One implementation of VoIP everyone should be looking at is Skype. The biggest reason is it is free. The software to use Skype is free. Skype to Skype calls anywhere in the world are free. All you need is a headset for your computer, which you can get for $5 to $10 if you don’t already have it (experience has proven that using the speaker and microphone built into most notebooks produces very bad quality phone calls). Calls to regular phones in most the rest of the world are only 2 cents per minute. If most of your calling is within the US and Canada, Skype has a plan for $29.95 a year that gives you unlimited calling to the US and Canada.
If you want, you can get a phone like handset that plugs into your computer (Phillips VoIP Phone, http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?ctn=VOIP1511B/37&scy=us&slg=en, for $26 ). Or get a phone that uses your WIFI wireless network without a computer at all (the Belkin WiFi Phone, http://www.belkin.com/skype/howitworks/ for $179.00 ). In a follow up article I’ll look at Skype phones in more detail.
You can also get a regular telephone number (SkypeIn) that lets people with regular phones call you for $10 per month including voice mail. (I use Skype only for outbound calls)
The only possible negative to Skype is that you need to have your computer on to make or receive phone calls (unless you are using one of the special phones above). Another potential negative, and I say potential because it is becoming more uncommon, is you need a high speed internet link.
Even if you decide on another VoIP phone solution, I would suggest installing Skype on your notebook computer. Then while traveling, if you get high speed internet in your hotel room (or at a local Starbucks), you can make all the calls you want at no extra charge. Since most hotels charge up to $1.50 for a local call, and cell phone minutes can be precious, Skype is a great option I use a lot when traveling—especially when you are overseas, where my cell service is $1.99 per minute.. I’ve even made a Skype call home from 34,000 feet mid-Atlantic on a SAS flight.
Another area Skype excels is its video conferencing. If your computer has a webcam (you can add one for $25-50) and the person you are talking to on Skype has a webcam you get a button to make a video call. It is absolutely simple and a great way to do video. I’ve even attended a conference in Denver where a keynote speaker spoke from Warsaw Poland via Skype and remote access with both computers projected on dual screens. I also saw an attendee at another conference holding a computer with the webcam toward the speaker to share that session with someone at the office. Think of the possibilities in your business.
