VoIP Broadband Phone

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It is a technology that uses broadband connection to make and receive voice calls. Therefore, VoIP phone is also known as broadband phone. VoIP technology converts your voice into digital signal and transmits it over the internet. The signal is converted back to voice before it reaches the destination.

You can use broadband phone as your primary phone to replace the analog phone line or use it as a second phone at home. Since the voice signal is transmitted over the internet and is considered as data service, VoIP phone service is exempted from long distance fees paid by local phone companies. This means that VoIP service can offer a very attractive rate for long distance and international calls. VoIP broadband phone service also comes with additional service such as caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, conference call, etc. But unlike analog phone companies, broadband phone providers often offer these services for free.

Some VoIP broadband phone providers allow you to choose a virtual phone number. The virtual number can have a country code or area code different from where you live. If you select a virtual number for a region where most of your family, friends or customers reside, they will only be charged for local calls when they call your virtual number.

The main benefit of VoIP phone service is obviously the cost. A VoIP phone line is not only cheaper than an analog phone line, it gives you additional savings to make and receive long distance and international calls. The package of free features (call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID) provided by many broadband phone companies is an additional bonus. If you use a virtual phone number, you can even help your family, friends and customers to save on long distance calls when they call you from other areas or countries.

Certain precautions should be taken when using broadband phone service. VoIP phone relies on broadband internet to transmit the digital signal. If your internet connection is of poor quality, it will also affect the quality of phone calls. In addition, VoIP phone service does not work when there is power outage or when your internet connection is down. The 9-1-1 service provided by VoIP service is also slightly different from traditional phone line because it is not associated with a fixed address. In case of emergency, the 9-1-1 service centre may not be able to determine your location based on your phone number. It is the user’s responsibility to update their current address with the VoIP phone provider to make sure that emergency help can be dispatched to your location promptly.

In summary, VoIP broadband phone provides great savings and many benefits over traditional phone lines when making long distance calls. However, if it is used as the primary phone, certain precautions should be taken. It is a good idea to install a backup power supply or get a cellular phone as a backup. VoIP phone also requires high quality broadband connection. Customers are advised to read more about how this technology works, its benefits and limitations when they choose a broadband phone provider.

Satellite Internet - The Pros and Cons

The arrival of broadband satellite internet has meant that hundreds of thousands of people now have access to high speed-internet. Before that, those living in rural and remote areas only had dial-up to fall back on as cable connections are simply unheard of, and DSL lines still have yet to reach the entire country. Besides that, DSL connections depend on proximity to the central service provider-the farther you are from that center, the less reliable your connection will be. Dial-up still remains one of the predominant methods of connecting to the internet for many rural home dwellers, however, its inherent slowness and the increasing necessity of the internet have made many reconsider. They are now looking to satellite internet. As with any internet connection there are a number of negatives as well as positives to this service. Here is a look at the pros and cons of satellite broadband.

The Cons

Download limit/Bandwidth cap: There some satellite internet companies which do limit how much bandwidth you can use. This means that if you plan on downloading a large amount of media files, some satellite internet companies may not be your best bet. However, that being said, you will be able to download much more than you would using dial-up simply because of the speed.

Network Latency: Because satellite broadband does involve satellites and these orbit thousands of miles above the Earth, in space, there is a problem called latency. Latency has to do with the lag of time that occurs from the time a signal is sent from your computer to the time it is received and processed by the satellite. For gamers and for those who use the internet for video conferencing, satellite internet may not be ideal. Gaming requires that multiple players react quickly to the actions of their colleagues, making synchronization and communication vital. With a latency of even less than a second, normal game playing is disrupted. Again, however, there have been and continue to be many improvements with latency, and soon it will be negligible.

Weather: Service can be affected by heavy storms. Wind and rain can degrade performance significantly, as occurs with satellite TV. However, recent improvements have been made as satellite providers are using different frequencies that are less prone or even unaffected by weather conditions; before satellite internet utilized KU band frequencies, this is now gradually changing as technology continues to upgrade.

The Pros

Satellite internet is infinitely faster than dial up. Despite issues with latency and weather, it beats dial-up by far in terms of ease of access, speed, and even affordability. It's also available everywhere that has a view of the southern sky. And that's truly anywhere in the world. Satellite internet can be had in the Amazon jungle, in the Mongolian desert, and even on top of Mount Everest. Its ubiquity means that those who live in more remote areas don't have to remain locked out from the latest technologies. What's more improvements in technology mean that soon latency and weather won't even be issues.

