VoIP technology has enabled telephony signals to run over dedicated networks using packet-switched protocols. One of the preferred methods of running VoIP services, like iconnecthere in the corporate sector is to use dedicated lines. Instead of being primarily dependent on the PSTN for its telephone service requirements, companies using VoIP protocols can send and receive telephone calls over their private computer networks.

Using iConnectThere or any other VoIP service, voice signals can be packetized in a manner similar to computer data packets.

VoIP includes the caller and receiver’s network addressing information in the packets sent over the network. If a given circuit on the network is down, VoIP packets can switch to another computer network circuit because the packet is not dependent on the circuit itself for directions.

In the previous example, the circuit-switched train is switched solely by the tracks it travels. If the train runs into a broken track, it can’t continue to travel to its destination. VoIP packets can have many alternative routes because the destination address inside the packet tells the network where to route the packet.

Most companies today use packet-switched networks for their computers and separate circuit-switched networks for their voice calls.

Do you know what the phone numbers mean? Why can’t you use those numbers what you would like? I mean, this was the past. And in the near future, you may not have to memorize 8 or 9 numbers. For example: if you are a Comcast VoIP user, your ’number’ will be something like this: COMCAST YOUR TOWN 9876. Let’s take a look at the history and the possibly future of the phone numbers.

In the 1940s, a consortium of leaders in the telecommunications industry and in government standardized how customers would be assigned telephone numbers. The telephone number identified a specific pair of wires out of millions of pairs of wires, and a specific phone company switch out of thousands of such devices. The term circuit-switched describes this setup of circuit wiring, switching devices, and telephone number assignment. The PSTN is sometimes referred to as the circuit-switched or switched network.

Because today’s public phone system is still circuit-switched, it still relies on the same basic system for telephone number assignment. VoIP introduced dramatic changes in how the network is used and, over time, VoIP could force changes in how numbers are assigned.
With VoIP, phone numbers are no longer tied to specific wires and switches. VoIP routes calls based on network addresses, and phone numbers are simply used because that is what people are familiar with. (VoIP takes care of translating a phone number into a network address.) In the future, as more and more people adopt VoIP-based systems, we may see dramatic changes in phone numbering.

Have you ever thought of any add-on charges when using a VoIP service, like Callvantage? No, you haven’t? Don’t worry, you were right…

Traditional phone service normally includes costs that apply to every single line you lease. Just like any other service, traditional telephony lines and services are taxed. Depending on where you are located, you could have one or more taxes in addition to all the other monthly charges. Taxes are based on the total cost of your line access and other services. For instance, for each line’s total service cost, you can add the following taxes to the bill:

• Federal tax (about 4 percent)
• State tax (varies by state but the average range is 5 to 7 percent)
• 911 emergency surcharge fund (flat rate of $1 per line)

Taxes obviously affect your bottom line. VoIP, however, does not come with any taxes or surcharges. VoIP is totally unregulated and operates over your existing computer network. Therefore, taxes do not apply to your monthly bill.

VoIP for the small office / Home office (SOHO) offers plans starting at $44.95 a month for unlimited local and long distance calling to anyone in the U.S. or Canada, and a SOHO Regional Plan for  34.95  per month which includes 1500 monthly minutes to the USA and Canada.

Additional usage is just 3.9 cents per min. Every Broadvox Direct  business plan comes with a free dedicated fax line and yellow page listing.

Virtual phone numbers are available for $4.95 per month.  With a virtual phone number you can portray a local presence by having a local phone number in another market.

Most of the VoIP services, like ATT Voip, is not just about making and receiving telephone calls; it’s about a whole new way of communicating. Sure, it includes telephone calls, but there is so much more to the VoIP telephony picture. VoIP integrates most if not all other forms of communication. You can even run videoconferencing to your desktop.
With ATT VoIP, your company enjoys increased productivity and customer satisfaction.

These improvements are typically realized through the flexibility offered by enhanced calling features. A few calling features, such as voice mail and call transfer, have been around in the POTS world for quite some time. On the other hand, integrating data, voice, and video applications to run over a single network and work with wireless phones are more recent innovations made possible by IP telephony.

