VoIP: What you need to know
Published: 15 Aug 2005 15:20 BST
...your VoIP service goes down. That is because the modem you use to deliver your broadband service requires electricity. While traditional phone systems actually deliver power to your phone, broadband networks can't do that.
What if I call the emergency services? Will my call get through to an emergency dispatcher?
In general, 911 calls cannot be reliably made using a VoIP service. But VoIP providers in the United States are under a looming deadline to make it possible to dial 911 and reach the appropriate emergency call centre . That capability is several months away, however. Most VoIP operators suggest keeping a cell phone on hand just for emergency calls. The exceptions are VoIP services provided by cable operators, all of which have the appropriate agreements in place to supply what's known as "enhanced 911."
What does VoIP cost?
In the United States, it's about $25 a month for unlimited dialling between PCs and to any phone number in North America. Some operators sell VoIP for as little as $15 a month, but that's an exception rather than the rule. VoIP providers also typically give away analogue phone adapters and their software. Calls overseas typically cost between 2 and 15 cents a minute, depending on which nation you're calling.
Given growing concern about VoIP customer service, are VoIP users given the same legal guarantees of service as traditional phone customers?
Most VoIP operators don't guarantee any particular level of service, although the trade-off there is that they also don't require customers to sign multiyear service contracts.
The overall quality of Internet phone service still lags behind that of traditional landlines. But there is recourse for those who feel they are being mistreated by their VoIP operators: if you're in the US, both the Federal Trade Commission and your regional branch of the Better Business Bureau handle consumer complaints.
How secure are my calls?
There are few clearer signs that an information technology has hit the mainstream than when it becomes the focus of security attacks. Only two consumer-focused operators — Skype and VoicePulse — encrypt their calls, a method of keeping the digital packets that constitute VoIP signals from being decoded by hackers. Almost all of the VoIP systems installed in businesses, meanwhile, use current encryption techniques.
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