The Reality of What Satellite Internet Can Do

When location is not a deterrent, it makes it easy to have that connection at the summerhouse or in the city for work and play. Satellite Internet can make a big difference for people that use their connection for work, since work can be done from virtually anyplace, spending the summer at the cabin can be a great idea instead of a week or two.

It is possible to have this type of connection, because satellite Internet does not work on the same principals as other broadband service. Instead having a small satellite dish that sends and receives data to a large satellite dish located in the southern sky is the way this Internet connection works and that means it has the ability to be connected anyplace that has a clear view of the southern sky.

The reality is if there is electrical power and a view of the southern sky then it is possible to have a broadband connection that has download speeds of 1.0 megabytes per second to work or play on the Internet. This kind of reality has never been available prior to satellite service in rural areas or areas where the power and telephone lines have not reached. Internet service would have been impossible for the computer user in these remote areas unless the telephone lines had reached them and they could use a dialup Internet service. That rustic cabin that provides lasting summer memories did not include the memory of surfing the web and if it had the surfing would have been done with dialup.

This is an always on connection as long as there is electrical power because the way this service works is by sending data packets an estimated 22,300 miles above the equator to a geo-stationary satellite. This satellite then processes the data and sends a data packet back to the satellite dish and to the modem. These data packets are sent and received in approximately .048 of a second.

This type of speed means that pictures load immediately, with no pixel by pixel view of them and no wait for web pages no matter how intricate the web design is what can be expected from broadband service. Even in a remote location satellite service will have this kind of connection speed, where other services could not be used no matter where it is located, even in the city

Mobile Broadband Or Fixed Line Broadband

Are you toying with the idea of a change from your fixed line broadband to mobile broadband? Do you know enough about the difference between the two to be able to make a sound judgment call?

In this article we aim to make it easier for you to decide by comparing such things as speed, reliability, cost, downloading options and ease of access.

Which is better for broadband speed?

Mobile broadband speeds depend on the accessibility of 3G network coverage.

The speed of landline broadband connections, on the other hand, mostly hinges on how far you live from your local exchange.

3G speeds currently range between 1.8Mbps and 7.2Mbps. These speeds are very competitive with some landline broadband connections but vary considerably, dependent upon the network being used and the coverage footprint.

As with landline broadband, you cannot set too much store by advertised speeds and mobile broadband connections become far slower outside the 3G coverage areas.

If your present fixed line broadband connection is faster than 5 or 6 Mbps, it is doubtful at the moment whether you would be able to improve on that with a similar mobile connection.

Which is cheaper?

At the bottom end of the mobile broadband deals range, prices start from £10 a month for Three Mobile's basic package with its 1GB limit, comparing favourably with several budget land line broadband packages.

At the other end of the spectrum, on-the-go broadband is for the most part more expensive than say a typical fixed line broadband provider like Virgin Media broadband, which offers a broadband, TV and phone bundle for £30 a month.

Which is best for downloading?

If you are a prolific downloader, landline broadband should definitely be the broadband of your choice.

Mobile connections at present have relatively small monthly usage limits and restrict users to little more than checking emails, some surfing and perhaps watching a few YouTube clips.

You would have to be careful not to incur too many additional charges when watching your favourite weekly programmes on BBC iPlayer, as a single one of these might take up as much as 10% of a 3GB monthly download limit.

If that is a bit of a turn-off, the good news is that T-Mobile, one of the mobile broadband providers, doesn't penalise anyone who exceeds their monthly limit, though it does come with a 'reasonable use' stipulation.

So where does this leave us?

At present, a mobile connection to the Internet is invaluable for anyone who needs internet access when they are away from home or beyond hotspots.

The time will undoubtedly come when mobile broadband connections are used in every home in the UK, though whether as the main form of web access or as a backup is uncertain at present.

It's easy to see why it is thought that mobile users will eventually exceed landline ones, though the jury is still out on whether landline connections will be replaced altogether.

The final word on this subject, and what can confidently be predicted, is that the number of mobile customers will without a doubt increase, suggesting that the mobile broadband market will eventually become as widespread and indispensable as the landline broadband market is right now.

Does Broadband Mean I Can Stop Optimizing

I want to look at the kinds of connections Internet users have. For years the only way to connect to the Internet for the home user was through a dial-up modem, which topped out at a mere 56K. However, with the recent (last several years) propagation of so-called "high-speed Internet," is speed even a concern anymore? How fast is "high-speed" Internet? Can I make my files as big as I want now?

