Introduction

Voip services are improving at an alarming rate, quality of sound is now on par with land lines, it is now possible to use your regular phone in conjunction with your voip service. This new technology puts the Voip services where they have not been before.

Advantages of voip are

* Huge cost savings in local, national and international calls
* Free calls to persons using the same provider
* Take your phone service where ever you go world wide (ideal for the traveller)visit Ipez.net for a typical solution for this.
* Ability to use video type conferencing, of course need a web cam and the provider needs to supply this function.
* Some suppliers provide up to 6 - way conferencing

Disadvantages
* You require Internet access
* Quality of call by some providers can be poor
* You may require broadband for some functions such as video conference.
* Maybe stuck to a computer if the provider does not provide a quality solution.

Explanations of the above
There are various solutions to making a call the most common being the soft phone. This is the software that is provided by the provider. The software downloads to your computer; the operator enters their user I.D. and password and enters. They can then make the call using the keyboard or no's provided on the soft phone by pointing and clicking the mouse.

The more advanced providers provide a hard phone, not that much different to your regular phone only it plugs into your USB port. Ipez provides a device that is much like an mp3 Player it plugs into the USB port and is loaded with the Ipez software. Once detected by the computer the soft-phone loads and you can log in. This is great for the traveller, or person whom uses multiple computers maybe a businessman. The device fits into the palm of your hand and can be taken anywhere. An earpiece and mike, fits in the back for you to communicate to the other end user.

When considering a provider, give lots of consideration to your needs. Research the provider see what they provide and compare with others. Do they provide functions like these below?

Functions
* Videoconference
* Quality hardware
* Sound quality
* Capps and rates
* Are there contracts to consider?

Explanations
Videoconference is not provided by all suppliers do your research if this is a feature you would like. Remember if you do not have a web cam you will need to purchase one, these are quite inexpensive these days.

The quality of the hard phone can make a substantial difference to the sound. Therefore do not compromise here, it's a one of payment you do not rent it you own it. Take care of the device dropping it or exposing to water and heat will damage the device so keep it in a safe place.

It is important to understand a little about the technology as well for instance the bandwidth that is used. Some only use 12-14 bps (bits per second) others can use 64bps. What does this mean to the user? For 1 if you have limited downloads it can add to this secondly the less bps used the higher quality the call as using less bandwidth.

Check your previous bills to see whether you would benefit from capped calls, or you may prefer to just purchase a small block of airtime until you get used to it. If you make quite a few calls capped may be the better option.

Don't forget to get your friends to join as most providers give free calls between customers using the same service. E.g. a user of Ipez can call another Ipez user for free. This is a great way to save money you can encourage friends and relatives to join and take advantage of this option.

Finally do your research find a provider that is suitable to your needs dont compromise on quality or you may be disappointed, and start saving on all your calls