VoIP is becoming an increasingly popular choice for communication as an alternative to the telephone. Some however are still reluctant to switch to a VoIP service as they think that the quality is not that of a regular telephone. This isn’t necessarily the case though, and there are many advantages. This is even more the case when it comes to Business VoIP, especially for businesses that make a large number of calls.

As many people are aware VoIP offers cost savings when compared with landline telephones, and especially mobile telephones. Businesses can save a very significant amount. This is even more the case for businesses that make many long distance calls – this is where the real savings can be made. The premium put on long distance (especially international); calls by telephone providers are not a reality with VoIP. This is because VoIP works via a broadband connection so it is less expensive for the provider and therefore the customer. Many packages are just a flat monthly free for a set, or even an unlimited, number of hours. Therefore making a high number of calls could mean significant savings in comparison with using a regular telephone.

This is why call centres often choose to use this technology. They can base their call centres in countries where labour is cheap and use VoIP so they can call internationally at a reduced rate. Some would say the quality of these calls is sometime poor, but this is due to the broadband connection and not simply the fact that a VoIP provider is being used. A better quality broadband connection would result in better quality VoIP.

Maintenance costs are also often lower. In is inexpensive to set up, especially if simply installed onto a computer. VoIP phones, which are similar to telephones in terms of the user experience and look, are more complicated by still relatively cheap. If you already have a broadband connection, which the majority of businesses now do, then there is no need for an extra phone line to be installed. If you move premises there are no high costs involved.

The call quality of VoIP is traditionally poor and has this reputation. It is seen by many as the main disadvantage. This, however, is no longer necessarily the case. Contrary to popular belief a VoIP service can be of just as higher quality as a normal phone service. As mentioned above, it is dependant on the broadband connection. Poor broadband will mean poor VoIP, but a good quality broadband service will mean a good quality VoIP service.

Unlike landline telephones, VoIP can be portable. With VoIP phones this is not the case, but if installed on a laptop, then as long as you have a broadband connection you will be able to use it. If using wireless the quality will depend on the quality of the internet connection.

All the services that are available with a telephone provider are also available with VoIP. Conference calling is easy to perform and other services such as answer phones and forwarding systems are available. Depending on the VoIP provider and the package you choose, you can get fully integrated business systems and extension for different members of staff.

Andrew Marshall ©

Business VoIP

VoIP provider

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Wireless Network Trouble Shooting

1. Wireless Adapter – First check to see if your wireless adapter is on and working properly. If you are using a PCMICA wireless adapter ensure that the card is pressed completely in. If the wireless adapter card was not plugged in when you started your laptop you may want to restart your computer for a fresh start. If you are using a laptop with a built in wireless adapter. What Wireless Network – Check the bottom right hand task bar to see if you are connected to a wireless network. Many people are connected to the wrong wireless network with a weak signal or hardly any connectivity. You want to change your wireless adapter setting to choose Infrastructure access points only so you’re not connecting to rogue wireless access points.

3. SSID and ME – Next check your wireless settings for the following: DO you have the correct SSID typed in, is your encryption key typed in correctly, does your wireless router and wireless adapter have the same security settings.

4. DHCP ME – If you don’t have a manual TCP/IP address then your wireless router needs to have it’s DHCP server turned on. Connected to your web interface and turn on your DHCP server. Next go to your wireless network icon in the bottom right hand corner and disable your wireless adapter and then enable it. This will renew your DHCP request to the routers DHCP server.

5. PING!- Next we will use a command line function called PING. Type “cmd” in the run box, this will bring up your DOS window. Now type in ping and then type in the TCP/IP addressof your default gateway. If you have not changed it your default gateway’s ip address should be 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. If you receive a reply then you know that you are connected properly to your router.

6. WWW…WHAT – Now try and surf the web. Go to google.com or another simple page. If nothing comes up then you might have a manually configured IP address with the correct DNS servers entered. Connect to your wireless routers web interface and check the status. You are looking for the multiple DNS server IP address. Copy these IP addresses into you adapters TCP/IP settings and hit ok.