Over 90 percent of Americans have "high-speed" or broadband Internet. That is, of all Americans who have a home Internet connection, over 90 percent of those connections are broadband. If you count people who access the Internet outside of their homes (work, public library, etc.) the percentage is even higher. Ok, so it seems like even if a web designer turns out a site that would take an hour to load over dial-up, he's only alienating 10 percent of Internet users, right? Well, that depends on the definition of "broadband."

A quick note: Internet speed are measured in the number of bits per second the connection can transfer. This can be confusing since most computer files are measured in bytes, not bits. Since a byte is 8 bits, it would take 8 bits per second to transfer one byte per second. So 1 megabit per second only transfers 1/8 of a megabyte per second. Bits are abbreviated with a lowercase letter b, and bytes use an uppercase B. So a kilobit is Kb, while a kilobyte is KB.

Broadband is defined in different ways by different entities. For example, the FCC labels as broadband anything faster than 768 Kbps. However for marketing purposes, broadband usually means "greater than 56 Kbps," that is a connection that transfers more than 56 kilobits per second. 56Kbps is of course the maximum speed at which dial-up can operate; a broadband connection is anything faster than dial-up. Therefore, we have to look at how users are actually connecting.

In the United States, cable is the most popular broadband connection, with DSL trailing right behind. Outside the US, DSL is in the lead. Cable Internet usually offers downloads speed between two and ten Mbps, which is pretty fast. DSL ranges from 256 Kbps to 24 Mbps. 24 Mbps is fast, but 256 Kbps is not. It's five times faster than dial-up, but if you can even compare something with dial-up, it's slow.

Satellite Internet is often used in areas where cable and DSL are not available. The bandwidth available is about on par with DSL, although there is a longer latency because of the distance the signal must travel (from earth to orbit and back). The other option for users in this situation is mobile broadband. These devices work by receiving signals from cell phone towers. However, in an Edge network, (which covers most of the United States) the transfer rate is only two or three times faster than dial-up. Even the faster 3G network only operates at the lower limits of cable Internet.

To put this into practical terms, if a page has 1 MB of data (including the HTML and CSS files, all images and media) it will theoretically take 146 seconds to download over a 56 K dial-up connection. That's 56 Kilobits/second times about 18 seconds is one Mb, times 8 to equal one MB. However, a 1 Mb connection will download in only 8 seconds. Move to a 10 Mb connection, and you're looking at less than a second of download time.

So how fast is "high-speed" Internet? As I've said before, I've yet to see a connection that was too fast. Broadband is fast enough for most websites, but only because optimization is still a concern. If optimization is foregone, the website may very well be too.

How Can a Broadband Cable Benefit You?

We are now well ensconced in a time when the Web is riddled with graphics, animations, sounds, and videos, bringing about a necessity for superior internet access such as that which broadband can provide. The fact is that anything less than the speed supplied by a broadband cable has become inadequate for today’s Web users.

Of course, if you use the internet only once every so often, you wouldn’t be as heavily dependent upon high-speed internet access as is provided by broadband, however, if you’re a regular user, it’s virtually a necessity.

But wait a minute…even though you use the internet, it doesn’t mean you know exactly what this high focus form of internet access actually is. So lets start there. In essence, broadband is a very fast form of internet connection. Broadband Will provide you with a noticeably faster internet speed than a dial-up connection.

Broadband used to be a challenge only because of it’s limited availability, however, today there are many ways that you can have a much faster connection. The delivery methods of broadband have been expanded to the following types of broadband cable:

- Copper telephone wires

- Cable TV wires

- Radio microwaves from local base stations

- Satellite microwaves from geo-stationary satellites

Now lets look at why this faster style of internet access is actually better. The benefits of broadband actually include much more than faster downloads. Broadband is the connection that is always “on”. As soon as you start up your computer, it’s already connected to the internet. For anyone who has waited for a modem to dial up and connect, the advantage of this is quite apparent. Furthermore, broadband allows you to download movies, music, and web pages that were virtually inaccessible in practical terms when using dial-up.

But the benefits of broadband aren’t just felt by individual users. Businesses, governments, schools, and communities can all experience the superiority that broadband cables can provide.

Here are some examples of benefits for each of those types of organizations:

- Businesses will notice an increase in productivity when large data files transfer quickly and directly among local and head offices, no matter the distance between the locations. Moreover, with the popularity of net-meetings and videoconferencing, a face-to-face meeting becomes entirely possible without the travel costs.

- Schools can now offer equal opportunities to their students no matter their location or funding. A student in a remote community is now able to use a broadband connection to receive violin lessons from the same revered instructor as a student in a large city. Moreover, rural students can take virtual field trips and see the same fascinating and educational museums as city kids.

