Friday, June 27, 2008

Broadband : An Introduction to Broadband Phones

By Ray Lam

Broadband phones are becoming more mainstream. There are articles whether broadband phone service reached a tipping point or not. What is clear, though, is that phone service delivered over the public internet is the future of telecommunications.

Broadband phones make international calls more economical. Using the voice in data mode through the Internet allows anyone with the proper Internet bandwidth and the infrastructure to make international calls more affordably than they could with traditional phone companies.

All of this happens in a fraction of a second but many issues can arise to degrade the broadband phone service quality. A slow connection, bad phone, over-utilized bandwidth and a bad service provider can all degrade the quality of the phone call.

While broadband phone service uses VoIP not all VoIP is using broadband phone service, at least in the traditional sense. Companies with multiple office can communicate using VoIP over direct connections or over the public Internet. Even though between the remote offices they are communicating over VoIP when a call is made outside the company they can still use regular phone service (PSTN or T-1 service). This allows them to take advantage of Voice Over IP without the detriments of broadband phone service.

There are usually significant cost savings by using broadband phone service that can alleviate the negative effects of service quality. For the general consumer this might be an acceptable trade-off. But a commercial enterprise might not want to accept this risk.

Not techie? You don't have to be. Most broadband phone companies will send you a broadband phone adapter or DTA that you can install yourself in about five minutes or less. They even have online diagrams for those who want a visual interpretation, not to mention tech support. Just a few snaps of a couple wires, and sometimes a quick phone call and you're on your way to money saving bliss. Still not convinced? Then just give that computer geek you know a call to help you set it up. Once you see it done, it's so easy you'll never forget.

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