7. Google ME – Once your DNS servers are entered you should be able to surf the net. If you still can’t surf the net try restarting your computer and check you cables again to make sure you haven’t missed something.

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The decision to pay the extra fees and move from dial-up to broadband usually involves meeting three wants: faster downloads, faster uploads and live streaming video.

The transmission of live streaming video is dependent on bandwidth, video codecs and the ability to transmit as many frames per second as possible. LetÂ’s review how these variables effect video on dial-up and broadband.

First a little background on bandwidths and speeds. A lot of people use the terms bandwidth and speeds interchangeably, so it’s important to clarify the difference. Think of a water pipe. You can get more water through the pipe by increasing the pressure to send it through faster. This increases the “speed.” You can also get more water out the end by increasing the size of the pipe. This increases the “bandwidth”

When you go from a dial-up ISP to a broadband ISP, you increase the size of the pipe by getting more bandwidth. This way you can get more data through the pipe in the same amount of time, thus allowing faster uploads and downloads. Video is data, too, but good video requires enormous amounts of data. Because of this, video is often referred to as a bandwidth hog. When you increase the bandwidth, you allow more video through in the same amount of time.

Programmers can use creative and complicated mathematical formulas called algorithms to put the data into packets that allow more packets to go through the pipe. This is comparable to increasing the speed of the water in the pipeline. In the world of video, the algorithm is called a codec. Well known codecs include MPEG-4, MPEG-2 and JPEG.

In order to evaluate codecs, a definition of quality is necessary. The number of frames per second (fps) is usually the objective measurement of video quality. “Broadcast quality video” is an overused term that typically means 25 to 35 fps. Independent of theoretical rates, most live video streamed on the internet through broadband is in the range of 10 to 15 fps. It’s not like HDTV or like movies in the theater, but it is sufficient for the purpose.

JPEG transmits video like a movie. Each full picture frame from the “film strip” is transmitted and viewed. When the individual pictures, called frames, are accumulated together rapidly, they appear to display motion, just like a film strip.

MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and others donÂ’t send a full frame each time. They send whatÂ’s called an I-Frame, which is a full frame, only once in a while. In between the I-Frames, they only send the video data that change. So, if the image is from a fixed camera in a room where someone is walking, the wall doesnÂ’t change, so the image of the wall is not sent with each frame. Only the spots where the person is moving are transmitted between the I-frames. This eliminates a lot of data without changing the quality of the video. So, with the same amount of data, the end result can be more frames per second. This is why MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 are said to offer higher quality video.

What is bandwidth? Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be sent in a second, typically measured in kilobits per second (kbps). Did you ever notice how TV reporters on satellite phones sometimes look weird? They are usually transmitting at very low bandwidths of less than 5 fps. Have you asked yourself why cell phone voice plans typically can only transmit still video images, or video clips that are so slow that motion is not apparent? ThatÂ’s because their maximum bandwidth is 9.6 kbps, also considered very low.

Cell phone data plans and dial-up telephone service fall in the less than 56 kbps range. Broadband is above 56 kbps. Cable companies typically offer it in 128 kbps or 256 kbps increments. However, these are maximum rates. For example, dial-up telephone usually fluctuates between 30 and 45 kbps in the real world, even though it is theoretically 56 kbps.

MPEG-4 and its many variants are pretty much the standard for sending video over broadband. Many different companies have developed their own unique twist to try to take into account variations in bandwidth that result in interruptions, pixilation and video tears. But, with a 256 kbps bandwidth, video can stream on average at 10 to 15 fps, and may even peak at 20 or 25 fps depending on the fluctuation. Unfortunately, on dial-up, the number of frames per second that these standard codecs can deliver is less than 5 frames per second, and often only 1 frame per second.

Some new video codecs are allowing frame rates of 12 fps over dial-up services, in many ways comparable to the video offered over broadband. This has expanded the ability to transmit quality video through dial-up.

