Jeanine is considering setting up a VoIP telephone service in her home and asks: “Can you tell me how VoIP differs from standard phone service and more specifically, what is the difference between Comcast, Vonage, MajicJack etc.?” Jeanine, you’ve asked a lot of different questions with a ton of different answers. I’ve decided to spend this week’s article talking about VoIP, what it is, and the different service providers.
VoIP stands for voice over internet protocol and is generically used to describe a list of services which transmits your voice over the internet. The technology is an option to traditional telephone service providers that normally transmit over copper wires. VoIP converts voice from standard telephone handsets to electronic signals which are sent over bradband. VoIP subscribers can talk to other VoIP subscribers, cellular phones or traditional copper wire subscribers.
One of the most clear benefits of VoIP is cost. Because most companies are transmitting over internet, the cost of adding telephone service is fairly minimal. Costs to add VoIP to an existing internet connection range from under $2.00 per month to $30.00 a month for standard service. Additional features can be added, but most come with three way calling, caller ID, voice mail and many of the features which we’ve been accustomed.
No matter who the carrier, all require additional hardware be installed prior to use. The hardware converts the internet signal to phone and vice versa. Usually the phone hardware is provided; however, with a few providers the equipment costs extra.
In our area there are a few major providers. Comcast is the most common due in part to their incentives for bundling telephone, internet and cable television. Comcast provides and installs all the equipment necessary for their services. Using Comcast is seamless in that the user does not usually know they are talking on a VoIP phone. It is my understanding that Comcast technicians connect directly to existing copper lines in the house so there are no additional wires necessary to make the handset connection. My personal experience with Comcast is that the quality is excellent. I believe that Comcast makes a good choice for someone with little technical experience who wants to save money.
Vonage is another VoIP provider with service anywhere in the US. Vonage provides the equipment necessary to install their service into an existing internet network. Basically, Vonage customers are provided with a box, some wires and instructions. It is up to the customer to install the service and setup their own equipment. The box they provide interconnects between the internet service providers modem and your existing router. From the Vonage box you can install up to two phones with separate numbers. Vonage costs around $25.00 per month and takes a moderate amount of technical experience to setup.
MajicJack is probably the coolest little device I’ve seen in quite a while. It takes very little effort to use and installs the necessary software automatically. MajicJack plugs into an available USB slot on your computer and the phone plugs into it. Once plugged in it installs the software automatically in about 3 minutes. I personally use a MajicJack and find the only annoyance to be that the computer must be turned on. However, for $1.50 per month it’s an annoyance I can live with.
I would look at the options each has to offer prior to making any decision. One of the downsides to any VoIP provider is getting a local number. My business phone number prefix is “919;” where anyone else in Gardner has a “632” or “630” prefix. Also, 911 service needs to be setup accurately or else emergency response may go to the wrong address. VoIP is not for everyone so make your decision carefully.
Tech-Tip of the week: I cannot stress the importance of installing firewalls. A firewall protects your computer from many of the dangers lurking on the net. Windows provides a firewall, but it is simply not safe enough. Comodo and ZoneAlarm are great free firewalls which anyone can install.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can e-mail him at Jeromy@LocalComputerWiz.com or call him directly at (978) 919-8059.)