- Local governments are now enjoying broadband benefits that let them provide one-stop shopping for town business transactions, as well as licensing, permits, billing, and utility payments.

- Communities have been quick to jump on the broadband band wagon to promote their local historical and other various tourist attractions. No other marketing resource reaches as far and as effectively as the internet.

There are so many fantastic benefits to a high-speed, broadband internet connection, that it is becoming as “basic” a need as a computer in today’s society.

Broadband Phone Technology - Top 5 Reasons You Should Take Notice

For the uninitiated, the term broadband phone is loosely used to describe the technology currently available where one can make telephone calls from a telephone system that sends the voice signal over your internet connection. The call may terminate at a regular phone line or another broadband phone.

Until recently, the technology was not being used widely because of its perceived limitations, including lack of features available. The primary issue however has been that of poor call quality.

Now, continuing improvements in the industry and increased competition pushing the development of the technology have resulted in significant progress, to the extent that some analysts now predict that broadband phones (really Voice over Internet Protocol technologies) will dominate the long distance calling market by 2010 - maybe sooner.

Here are some specific reasons why you may find broadband phones a good fit at this stage.

Reason #5: Portability and Ease of Use

The equipment provided by the broadband phone companies can be used wherever you have access to a high speed connection. Most broadband service companies do not restrict you from traveling with your phone. As long as the network that you are plugging into will "automagically" assign your broadband device an internet address (IP address) - and most will - you are up and running.

This means that you can be in a hotel in Japan and still be accessible at the same phone number - your kids or staff don't need to know the hotel's number.

Reason #4: Long Distance Savings

Broadband services typically come with lower long distance rates than you can get from most traditional carriers. This calculates into immediate cost savings. Some services allow you to add one or more virtual numbers to your main phone number. This means that your phone may be able to receive calls from 2 or more different area codes. This virtually eliminates long-distance phoning charges for anyone calling within those numbers' area codes.

Reason #3: Freedom from Tariffs

For the time being, calls made over the internet are not subject to a lot of the tariffs that afflict your regular phone bill. How long will this persist? There are different opinions on this in the industry, but right now it's a nice advantage that makes for an even lower phone bill.

Reason #2: Availability of High Speed Internet

All the cost saving and convenience reasons already mentioned would not do much to propel the growth of the broadband phone market if consumers did not have access to high speed connections at their homes. Broadband phones perform the best when using cable or DSL highspeed internet connections.

Reason #1: Clarity of Sound

The top reason why broadband phone services are currently making swift inroads is that the call quality has significantly improved. All of the major players now offer services that work satisfactorily for residential use and some can consistently meet the most stringent business requirements for clarity.

Finally, considering the initial small investment that may be required to get a broadband phone account up and running, the volume of savings you are likely to experience within a short period is very significant. The flexibility, ease of use (technical know-how not needed) combined with improvement in quality definitely makes this bandwagon a good ride.

Access Internet at High Speed With Internet Service Provider

ISP or Internet Service Provider is a company that allows individuals and other companies to access the Internet and other services like website building and virtual hosting. The service provider of ISP gives us a software package, username, password or access phone number. With the help of a modem, one can log on the Internet and can browse various websites. An individual can also send and receive email with the help of this service. An ISP provider also provides services such as domain name, registration and hosting, Internet transit, dial-up access and leased line access and collocation.

There are numerous benefits of Internet Service Provider such as easily available anywhere, its cost and technical support. If somebody wants to access Internet at home or office, then he can use ISP service. By this service, a person can search anything at the high speed without any hassles. Another main advantage of ISP is that you can choose a structured plan according to your requirements. A person can select the plan that meets their business requirements too. It gives cost-effective plan that every body can afford this service. The technical support of ISP is very beneficial. This is one of the most important factors while you are trying to run a business. For technical support, Internet Service Provider has a 24-hour help desk telephone number and an email address. If you have any problem in the service, you can get assistance for your problem.

There are numerous ISP service providers that give very exclusive offer. So you should be cautious about these offers. You should compare rates and facilities given by various service providers. One should not make hurry in purchasing this service. A person should know what his requirements are. Many broadband and dial up ISP providers offer free web mail with a SPAM filter, free anti-virus and free hosting. So you should ask all these things to your service provider.

In other words, Internet service provider is very useful for individuals and business men because it offers to its customers to access the Internet. It also provides email accounts to its users that are useful for communicating with one another.

Broadband Internet and Business

Businesses today have a lot to consider when trying to deduce the answers to the endless stream of questions that seem to bombard them day in and day out. Choices about what printer to buy, which car service to employ, what local store should be used for paper and other office supplies are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to decision making. The fact is, there is a seemingly endless list of options out there and it can be a very daunting task to have to be the person in charge of providing all the answers.

