What You Will Need For VOIP

The Simple Solution -- Headphones

Attach a headset to your computer’s sound card and you can try out VOIP for free! Download any one of the many VOIP software packages -- Skype, Gizmo, Free World Dialup, and Net2Phone are some of the big names. Install it, and then invite all your buddies to download and install the same software. Once both you and friends are connected, give them a call! It’s that easy to set up.

They are equally easy to use. Simply click on a contact name to initiate a call. Special features including call display, call forwarding, voicemail, and conference calls are all included at no extra charge as long as both parties are using computers. Most of these so-called "soft phones" allow you to place and receive calls at no charge to and from anywhere in the world, so long as you are not connecting to cellular or landline phones. 

The next step up from headsets is Internet phones. Because you need VOIP software installed on your computer to make and receive calls, these phones are still considered soft phones, but they seem more like "real" telephones. They ring, have regular number pads and are used like conventional phones. They plug into the USB port or sound card of your computer. 

Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA)

Progressing up the VOIP ladder, ATA is next. ATA allows you to connect a regular analog telephone to a broadband modem. They are usually provided free when you sign up with a provider, which is similar to signing up with a telephone company. You may be required to sign a contract committing you to the provider for a specified time period and there is a monthly charge.

The ATA is very straightforward. Using an ATA for Internet phone calls is just like you would use your regular phone service. You simply pick up the phone and dial a number. Anyone calling you won’t even know that you are using VOIP instead of PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).

A computer isn’t even needed for this kind of VOIP link. It connects to a broadband modem - either a DSL modem linked to your phone line or cable modem attached to your cable television connection. Any traditional analog telephone can also be plugged into an ATA.

You can even take your ATA with you when you’re traveling and receive phone calls from anywhere by connecting it to a broadband modem. Calls to your home phone number will be routed to your ATA (which has a unique identification) at the same cost as the call to your residence or business.

IP Phone

The final VOIP option is an IP phone. Don't confuse IP phones and Internet Phones. IP phones plug directly into the modem; Internet phones plug into the sound card or USB port of your computer. An IP phone is a handset that has all the hardware and software built into it. You connect an IP phone to a broadband modem, then make or receive calls the same way that you would with an ATA.

The advantage of an IP phone over an ATA is that it is a completely integrated unit. You don’t need an extra telephone to plug into it. The advantage IP phones have is that your phone numbers are all stored and the display screen provides information about incoming calls.