VoIP
In today’s world of text, tweet and email a good old fashioned voice call may seem passé, but truthfully, it is at times, the best way to communicate. Fewer and fewer people have a traditional telephone (along with their spendy monthly bills) in their home. So, how do we have a telephone at home without a huge bill to go with it, enter Voice over IP or VoIP.
What is VoIP?
Very simply VoIP is telephone service over the Internet instead of traditional,
dedicated telephone lines. VoIP rides along your Internet connection in the same
way streaming TV, web browsing or Netflix shows does. You do need a few things
to replace your traditional home phone, but not many.
What do I need
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You will need home Internet service, though you don’t need anything special. If your service is working to browse the Internet now, it is capable of running VoIP.
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You will need a VoIP service provider, a good choice for most people is VoIP.ms their pre-paid/pay as you go plan is about $1/month per number and a tenth of a cent per minute, affordable on any budget. VoIP.ms also provides voicemail, music on hold and an easy to use web portal to manage your account.
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You need an IP Phone, An IP Phone looks much like a traditional telephone but it knows how to get your voice out to the real world across the Internet. Phones from GrandStream and Yealink start around $40 on amazon.com.
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OR You need a soft-phone which is a program or APP that, along with a headset, does the same thing as a hardware IP Phone. There are a multitude of soft-phone applications, one that stands out for personal use is linphone. Linphone is available free and will run on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux.
Can I keep the number I have now?
In most cases, yes you can. The process of moving your number is called porting.
If you want to take your existing number to your new VoIP service it is important
that you Do not cancel existing service until after the porting is complete.
Your VoIP provider will have instructions to guide you through porting your number.