1. Find out if your internet connection is "voip-ready". Most of the time when people are unhappy with voip service it's not the fault of the service itself, but the internet connection of the subscriber. Go to http://www.testyourvoip.com and run some of the call quality tests there to see if your connection is fast enough to support voip.
   
   
2. Look at your phone bill to see how much you're paying in services and what services you really need such as call waiting, call forwarding, three way calling, caller ID, etc. Jot down your total amount paid each month for services. If you're looking to voip to save you money, consider how much it would cost you to lose "bundled services" such as DSL, and Television if you were to cancel your landline phone service.
   
   
3.  Research several different voip providers to find out which has the features that you need or desire for the best price.
   
   
4. Look at the money back guarantee and equipment return policies. Make sure that any service provider that you're considering has at least a 30 day guarantee. If they don't offer a guarantee then don't even consider them. All of the major providers offer a solid guarantee.
   
   
5. If you are using DSL, be aware that you may not be able to cancel your phone service. Most phone companies will offer a "metered service" that you will pay for per call. Since you're going to be using Voip, you will not be making many (if any) calls over your copper line, only running DSL over it. I include this in the steps and not the tips section because it's really essential to look into metered service if you're using DSL. After all, why would you want to pay for a standard line if you're going to be paying for voip?
   
   
6. Look into number portablility for the provider that you're considering. If you need to keep your current phone number then don't consider a provider that cannot let you keep your current number.
7. 
   
8. Order your voip service and enjoy all of the fancy phone features for free that you would pay an arm and a leg.

Tips: 

• Have a backup line such as a cell phone or a land line on metered service. As you may already know, 911 service on voip connections is not perfect yet. Also consider that when your internet connection goes down via power outage or problems with your ISP, your voip line will not be available.
• If you do not want to switch your main phone service over to voip, you can still reap some of the benefits of it. There are free voip providers such as Google Talk (http://talk.google.com), SipPhone(http://www.sipphone.com), and Skype (http://www.skype.com). SipPhone and Skype allow you to place and receive calls from standard phones for very little money.
• Look into buying a Voip router. A Voip router will allocate more bandwidth to your voip calls than other internet activities on your home network. This improves call quality and will help to eliminate dropouts. Without a voip router if you're in the middle of the call and start downloading a bunch of data from the internet your calls will decrease in quality or be dropped depending on how much internet activity there is and how fast your internet connection is.
• Most providers will offer a telephone adapter or abrand new phone that is compatible with the voip service to you when you sign up. The voip phones are nice and have lots of features, but the adapters let you use your standard telephone with the service. Be aware of these options when comparing providers.

Warnings

• Always choose a well known or reputable voip service. This is a young technology and there are bound to be those offering cheap, substandard service.
• Make sure that you can return your equipment that you purchase and get your money back in the event that you decide that voip is not right for you.
• Have a Mobile Phone or a metered landline handy as a backup. Remember, if your internet connection goes down, so does your voip line. Always be prepared in case of an emergency.

 
                                                  [ How to Use VoIP ]

VoIP looks set to create the next revolutionary wave in the IT field. But how many of us (the “layman” consumers) really knows how to efficiently make use of the VoIP technology, the latest in-thing in town?

1. Figure out which of three categories of callers you fall into: ATA, IP Phones, and Computer-to-Computer.
   • ATA or Analog Telephone Adaptor, is the most common way of using VoIP. This adaptor actually allows you to hook up the phone, which is already in your house, to your computer, and then to your Internet connection. What the ATA does, is turn the analog signals your phone sends out into digital signals that can be sent over the Internet. Setting up this system is quite simple. It simply requires that you order an ATA, plug the cable from your phone (which would normally go into the wall socket) into the ATA, and then the ATA gets plugged into your computer, which is connected to the internet. Some ATAs include software that has to be installed on your computer before it is ready to be used, but basically it is quite a simple process.
   • IP Phones. The IP Phone looks just like a normal phone, with all the same buttons and cradle. The only difference is that instead of having a normal wall jack connector, it has an Ethernet connector. So, instead of plugging in your IP phone to the wall jack (like you would with a regular analog phone), it is plugged directly into your router. This option allows you to circumvent your personal computer. It also means that you will not have to install any software because it is all built into the handset. In addition, with the availability of Wi-Fi IP phones, subscribing callers can make VoIP calls from any Wi-Fi hot spots. All these features make IP Phones an extremely exciting option.
   • Computer-to-computer calls. These calls are entirely free, meaning that there is no need for any calling plans. The only things you need are the software (which can be found for free on the internet), a good internet connection, a microphone, speakers and a sound card. Except for your monthly internet service fee, there is literally no cost for making these calls, no matter how many you make.

