VoIP services can be broken down into 2 types, which are business and residential.

Before companies like Vonage made it into our home, businesses were already using VoIP for their phone service. The reason for this was that VoIP can very complex to manage, but the long term cost savings to the business was substantial due to the money they saved from dropping traditional phone service (POTS).

Advances in the user friendly technology has allowed the technology to be brought into your home if high speed Internet is available. The reason residential Voip did not catch on quick was that for residential customers, traditional phone service was not all that expensive compared to what VoIP was at the time. Today though, the cost of having VoIP is much cheaper than traditional phone service and you can get many more services as well. VoIP for small business can be very affordable now as well and with a hosted service, there is no requirement to maintain a techie on staff.

More on residential voip for your home phone needs. I cover business Voip HERE if you would like to read up more on that. If you wish to do some comparison between your current service and VoIP services available, then CLICK HERE.

Obviously, people want the best quality service with a cost effective advantage over it’s competition. If we talk in terms of telephone calling long distance or local, then VoIP is comparatively more preferable than the traditionally used circuit based telephony system. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) takes analog voice signals, converts the analog to digital, then compresses the signal in preparation for transmission using Internet Protocol. This compressed voice data is in the digital form and is sent in discrete packets using IP (Internet Protocol). VoIP Residential phone service allows the residential customers to use their Internet connection to make voice phone calls. This phone service is rapidly gaining in popularity and market share, as it provides a variety of features for users.

Features like caller ID, hold, call transfer, call waiting and repeat dialing usually cost extra with landline phone service whereas, they are in-built in VoIP. For add-on features like three-way dialing, call forwarding, call filtering or sending calls directly to the voice mail, the service providers may charge some extra fees, but typically this is also included with most packages. The VoIP users can also check their voice mails over the web or can attach messages to an email sent to their PDA or PC. Some other nice features like automated recording of phone calls, video conferencing, messaging option are also available for the VoIP users.

Another feature of VoIP provides soft phones in which a software application loads the VoIP services on the desktop or laptop. Some even create an interface like a telephone with which you can make VoIP calls anywhere in the world through a standard broadband Internet connection.

Advantages of Residential VoIP Phone Service

• One of the major advantages of VoIP is that the telephone calls made through Internet do not charge any extra other than the Internet access charges which is in the same way that an individual does not have to pay for sending and receiving emails through Internet. Long distance calls are generally cheaper using VoIP compared to standard phone line. Thus, Residential VoIP phone plans helps in reducing the monthly bills.

• There are now VoIP cordless and corded phones available, so after getting Internet access, you can place a VoIP call from anywhere you go.

• VoIP market is increasing day by day and so, a number of hardware products are released supporting the VoIP service.

The following is required for using a Residential VoIP:

Broadband Internet Connection- VoIP calls are routed to their destination through the broadband Internet connection. Most of the Residential VoIP plans have a minimum speed so; it is necessary to make the connection faster for accurate and fast transmission of voice data.

Adapter (VoIP or Analog Telephone Adapter)- Our regular phones can be used with a home VoIP service plan, but it is advisable by the service providers to use adapter as it ensures the call quality. This adapter costs about $50 each and sometimes even less if you opt for a second-hand adapter

Telephone- Telephone is used in this service but, you can also use a headset and microphone connected to a computer.