impossible to receive this help when it is needed (as the phone and/or internet problems may preclude the user from using their phone.) It is also particularly troubling to ‘diagnose’ the problem by telephone, as there are usually steps involved that necessitate re-starting your router / modem, which terminates the support call and makes any inbound/outbound calls impossible for a short period in the best scenario. In a worse scenario, if the troubleshooting methods disrupt the internet connection or Vonage device connection to a greater degree, the user then has no method to re-establish contact with technical support.
As with other VoIP systems it is recommended that it not provide your sole source of telephone contact, for such situations as described above, or more urgent emergency/safety reasons. Vonage stores information in its databases relating your phone number to a physical address in case of such emergencies where 9-1-1 can then be alerted of your address (a service built in to traditional land-line service.)
However, with Vonage this address that 9-1-1 would be alerted to may not be the correct address if it hasn’t been entered accurately, or been updated if the user has moved. The reason people use Vonage in spite of any quality issues and technical difficulties is particularly because of its low price, as well as its large presence / monopoly in the market.
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VoIP Phone Services – The Technology
In today’s technology, VoIP (voice over internet protocol) has been steadily on the climb to where more people are starting to use it more and more everyday. VoIP phone services are expanding at an unbelievable rate. What is it all about? What is the technology behind this new service?
What it’s all about is that you can get the same, if not better quality long distance phone calls and in most cases, not pay a penny for the calls. Making international phone calls can ruin a person’s finances while they’re overseas away from their loved ones, but this relatively new service is changing all of that.
How it works is in the name. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. Which basically means that your phone call is not going over the regular phone line or electrical lines, instead they travel through the internet. If you know anything technical about the internet, you know that only data is sent through the internet, but like the way you watch videos on YouTube and listen to music the sounds and images are changed into digital signal and then changed back once it reaches it’s destination.
If you think that because the sounds of your voice needs to be altered before being sent and then back again causes a delay in the person on the other end hearing your voice, think again. The technology is so advanced that the transferring of it all takes a less than a second, so if were to talk to someone and didn’t tell them that you were using the internet, they won’t even know the difference.
if you have a microphone built-in to your computer or laptop, you are ready to use the service once you sign up with a provider. If you don’t have one, then you can either buy a external mic for the computer or some accessories that is VoIP capable to hook up a standard phone to the computer.
If that’s not enough for you, then get yourself a webcam and you and your loved ones can see each other as well.
Do you really care how the technology works? probably not, what you do do care about is that you can make clear quality long distance phone calls for just about nothing with VoIP phone services.
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