Monday, September 1, 2008

Cheapest Solution in VoIP Broadband Phone Service

By Daymon Hoag

VoIP is an abbreviation for voice over Internet protocol. It
is easy to confuse VoIP with broadband phone service. Though
broadband phone service uses the voice over Internet
protocol to send and receive phone calls, it is not actually
VoIP. As of now, VoIP basically comes in three forms,
PC-to-PC, PC-to-Phone, and Broadband telephone service.

You may have used the most common PC-to-PC or PC-to-phone
VoIP services without even realizing it. Have you ever used
Yahoo Messenger to call someones computer? If you have,
you've used Yahoo's free PC-to-PC VoIP service.
Additionally, Yahoo Messenger allows you to call someones
home telephone from your computer for a small fee. This is
called PC-to-Phone VoIP.

Broadband phone service also uses VoIP but allows you to
make and receive calls on your home telephone the same way
you always have. While PC-to-Phone, and PC-to-PC only
require a software download to use the service, you'll need
a broadband phone adaptor to be able to use your home
telephone with VoIP. Once installed, broadband phone service
is very much like a traditional land line with just a few
exceptions.

Now we know VoIP is the means of transmitting voice data
over the Internet, and PC-to-Phone, PC-to-PC, or broadband
telephone are the VoIP hardware and software solutions for
VoIP. Armed with that information, which is the cheapest
solution in VoIP for you? Free VoIP is not always the
cheapest solution in VoIP. Let me explain.

As mentioned before, PC-to-PC VoIP is often times free with
Popular Instant Messenger clients such as Yahoo Messenger,
MSN Messenger, and now, Google Talk. These messengers
provide an excellent free service which allows you to talk
to friends and family over long distances through your home
computer and speakers or headset.

What if you need to call someones home telephone or business
phone? That's where PC-to-Phone Voip comes in. PC-to-Phone
allows you to call a telephone from your computer. Though
PC-to-Phone isn't free it's very cheap, sometimes around 1
cent per minute or less. Examples of Popular PC-to-Phone
VoIP services are offered by Yahoo Messenger and Skype.

Broadband telephone service allows you to make and receive
phone calls without the aid of you're computer. Broadband
telephone is hyper popular since it cuts out the telcos and
dramatically reduces your phone bill. Some VoIP companies
offer unlimited local plus long distance calling for a flat
fee of less than 20 dollars per month.

As with anything else, the cheapest solution for VoIP is
going to be determined by your usage of the service. If
using your computer to talk with your contacts does not
bother you, by all means use PC-to-PC or PC-to-Phone. If you
want to reduce your phone bill, and enjoy the convenience of
talking on a normal phone, broadband telephone is going to
be the cheapest solution in VoIP.

Daymon Hoag is the founder of Cheapest Service where you can shop for Over Internet Phone Service