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Category: voip

  • Which Phone System Works for You? VoIP vs. PSTN

    In business promotion a company has to find proper communication lines be it through social media, blogs, web conferencing, Skype or good old fashioned phone calls. Proper communication helps in relaying information to and from prospective customers and it also improves efficiency by facilitating internal communication.

    The two business phone systems available to small businesses are VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). Internet communication technology and cloud technology is used by VoIP while PSTN uses landlines. To help you find the right phone system best suited for your business we prepared the following pros and cons of the two systems.

    Pros

    VoIP has numerous features that make it more suited for businesses. For starters it includes features such as call forwarding and voicemail services.

    Voice messages can also be converted to email messages, and a business can hold web conference with people all over the world. These features are not present in traditional lines such as the PSTN.

    VoIP provides a convenience and improved user experience for both the business and customer. For instance it shows the call log of all calls and help address concerns raised by customers in a timely fashion. This means better customer service and sales. It is an efficient system that is detailed with clear timelines, it cuts cost and is portable. The bottom line is that VoIP is inexpensive compared to PSTN.

    Cons

    The cons of VoIP are that without an Internet connection it can’t work, slow Internet will affect it considerably and will lead to latency in information sharing and communication.

    Power outages will affect it a great deal as it won’t work without power so it’s advisable to have a backup power generator.

    It can also suffer attacks from viruses and other malware.The decision to choose either should be undertaken after adequate consideration between both systems.

  • Wholesale VoIP to create new revenue streams for Optus partners


    VoIP protocol is now available to Optus’s wholesale customers. Optus’ current partners and upcoming Cloud resellers are set to gain from its ipPhone express app.

    According to Robert Parcel, Optus’s wholesale and satellite MD, the new service is a "significant differentiator and great opportunity for the channel."

    Parcel added that their resellers had been exploring on ways to use the increasing confidence in VoIP from both consumers and businesses to boost the number of their customers and competitive advantage in the market.

    New customers will have the privilege of getting a new source of income on top of getting support from Optus’s teams. What sets Optus’s VoIP service apart from the rest in the market is the assurance of high quality care that the customers will get.

    According to the telecommunications provider, customers from different service providers can be targeted be the resellers and they would still get to keep their original number while using the service.

    Optus’s partners have the opportunity of creating VoIP service among many other products and services which could be provided as additions to a broadband service.

    Optus claims that it VoIP services will be beneficial to its customers in; managing call forwarding, reducing rental and call costs for a phone line, facilitation in making service changes, management of call diversions and contact lists via a web agent, and availability of different packages to fit different customer requirements.

  • Verizon Challenged on their VoIP Shift


    A consumer advocacy group has recently challenged Verizon for forcing their customers to shift to VoIP and wireless services from the traditional telephone services. The complaint was filed by The Utility Reform Network (TURN).

    It is alleged that Verizon is ignoring repair and maintenance of its copper network as a means of forcing its customers to migrate to the Voice over IP or the wireless services. In doing this the communications company is going contrary to the state and federal laws that require them to provide telephone services to the residents of California. According to TURNs research director Regina Costa, the thing that makes this situation worse is the fact that most of these shifts and migrations are done without the knowledge of the customers.

    However according to Verizon, the company’s main aim is to provide their customers with the best services they can across all their platforms, be it the traditional telephone services or the latest technological platforms. They also said that they would look into the complaint they have received and will respond accordingly.

    The complain TURN filled was as a result of the complains it received from Verizon  customers  who were moved to VoIP without their consent and  the fact that VoIP did not have the same regulations as other  services making it less secure. It has been noted that VoIP does not function during power shortages, and cannot be linked to other services like fax, medical systems among others.

    This just comes after the federal Communications Commission allowed communication carriers the change to run trials to shift customers to IP networks. They are now examining the implications such a shift might have on the customers. As for now TURN wants FCC to order Verizon to repair the copper networks.

  • VoIP Portal: Velocity’s New Addition to The Telecom Sector


    Velocity VoIP has recently launched a VoIP Portal that is said to facilitate easy access to all the services that Velocity offers to its customers. Velocity, being a major provider of hosted VoIP switching and billing solutions for most VoIP services providers, has just brought their services closer to their customers.

    According to Velocity, the main reason as to why they came about with the portal is to enable their customers have access to the services they offer them and make it easier for them to manage their accounts. These latest VoIP addition has a number of benefits in the telecommunication sector.