To summarize the water pipe analogy, different video codecs can increase the water flow by increasing the number of frames per second at the end of the pipe without increasing the size of the pipe. Switching from dial-up to broadband is a way to increase the size of the pipe so that more frames per second can come out the end of the pipe.

Cost is always a consideration, with dial-up being less expensive. Also, many people worldwide do not have the availability of broadband, so dial-up is their only option.

Comet Video Technologies develops products and services for the low bandwidth transmission of video through satellites, cell voice plans, cell data plans, telephone dial-up and broadband. http://www.cometvt.com

Readers have permission to duplicate and distribute the above article in its entirety. We request that the final paragraph be included in each reproduction.

Howard Becker is CEO of Comet Video Technologies. For the past 20 years, Becker has been CEO of consumer product and video technology companies as large as $25 million in sales, as well as a consultant for start-up technology companies. He has an MBA is from the University of Chicago and a BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a former CPA with Big Four Experience. He developed the first published integration of the Fama-Miller efficient market model and the Black-Scholes Option pricing model, thus creating a theoretical justification for the trading of derivitives on index funds. He is author of a number of published papers on semiconductor based heating elements, as well as a paper on the objective measurement of job placement for individuals with disabilities.

Risk-Free Broadband Phone Package Phone Plans! – Video

Help needed. Tiscali Broadband & Phone package. I am thinking to join them. SHOULD I?

Tiscali 8Mb Broadband, includes line rental, UK anytime calls, unlimited time online. All for 19.99 pounds. Anyone on this package or your experiences with Tiscali PLEASE.

I’m not on it but it sounds like a great deal.

CHEAPEST BROADBAND

Seems like ethernet based solutions (e.g. metro-ethernet) have become the “choice du jour” for many company voice/data networks. T1 still has it’s place for small and some medium size businesses …. depending on the applications to be supported of course. MPLS has helped that arena survive. Plus there’s still a need for DS3 and OC3 Bandwidth solutions in medium to large size businesses. Particularly to multiplex several voice channels and to support legacy SDH based networks layed over an ATM layer.

But ethernet popularity and applications is growing …. fast.

Ethernet access circuits are becoming more prevalent because they are much less expensive. Ethernet for typical IP traffic – the majority of corporate data traffic – is a good solution and, depending on the QOS capability of the Ethernet vendor, can be very reliable.

Considerations ….

1. Requires fiber to the customer premise. Common in urban areas, less common in rural areas. Where only copper is available, DS1/DS3 will be the most common offering.

2. Ethernet is a shared medium. As I noted, critical and sensitive IP communications (voice, video) will depend on the QOS SLA the Ethernet vendor can support.

3. Legacy voice and video equipment (PBX’s and video conference systems) rely on T-carrier circuits. PBX’s because they require DS0 channelization; legacy video conference systems because they use either ISDN or ATM.

As voice and video migrate to IP and Metro Ethernet vendors implement reliable QOS, you will more see dramatic profit potential in that market. In the meantime, Metro Ethernet is competing to be the lowest cost alternative.

The advantage of an ethernet handoff to the customer is no extra network equipment is needed.

An OC handoff requires a SONET head at the customer premise, and then channelized interfaces – the customer has to purchase some mix of CSU/DSU’s, WIC ports, router serial interfaces, and so on … then active channels have to be configured, protocol and framing, redunancy, ASR’s …

With a simple ethernet handoff – the customer plugs the cable into their Layer 3 Switch, Ethernet router, or firewall (that they own anyway). Everyone knows how ethernet works, why would you use anything else if ethernet is available? Almost everything gets turned into IP at layer 3 these days anyway.

Ultimately the decision to implement one connectivity solution over another depends on four things:

Is it available? Is it highly available? What pricing is available? And, are there features not available with the other available solutions? It’s a question of availability.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications….including DS3-Bandwidth.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you’re always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

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