One of the more important questions that inevitably pops up in these situations is what internet service to equip your office with. For this, however, there is a very simple answer: purchase and install a satellite broadband internet connection.

Internet is no longer a luxury for businesses. It is essential for every computer in every office to be able to connect to the internet as quickly and easily as possible. However, there are a handful of different providers to browse and consider when you are forced to pick one. The questions that you might ask yourself are: what internet connection will provide me with the fastest, most secure way to run my business effectively on the web? Who will be the most helpful in assisting me when a problem arises with my connection? Which choice makes the most sense if I am working out of my home versus if my business is set in a high-rise building? While you may feel a bit overwhelmed with all the angles to consider, the truth of the matter is that satellite internet is the answer to all of these questions.

Satellite technology has provided the modern business with an exceptional advantage when it comes to connecting to the internet. A broadband internet connection is 50 times faster than the standard dial-up connection. This unparalleled speed provides business with an opportunity to get more done in half the time. Consider the following, realistic scenario: preparing for a meeting, you have to put together a comprehensive and compelling PowerPoint presentation. The file contains dozens of charts and graphs, along with pictures and even video content imbedded into the computerized presentation. You also want to send the presentation to everybody at the meeting so that they can follow along on their personal laptops as well. A satellite internet connection can assist you in this two fold. First and foremost, the speed that comes along with a satellite connection will allow you to download these images and movie files in a fraction of the time that you would with a slower, dial-up connection. Secondly, sending this extremely large, almost oversized file to everybody set to attend the meeting is a time consuming task unto itself. But harnessing the raw power and speed of satellite broadband internet will make distributing the file a breeze; it will also allow your colleagues to download it onto their computer in no time, undoubtedly leaving them in a better mood going into the meeting.

This is but one example as to how an increase in your internet connection speed can heavily increase productivity and make life at the office that much less stressful. With so many other questions that need answering, being able to cross "what internet connection should I use?" off the list will surely be a weight off your shoulders!

Broadband in Ireland?Where is it???

Hi everyone

Just a thought about broadband,and its benefits.
I have not broadband yet here where i am in Ireland.
I have been waiting 3 years for eircom to connect me up,and i know theres alot of people out there still waiting for eircom to connect up to their home.
Why are they so slow in this country,and why can they only provide 1 mb broadband?Its like going back to the 1990 again.
I have to say i am very surprised that eircom keep any customers at all.
All they have to do is dig a trench and put a cable into the ground.And they will probably get 50-100 customers connected up for around 10 to 20 € a month.This i cant understand,and now they even run a campaign trying to get old customers back.
Well i will just say this i will never go back to eircom ever again.
That is because of the promises they have made in the last three years and never got back to us.
I work as a captain on a offshore ship moving and anchor oilrigs all over the world,and three years ago i was working down in Congo in Africa.
On the travel from the airport to the port the ship eas in we stop at a cafeteria in the middle of the jungle for a strecth of the legs and a cup of coffe.
And when i walked in to the place i came across a computer and a sign saying internetcafe.
I asked the man at the counter what speed he had on the broadband,and he answered me back 14 MB broadband.I nearly fell of my stool.Thinking back to Ireland where they can provide 1 mb broadband,but you cant even get it.
Welcome to the year 2009 Eircom and Ireland.

SEAWOLF!

Communicating with mobile phones!!

Hi everyone

Just like to say that its really fantastic the way the world has gone when it comes to communicating.
20 years ago you could hardly get a phoneline connected to your house,but today you can get it from all kinds of sources,landline,satellite etc.
Also broadband options are all over now,but the sad thing is that not everyone can get it quite yet.
I know most goverments around the world is struggling to get the lines out to all homes in their country,but still many cant get it.
Well i guess most people cant get the landlines,but then again theres the option of broadband trough the mobilephone networks.
The mobilephone networks have come much furter then the actual landlines for the broadband,and will reach out to even the most isolated ares on the planet,so will we see this option more and more or will all at the end be connected trough landlines?
Imagine the world without internet and broadband.
What do you have left?
Well if we go back 20 years and see the development its quite obvious that it all started with the mobilephone.
I would rather have a mobilephone without internetconnection on it,rather then one with it,cause all i am going to do with it is call my family!!!
You can email your family from any computer these days,and also surf the web from any computer if they have internet connection,and you should be really unlucky not to find one nearby in the western world.
All i would like is a mobilephone with no internet,i am just going to call someone with it!!!

Seawolf