One may be pleasantly surprised to know that there is a lot of advantages to be had when one uses the Internet to make calls instead of regular landlines and VOIP services are the next big thing in phone technology, after cellular phones. VoIP bypasses traditional phone services by using broadband Internet connections to enable users to make almost free long-distance calls around the world. Most of the big players have jumped into the fray and offer VOIP services to their clients in some form or the other, being included in their voice chat services, also. A few years ago, VOIP services were almost unknown and there were only geeks that spoke to one another using proprietary software on their computers. All that changed with the introduction by players such as Vonage and Skype as well as other consumer-oriented companies, who brought VoIP to the masses in the form of user-friendly and near plug-and-play hardware. Making the switch to VoIP is no big deal and VOIP service providers such as AT&T, CallVantage, Earthlink and more, supply their boxes for free and, only charge cut-throat prices for calls.

VOIP Goes Cellular

VOIP services are now focusing on moving VoIP out into the realm of cellular services and moving away from the home and office. Cellular providers have begun to make hay while the sun is shining on them and cellular services are very useful where Wi-Fi is unavailable. More and more local phone companies are also jumping into the fray and providing their own VOIP services to compete with the bigger names. Also, companies are specializing in providing VOIP services to both the home and business segments.

What is most important is for the VOIP service to provide clear audio quality that should be able to match and exceed the quality of sound available in landline connections. This was one area in which VoIP lagged behind and so was the lack of white page listing as well as lack of 411/911 access, all of which have been dealt with adequately. Another disadvantage to these VOIP services are that in case of power outages, the connection is broken and so, no conversations are possible, with or without a VoIP headset.

Some of the leading VOIP service providers are Vonage, Sunrocket, Packet8, ViaTalk, ECR voice and CallTower. The VOIP services sector is fast changing from being an adapter segment and being slowly sucked into the mainstream of Internet telephony and, further into becoming a mass-market product.

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