Following are some enhanced calling features made possible by IP telephony:

• Vemail: Before IP telephony and VoIP, you accessed voice mail through a telephone and accessed e-mail through a computer. With VoIP, you can read your voice mail on your computer screen and listen to your e-mail through an IP-enabled telephone. The new term for this converged feature is vemail (pronounced “v-e-mail”).
• Web surfing: Because ATT VoIP operates with the same set of IP rules and protocols that support Web-based applications, it is possible to access the Web with an IP-enabled telephone. If you have an IP telephone with a large enough screen, it can display Web pages or a list of your favorite Web links. For instance, you could use your phone to view your stock exchange trading status or the current weather forecast.

When using an VoIP service like Asterisk VoIP, you probably want to use some extra calling features. In this article you can find some info about them.

Calling features include items such as voice mail, call forwarding, call transfer, return call, and three-way calling. Traditional telephony requires you to pay a monthly charge for call features. These add-on charges may not apply equally to all the lines you lease because the features are optional.

Some call features are so popular, many people think they are a part of the telephone service and are expected to come with the access line. Voice mail, for instance, is considered an essential with any telephone, but you still have to pay the carrier $7 to $9 per month per line. If you use the popular call return feature, you can pay around $1.00 to $1.50 for each use.

You can reduce the total cost of call features by setting up a bundled plan with the carrier. However, you do not have to add any call features to any line; they are truly options like a moon roof or climate control in an automobile.

VoIP comes with the usual call features that you have to either bundle with your traditional lines or pay à la carte per line as you use these features. But with VoIP, you don’t need to worry about the cost of call features; they are all included at no extra cost.

Most companies use an internal telephone system, which can usually provide most if not all call features. However, with POTS and Centrex line models, call feature costs are highly relevant to the company’s monthly telephony bill. If your company has hundreds or thousands of lines, the overall cost for all features for all lines can be astronomical.

See also: Asterisk VoIP Hosted PBX

Believe it or not, the roots of VoIP (for example, the roots of the AOL VoIP) go all the way back to the 1870s. In 1879, Alexander Graham Bell forgot his Internet password and, knowing that his assistant had stashed it away, uttered the famous words “Watson! Are you there?”

He never got on the Internet, but he did prove that the human voice could be carried electronically over a pair of wires. He also demonstrated that the endpoints for these wires had to be connected to the right equipment — hardware that he invented. Mr. Bell’s inventions ushered in an age of communication that made the world much smaller than it had ever been before.

When Mr. Bell invented the telephone and thereby gave birth to the telephone network, VoIP was not even a consideration. (Truth be told, the idea of a network wasn’t yet a consideration either.) Other inventions would be required before VoIP could become a reality.

The first telephone equipment was analog. Historians and technicians alike have labeled the first phone service POTS, or plain old telephone service. VoIP won’t function very well over a POTS system; it requires a digital network.

Digital networking for telephones was invented in the 1920s, but the first digital networks would not leave the laboratory until much later, in 1964. Today, most phone companies in the United States have updated their equipment to include digital service.

Over time, the POTS network gave way to the PSTN, or public switched telephone network. (The terms PSTN, public switched telephone network, public telephone network, and phone network are used synonymously.)

Although it occurred in what seems like the ancient past, Alexander Graham Bell’s work is important in understanding VoIP. The POTS network that began with his invention has grown into the largest circuit-switched network in the world. It also has become an expensive network, with individuals and companies spending hundreds of billions of dollars each year for communication services.

VoIP, which was developed in 1995 and started to use by AOL a few years later, is gradually replacing the PSTN. Some view the PSTN as the antithesis of VoIP, but it still remains the standard of quality by which VoIP is measured. For instance, people often ask whether VoIP provides voice quality as good as what is delivered through the PSTN. Most of the factors used to evaluate the quality of VoIP are based in some way on the PSTN, so understanding a bit about the older networks is important.