First of all, unless you're a gadget lover who had the skinny on VOIP long before most people had even heard of it, it's probably a great idea for you to know what VOIP is! With all the acronyms flying around these days, sometimes it's hard to know just what a set of initials stands for. VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. VOIP often masquerades by other names as well, such as: IP Telephony, Internet telephony, and digital phone.

Now that you know what VOIP stands for, I'm sure you want to know what it is exactly. VOIP is the latest, hottest trend in telephone service. VOIP makes it possible to have voice conversations over the Internet through the use of Internet phones.

Now this ability to have conversations via your computer has many advantages. One is that it makes it easy for business people to stay connected and in touch. VOIP technology also has the advantage of giving people from around the globe an opportunity to talk directly for generally much less than long distance charges would be. The savings on telephone charges alone make VOIP highly attractive to many people.

While these are great advantages, there is a downside. Because of its newness, VOIP technology is not quite as good overall as ordinary telephone service. Many people who use Internet telephony complain about the reception they get. This technology is rapidly improving, though, and some VOIP providers already have pretty darn good equipment out there.

Too, unless your digital telephone is directly connected to a landline phone company, you will be at the mercy of power outages. There's also a problem with Internet providers going down and leaving you stranded without telephone service. So many experts recommend that you keep a landline or cell phone along with your Internet phone. This, of course, pushes up costs which makes VOIP telephones less desirable to many folks.

Another downside to VOIP technology that's very important to know about is that it is susceptible to identity theft. Because many VOIP service providers do not have secure lines-yet-your calls can be listened to by people you aren't aware are listening in.

It's a little like the old days when the telephone was first invented and mass produced. People called through what were call “party” lines that meant anyone could listen—and they did. We humans just can't resist eavesdropping. Today, though, this can also make it easy for those unscrupulous, well, thugs to rip off your personal and confidential information. So when choosing a VOIP service provider, you want to be sure you're getting the most secure line as possible.

And just like when the telephone was first invented, VOIP technology will take some time to perfect. But it is technology that's here to stay. As people get busier and are attempting to multi-task everything, being able to have a telephone conversation while you continue to work on your computer, all in one simple package, is just too good to resist. So the one thing you can count on is that in a year or two, VOIP telephones will be practically as common as cell phones—and probably with equipment and service plans available that are as good as cell phone manufacturers and service providers have now.

 Everywhere you turn these days, you are bombarded with some company claiming how superior their VoIP solution is for home use. You go into Best Buy and they are promoting one VoIP service, you go into Circuit City, they are promoting another one, then you get VoIP offers with your cable TV bill, your credit card statements, and even with your bank statement! How do you wade through all this marketing hype to find the truth about which VoIP service is best for you?

Although to the tech-savvy consumer it is obvious, it is not obvious to all as to one of the very first things you need to have a good VoIP phone service at home, and that is a solid and reliable high-speed Internet connection. The VoIP carriers don't even mention that but rather they assume that you already have that and that the high-speed Internet service you have is solid and reliable. There is your first problem, which may disqualify you from having anything more than total frustration if you try to switch to VoIP.

Using VoIP means that you are making and receiving telephone calls from your high-speed Internet connection. This cannot be done using a dial-up connection, which makes almost no sense at all anyway. If your best option for high-speed Internet is satellite, you should also hang up thoughts of using VoIP since satellite can barely accommodate high-speed data, let alone voice communications. If you currently have satellite for your high-speed connection, you already know what I mean, I don't even think about it for VoIP.

So let's say you don't use dial-up or satellite. Take a hard look at your high-speed Internet connection and evaluate it. Is it rock solid? Is it reliable? Keep in mind that this is going to be the core and foundation of your VoIP service, and if your high-speed connection is flaky or just barely marginal in terms of "high speed", your VoIP experience is going to be poor in best case. And this is not the fault of the VoIP provider you choose, since they have less than zero control over the quality of your Internet connection.

Beyond that, look at price and features. Don't pay a higher price because there are a load of features available that you will never use. The basic features of VoIP are unlimited calling within the continental US, voice mail, and call waiting. Do you really need more features than that? If so, you should take a long hard look at your requirements and determine how much extra you will be paying for those extra services, especially comparing against how often you will use them. More often than not, you will find that those additional services are not worth the extra that you will pay for them.

Like anything else, evaluate what you are spending your money on. Are you implementing VoIP to save money, or are you implementing technology for the sake of technology? When you consider that your traditional telephone line from the phone company is costing you about $25 per month just for dial tone, and that a good VoIP service can be obtained for under $17 per month for dial tone and all the long distance calls you care to make, your decision about VoIP starts to become quite clear. Try it, and you may discover that this is something you should have implemented a long time ago!

Every business moves forward cutting its running costs. It is often the only way to be competitive on the market as rising the prices to reach the profitable margin may result in losing the considerable market share. Have you ever considered starting cutting your running costs from your communication expenses?

 Choosing the VoIP phone service provider is one of the most crucial tasks. Certain factors must be kept in mind while making the final decision.

1. Quality of service - A hassle free service would give you and your customers a sound sleep! So you must ensure that the quality of service is free of common problems like jitters. The best way to check the quality is to ask for a live test of the call.
2. Support service - One should look around for a provider giving 24×7 online support in order to ensure smooth working of daily operations and quick resolution of problems.

In this day and age of changing communication needs, switching over to VoIP services is definitely the most viable and profitable option.