Title: 
VoIP - What Lies Ahead?

Word Count:
492

Summary:
One of the biggest downsides of VoIP as a telephone option has been the need to be literally at your computer before you could make the telephone calls. One of the newest advances in the industry is the introduction of VoIP phones that basically work like WiFi, meaning you have more options for connections and more places where you can use that connection.

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and it is a very basic marriage of the personal computer and the telephon...


Keywords:
voip why, voip provider, internet phone call


Article Body:
One of the biggest downsides of VoIP as a telephone option has been the need to be literally at your computer before you could make the telephone calls. One of the newest advances in the industry is the introduction of VoIP phones that basically work like WiFi, meaning you have more options for connections and more places where you can use that connection.

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and it is a very basic marriage of the personal computer and the telephone that is now used for communication. The biggest advantage is the cost because you can make all the phone calls you want through a connection that very much resembles your Internet connection for you computer. No matter who you call, where you call or how long you talk, those calls don't cost anything above your monthly connection fees.

Like the Internet, there have been some changes over the course of the VoIP as an emerging industry. Those early Internet providers typically had some pretty serious limitations. Some charged based on how long you were online, meaning that you had to seriously limit your connection time. Others charged minimum monthly fees with additional charges if you ran over your allotted time. Still others limited your time online and you were simply without service if you ran past that time limitation. But the technology eventually became more common and consumer demands created a need for flat rates - the most common way of charging for Internet service today. Typically, businesses and individuals pay a flat fee for a month's worth of Internet connection, whether the computers are online for one hour or continuously during that month.

VoIP is seeing many of the same changes and the industry is growing to the point that it's likely to become a serious employer. Just as some people saw the potential for computers and the Internet to become major industries, there were those visionaries who saw VoIP as a competitor in the communications market - and others who have only recently begun to believe that this is going to be a significant field for the near future.

The emerging VoIP technology and the popularity of its use will create a number of jobs. Just as there was an immediate demand for those who could understand computers after those machines became so readily available, there is an increasing demand for qualified people to install, maintain and repair the networks and equipment used for VoIP systems. Because these networks are not so very different from basic computer networks, there's likely to be less of a shortage of those qualified people from the beginning, but there seems to be little doubt that there will be a demand for the services.

If you enjoy working with new technologies, this could be the field for you. There are training options available and there seems to be at least a fair number of job openings in those companies that provide VoIP services.