    To begin with this service allows one to find numbers within the United States and 58 different countries in no time. This is the live provisioning DIDs. Secondly, the VoIP Portal gives one the ability to port in different international carriers and submitting the information electronically as you receive status updates as the numbers are processed. This is termed as the automated LNP Process. The other advantage of this new VoIP Portal is it’s easy to use AIP for all features, including the integration and linking of your website to streamline the new accounts and customers.

    Velocity, which was founded in 2005, has aims to provide the best field for their customers to prosper and at the same time compete in a more advanced and manageable environment.

  • Top 3 business VoIP providers

    Many business face obstacles as they aim to become successful and profitable due to a number of things including persistent communication barriers between them and their partners. For businesses that use landlines, they find them slow and outdated. The emergence of Business VoIP providers has come at a good time to not only help businesses grow but also ensure an efficient and faster communication process.

    It is advantageous to switch to business VoIP providers. They have cheaper services than landline costs. For those with international and long distance clients, it is cheaper making calls over the Internet. These services provided by Business VoIP providers among others are aimed at maintaining new relationships.

    Voxilla.com recently announced the Top 3 businessVoIP providers. The criteria used considered additional enhancements, customer satisfaction among others to come with the list of the best business VoIP providers. The top 3 in the list are:

    RingCentral

    RingCentral has an affordable package for their clients. Their services are easy to use, quick and simple to install, as they do not involve use of hardware. Their cloud-based system offers a range of services including fax service, conferencing, call management and mobile apps. Their customer support staff is excellent.

    Vonage

    Their strategy, no installation fees and contracts, has enabled them to rank among the best business VoIP providers. Their international call rates are low and customers can use them whenever they travel. They also offer a virtual assistant, smart phone apps, and voice to email options among many more.

    Mitel

    Mitel services are best suited for small and medium sized businesses. Their phone calls are characterized by clear sound quality. Their clients do not need to worry about loss of important information as they use secure data centers. They have low rates.

    It is important to have the right company for your communication needs.

  • 5 Top Residential VoIP Providers in 2014


    There are several competing VoIP providers that make the service available at affordable rates to residential users. With VoIP services now having considerable demand, residential buyers are able access the services at cheap monthly fees. MyVoipProvider.com came up with the list of 2014’s top residential VoIP providers based on their customer care packages, prices, customer satisfaction, and scalability.

    ITP

    ITP’s high flexibility rate has placed it among the top 5 residential VoIP service providers. They have a metered package for home or work customers with low call volumes which go for less than 3 cents per minute. Special discounts are offered for additional services and lines that a customer may subscribe to. Some of their extra service features include; unlimited international calling packages, good discounts, and a phone adapter in the service plan. They also have a remarkable customer support system available 24/7 for any assistance.

    Phone Power

    Phone power’s success in managing their various services and having a wide variety of customers makes it one of the top residential VoIP providers. Customers can have a long term contract with the company to be able to get low rates and a financially sound monthly package. Extra features include free 60 minute for international calls, extra equipment and an additional line.

    VoIPo

    VoIPo residential VoIP services are clear and simple, which makes customers happy. Their package plans are well organized for both business and residential VoIP services, having very few differences between the two. Clients for home or small business lines can subscribe to their $15 monthly contract or $8.25 annual contract to enjoy unlimited calls to the US and Canada.

    MagicJack

    MajicJack's affordability placed it among the 5 best residential VoIP providers. Residential buyers can get an annual package goes for as low as $19.95 per line. Customers get to use the service on computer by plugging in a USB drives and the MagicJack Plus allows customers to receive calls even without the computer on.

    Phone.com

    Phone.com has several interesting packages for both residential and business VoIP customers, which is quite impressive. Phone.com’s business VoIP plans are based on the number of minutes purchased. They offer between 300 and 2500 minutes monthly in their four plans. All the plans have similar main features and the extras have the same price in each plan. Customers have to sign a contract with them but there is an option between a monthly and an annual contract.

  • Sprint inches closer to voice-over-LTE, selecting Broadsoft for VoIP

    In addition to the VoIP service that Sprint provides, Broadsoft’s server will enable them to add layers on messaging, video and other IP communications which is a move in the right direction and commendable.

    MetroPCS have failed to deliver on their service with the strike they had with voice-over-LTE where the long awaited migration of mobile voice calls to 4G data networks has not yet happened which is very disappointing but things are looking better for the VoLTE service especially with the coming in of Sprint.

    Sprint is keen on upgrading their VoIP services and has strategically made the important move of partnering with BroadSoft as a service provider. According to BroadSoft on Wednesday, its server for BroadWorks IP applications will be used to run VoLTE services coming in the foreseeable future.