• 1. For large companies, VoIP also offers some very unique possibilities. Some larger companies are already utilizing the technology by conducting all intra-office calls through a VoIP network. Because the quality of sound is comparable to and in some cases surpasses that of analog service, some international companies are using VoIP to route international calls through the branch of their company, which is nearest the call's destination and then completing it on an analog system. This allows them to pay local rates internationally and still utilize the same intra-office VoIP network, as if they are calling someone in the next cubicle.
• While your current long-distance plan covers you for only one location, say calls made from your office, you can make a call from anywhere where you can get a broadband connection with VoIP. That is because all three methods mentioned above, unlike analog calls, send the call information via the Internet. Hence, you can make calls from home, on vacation, on business trips and almost anywhere else. With VoIP, you can bring your home phone along with you anywhere you go. In the same way, computer-to-computer connections imply that as long as you have your laptop and a broadband connection, you are ready to go.
• There are also some nifty benefits to having your calls transmitted over the Internet. For example, some VoIP service providers allow you to check your voicemail via your e-mail, while others allow you to attach voice messages to your e-mails.
• While most analysts believe that it will take at least another decade before companies and telephone providers make the full switch to VoIP, the potential for VoIP technology's use today is already quite astounding. A report by the Forrester Research Group predicts that by the end of 2006, nearly 5 million U.S. households will be using VoIP phone service. With the savings and flexibility that VoIP technology already offers, and new advances just ahead on the horizon, we can expect those numbers to escalate further in the future.

How to Make Cheap Long Distance Calls from Your Computer with Skype

Technology is changing the way that people communicate and computers are not only useful for sending and receiving e-mails, but now can be used as a telephone to call your friends and family for almost free. Voice Over IP (VOIP) is changing the way people are calling each other.

Steps

1. Download the program Skype.

2. Sign up for an account during the installation process, it's quite easy. Provide a username and password.

3. If the person you wish to talk to has a computer and a high speed internet connection, encourage them to download and install Skype so you can talk for free.

4. Otherwise Buy SkypeOut Credit, this will add funds to your account that you can use to make calls to actual telephones from your computer. If you're apprehensive about the quality of the service, just add 10 Euros (about 8 US dollars).

5. Run your instance of Skype, bring up the Dial screen and type in the number you wish to call, or type it in the text field that appears near the bottom of the window. You'll have to type it with a special format starting with a + symbol, eg: +1 415 555 1212. Rates to the US, Canada and England are about 2 cents a minute, but again, if the person you want to call can run Skype too, it's free. Rates for other destinations are quite good too (Buenos Aires, Chile, France, Germany are all 1.7 Euro Cents or 2 US Cents a minute).

6. Press the green button and listen for the phone ringing.

7. When the person picks it up, it starts the phone call!

Tips

a. If you believe that this might be an act of sorcery or wish to test it out before calling someone, dial your own number to test it out.

b. Some other programs are available, such as Google talk and MSN Messenger (Audio)

Things You'll Need

a. High-speed Internet Connection

b. Microphone for your computer (some laptops have them built-in)

c. The program Skype

How to Use VoIP to Save Money

This article teaches you how to use various online resources to have cheap and free phone calls using your computer.

Steps

1. Download VoIP Stunt or any other VoIP service. Remember this guide is based for VoiP Stunt.
2. Make an account for it, you will get about 60 minutes to call to all places that are labeled as free (go to the rates section on your website). Nationwide in the U.S. is included.
3. Call a few people or even your own house to test it out how it works.
4. To get unlimited minutes just buy the minimum value that they sell. This is a verified company in terms of honesty so do not worry about that.
5. You should be done! Don't forget to log on at least once every three months to keep your account active.

Tips

* Buy the minimum credit to get unlimited calling to the free countries and low rates for others.
* Check the things you'll need.

Things You'll Need

* USB or normal computer audio jack headset.
* A computer.

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