List of VoIP Service Providers

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is the routing or forwarding of voice conversations through IP-based networks or over the internet. VoIP is also called Internet telephony, Broadband Phone, Voice over Broadband, and IP Telephony.

Voice over internet Protocol is said to be the "next best thing" in the internet as many consumers and businessmen turn to VoIP to avoid the high charging fees of regional telephone companies. With VoIP, consumers can save on their telephone bills.

With VoIP, for example, one can call overseas for as low as three cents per minute. Consumers would have to enjoy economy without compromising the quality of voice calls. For the last few years, the VoIP quality has improved to about ten times.

Dubbed as the next Baby Bells, VoIP service providers are projected to enter a nice niche in the market. This is so because the giant telephone companies are faced with an enlarged competition with cell phone providers, strangulating regulations, and lower demand for landlines. Consumers are expected to see the benefits that VoIP service providers offer. Within the next five years, it will be very interesting to see what has become of the telecommunications landscape.

Considering the advantages of VoIP over the traditional phone services, the consumers will surely be jumping on the bandwagon of VoIP.

VoIP service providers are of different types. Each of them offers different services so it is important that you know what your particular needs are. VoIP service providers include business VoIP, cable, consumer, satellite, and free providers.

Below is a list of some of the companies presently offering VoIP services:

Business Providers

Having one of the most reputable names in hardware and networking systems, Cisco Systems is also one of the chief business VoIP providers. Asterisk software is a complete PBX system that runs in BSD, Linux, OS X, and Windows. Meanwhile, Packet8 presents a hosted PBX system both for businesses and residential packages. Alcatel offers communication solutions to enterprises, Internet service providers, and telecommunication carriers for the delivery of video, data, and voice applications to their employees or customers.

Siemens provides its clients services such as data, image and voice, through DSL broadband. On the other hand, Nortell transports carrier-grade telephony, multimedia and data services in packet networks.

Cable Providers

With additional 10,000 clients every day, Time Warner is probably the most renowned among the cable VoIP providers. Also, Cablevision is marking its name in the cable VoIP market as it enrolls 1,000 new subscribers daily in its program. Meanwhile, Cox Communications, one of the nation's giant telecommunications company, has now become a VoIP cable provider from being a standard cable phone service provider. Likewise, Comcast, another cable giant, has also opted to join in the competition and is now serving in 20 markets.

Residential Providers

Among the residential VoIP service providers, Vonage is currently taking the lead in the industry. Packet8 offers it customers unlimited residential calls for a fixed monthly charge and unlimited phone calls within Canada and the US. Standard presents features such as Caller ID, Voicemail, Call Transfer, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, Speed Dialing and 3 Way Calling. Lingo offers an economical monthly plan with unlimited calls to Canada, the US, and 17 other countries in Western Europe. However, based on quality ratings, Lingo's performance is significantly lower compared with that of Packet8.

Satellite Providers

Net2Phone and Hughes Electronics have combined efforts to put up satellite VoIP services. Their service is particularly addressed to underserved and remote regions around the globe, such as some areas in Africa where there are no phones. Vonage and Skyframes have also worked together to offer the same type of service. Multiemedia is presently providing service in Asia-Pacific region, Australia, and the Middle East.

Free Providers

Skype is probably the most renowned among the VoIP service providers. Skype provides it customers with free peer-to-peer calls with other Skype subscribers. Also, it offers cheap PC to cell phone or landline calls. Likewise, Earthlink provides online calling for free. Earthlink is the pioneer among the ISPs to offer such service. This free online calling plan is supported by Session Initiation Protocol, or SIP, and can be availed by over 1.2 million subscribers of Earthlink.