VoIP Phones - what you should know about

There’s a revolution taking place. But instead of guns and artillery being used on the front lines, the weapons these days are all linked to audio-communications equipment. Fortunately no lives are being lost, but big and small companies alike are facing the fear of going under if they don’t adapt to new IP technology. Voice Over Internet Protocal technology or VoIP is fast becoming the system of choice in big and small businesses, as VoIP vendors are on the brink of overwhelming the market with the newest whiz-bangs and gizmos that make placing a phone call easier and less expensive than ever before.

VoIP equipment allows you to make telephone calls using a data network like the internet or a LAN line for broadband transmission. The VoIP equipment provided by an IP phone company converts analog voice signals to data so individuals can speak to anyone with a regular phone number using a VoIP phone. When placing a call using a VoIP phone, the user will typically hear a dial tone and dial just like they always have.

Individuals using VoIP equipment are quickly discovering that using a VoIP phone to make phone calls can potentially lower their monthly phone service bills and add features to their communications systems that just aren’t available with traditional “old fashioned” phone service. The leading manufacturers of VoIP equipment like Vonage of Vodavi provide a VoIP phone that integrates with existing VoIP telephone systems.

VoIP vendors are making bushel-full of profits by marketing the fact that a VoIP phone can be deployed anywhere with a high-speed Internet, LAN or WAN connection. VoIP equipment can be in your building or hundreds of miles away. Thus, VoIP equipment provides you the ability to create remote workstations virtually anywhere, yet allows VoIP phone users to be fully integrated as part of the in-house communications system.

When it comes to profits, the worldwide VoIP equipment market has increased exponentially since its introduction in 2004 (total $452 million) to nearly double that in 2006. Additionally, the market grew 13 percent over the prior quarter of 2006 and is projected to grow from an annual revenue of $1.3 billion in 2003 to $4.8 billion in 2007.

Typical features of a VoIP phone include:
- The ability to directly dial associates by their extension number
- When calls are routed via the IP network, toll charges can be avoided, thus saving money
- The ability to monitor other stations in use, without being on-site
- The ability to take and transfer calls among peers, whether the VoIP phone is on-site or at a remote site
- The ability to freely relocate the VoIP phone anywhere on the LAN or Internet without reprogramming the phone or VoIP equipment, just plug it in and press the key to automatically reconnect to the in-house communications system.

VoIP technology may be the wave of the future, but VoIP vendors know that VoIP equipment in today’s market place means big profits as IP Phone Companies go head-to-head with conventional phone corporations as they overhaul the way they do business.