VOIP Providers

Introduction

VOIP is an acronym that stands for voice over IP and that is exactly what it does. It is a service offered by some companies that allows you to talk on the telephone over the internet rather than through a conventional phone jack connection. VOIP services are usually just as high quality as the typical telephone service (even for long distance service) and also usually tend to be cheaper than their conventional telephone competitors. Many companies that offer conventional phone service also offer VOIP service and this article will profile three of the major players in the VOIP game.

Provider #1 – Vonage

Chances are if you’ve seen a commercial on television about VOIP providers then this commercial was about Vonage. They specialize in providing this type of service and because of it most of their marketing budget is allocated towards getting customers on board with their VOIP services. A famous commercial from Vonage proudly proclaims that you can now “VOIP with Vonage” for a ridiculously low price. This is followed by testimonials from various people and most notably one man in particular that is pleasantly surprised at how well the quality is maintained, even for long distance phone calls!

While the commercials offered by this company are indeed a little cliché, their services are exemplary. VOIP is a relatively new service, but Vonage makes it seem as though it has been around forever. With few downtimes and excellent customer service to back up a great product, you can’t really do wrong if you VOIP with Vonage.

Provider #2 – Earthlink

Earthlink is a company that has been around for a long time. It is a company that has been providing high quality internet services to people all across North America for years now and because of that it is also a company that has built up a very handy reputation when it comes to internet services. They have recently expanded their base of services to include VOIP products and while they may not be as specialized or as experienced as Vonage they definitely have a lot going for them. First and foremost is the fact that they combine their VOIP services with other internet services to make a package that affords the customer a lot of savings. In some cases the customer can save as much as 20% if they switch all of their internet services over to Earthlink and since the company itself is trusted in the industry, this is definitely a good deal.

Provider #3 – AT&T

Unlike the other two companies, AT&T comes from a background of communications and telephone technology. This gives AT&T a rather unique perspective on VOIP and it is able to use that perspective to develop and deliver top quality plans that are ultimately cost effective for both the company and the consumer. They are also the largest of the three companies and this size advantages does sometimes serve to make consumers more at ease; large companies are less likely to go belly up or unexpectedly increase their prices.