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Traveling with VoIP

The vast array of features that VoIP has to offer allows the technology to be used in a myriad of ways. One advantage VoIP telephony has over traditional phone service is its ability to travel with you, its portability. By this, we mean that with VoIP you can travel locally or internationally and keep the same number, move house and have no break in service or simply go on vacation and have your same number and features. Cell phones can potentially fill this niche, however it is expensive to have a service that will work internationally and when moving house or going on vacation there is no guarantee that there will be coverage at your new location.

VoIP Portability

VoIP portability is achieved with the use of its ATA (or Analog Telephne Adaptor) and the fact that it is sent over the internet rather than down traditional phone lines to a central switch. The ATA is typically provided as part by your VoIP phone service provider and contains an address which is used to match up to your phone number. This address is used to identify your ATA device so no matter where you plug that device into an internet connection it will act the same as if you were plugged into your internet connection at home. You plug your phone into your ATA device and you have phone service with your home phone number.

VoIP portability can be extremely useful to you when visiting family abroad as I do. I take my VoIP phone with me and stay in touch for free. Having the same phone number also means that you can easily be reached and there are no surprise phone charges for the people who call you. Not something you are likely to see with a cell phone plan!

Other Useful VoIP Features Related to Traveling

For business users, Call Transfer is an extremely beneficial feature. This allows you to transfer a call you have already answered to another number. Effectively you are taking your office network with you. Again this feature is not available with your standard Cell phone but does came as standard with most VoIP plans

PC to Phone or sometimes referred to as "softphone" can be a cheaper alternative or more convenient than traveling with an ATA or an IP ready phone. A simple software download and you can turn your PC into your telephone. You will still have all the features of VoIP but you will use your laptop to make and receive calls. For business travelers you are almost guaranteed a phone service from anywhere in the world, and many VoIP phone service providers offer their softphone for free as part of their service plan.

The above features are network features in that they depend upon the VoIP Service Provider you choose. However, the introduction in recent years of the IP ready phone, which has the ATA built in, offers consumers a whole host of new features and applications. The Video Phone is one such application that is becoming more and more common place. Video over cellular networks such as TDMA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE or even 3G networks have proved problematic. Only when using 3G networks is it realistically possible and that then depends on the number of people sharing your wireless bandwidth. If you take into account the size of 3G cell phones, video becomes impractical. With VoIP, as you are using a broadband internet connection, you are guaranteed the bandwidth to have good resolution video.

There are many broadband internet solutions for hotels so actually getting access to the internet while you are traveling should not be an issue and is actually almost taken for granted these days.

VoIP is expanding at an exponential rate and with its protocol well defined, it promises the integration that has been promised but has never been realized with the cell phone industry. New standards like WI-MAX are well suited to VoIP and several service providers have been testing their service using this new standard. The future of VoIP is well assured, and perhaps it won’t be long before you are carrying your IP ready phone rather than a cell phone and battery charger.

This article highlights some of the many benefits of having a VoIP phone service. Take a look at our comparison table above detailing our most popular providers and their exclusive special deals and start enjoying the freedom that VoIP brings. If you have a business, then complete our simple form to request free, no obligation price quotes from industry leading service providers.

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