    Sprint have a very well established 2G network that is well spread and optimal for voice calls but since their interest is not only in voice, investing and upgrading to VoLTE is a decision that was long anticipated. BroadWorks will enable Sprint to combine web interfaces and enterprise PBX systems with the VoLTE to be implemented on top of layering on the video, presence and messaging that already exists with them.

    We are still waiting on word on the official VoLTE commercial launch date but judging from the time consuming LTE rollout by Sprint, we could assume that the CDMA – LTE voice transition will not be happening in the near future. But still, getting together with Broadsoft looks like a light at the end of the tunnel because of the high quality features it provides. Sprint’s communications platform could be made more effective when unified through efforts and innovations brought by broadsoft to serve its enterprise customers some time soon.

  • Bolt VoIP app with support for regular calls launches at the Play Store


    One may find VoIP a bit troublesome because using it requires a user to sign up to the service and in order to share the experience of using it with friends and family, one has to sort of market the service or maybe put in some effort to get them on board. That is not all; using VoIP across different services may also be an up-hill task but Bolt intends to make life on VoIP easier and maybe something to look more forward to.

    Bolt uniqueness comes in the aspect that, unlike services like Skype where users can only use it to call fellow Skype members, bolt does not obligate its users to such a choice. Calls made by Bolt users to other Bolt members will be channeled through their service and calls to other services are channeled normally. This makes Bolt a one-stop VoIP significantly reducing all the work one gets into once you sign up to each new service.

    Their main target may be to rally up users for their system or just make it a service to want. The Bolt VoIP keeps a record of the most frequent calls and lists them first and at the center just like the stock calling service. People who like simple easy to use applications should really look forward to Bolt VoIP, especially those that find the new Android launcher troublesome. It is a wonderful service for people out to make just simple calls and you never know; some of the calls may be free of charge.

    The new application is available in the Playstore and interested users with android 4.0 should feel free to download it. Still new at the store, it has a rating of 3.4 but you can be rest assured that it is as good as we say it is. Using it is quite simple and when you are not using it to call other Bolt users, it is still a good enough calling application.

  • C3 VoIP-150 Announced By Cambium Networks


    Cambium Networks, a worldwide broadband provider released the C3 VoIP-150 – a new analog telephone adaptor (ATA) that connects analogue telephones to digital VoIP telephone system.

    Any service provider that is currently using the PMP 450 and ePMP is able to integrate the new hardware seamlessly on their network. They are able to offer their subscribers new VoIP services as well as create new revenue streams. 

    Kevin Grace, co-founder and CTO of Nextlink Broadband indicated that the company, which is a long term client of the Cambium Network, is thrilled to offer their users high quality services through the C3 VoIP-150 technology. This is poised to improve the customer’s experience and allow clients to continue using their phones to offer the advanced services.

    Kevin also indicated that the company is pleased to invest in Cambium Networks since this will help them to reach more customers as well as grow the business organically. The C3 VoIP-150 is Cambium Network’s first ATA. The broadband solution’s specifications assure clients of superior end user experience that is field proven.

  • Verizon’s IP VoIP Interconnection Game


    With the recent signing of IP VoIP interconnection terms by Verizon and four other new service provider, competitor have raised concerns about the non-disclosure agreement they are required to sign. This agreement gives the four service providers an opportunity to access Verizon’s IP Interconnection union which will provide a nationwide accord with other service providers that want to exchange VoIP traffic.

    Although the signing of this agreement brings out Verizon’s spirit of teamwork, many competitors are worried that as a result of the non-disclosure agreement, they will not be able to seek regulatory help in cases of unreasonable terms by the Telco. These non-disclosure agreements put the competitors at a disadvantage in instances where they are seeking interconnection.

    A similar incident occurred in Michigan between AT&T and Sprint. Later a decision that required carriers to wait for the FCC to negotiate interconnection terms was overruled by Michigan’s public Utility commission. In this case ,Sprint IP interconnections  for transmission of telephone calls was to be provided by AT&T, the same way AT&T provided for itself, its affiliates and third parties. Interestingly Verizon commented that the PUC’s decision would disrupt the progress made in the industry. In Massachusetts, the Department of Telecommunication and Cable is trying to find out if it has the authority to regulate the IP VoIP interconnection agreement between Comcast and Verizon.

    Recently a Joint Task Force has been established with the aim of finding a specification that will enable all North American service providers to establish IP communications, network to network interface arrangements that they can all support and implement. It is thus evident that large telecoms need to play fair with their competitor and that this argument is nowhere near complete.