Digital phones work with ‘Voice Over Internet Protocol’ (VoIP) and have many advantages over using regular phones and going through traditional phone companies. With digital phones, you are actually routing your conversations over the internet. Your voice is converted to data and is sent through a packet-switched network to its destination. When talking on a digital phone it feels like you are just talking through over an ordinary phone line.
Digital phones and the VoIP services that they use are receiving a lot of attention recently as it is shaping up to become a promising new technology. The regular VoIP phone services are actually free, or can be found at low monthly costs when compared to regular phone company charges. This low-cost alternative is considered a big threat to regular telephone companies and even cell phone companies. The digital phones offer many of the same features such as caller ID, back up numbers, telemarketing blocks and silent recording, etc.
Many people are still not quite ready to replace their standard telephones with the digital phones yet. Unfortunately, there are some disadvantages to this type of communication. For instance, not every location or area code is available, or if it is available, it is a high cost. If there is a power outage, your phone service will most likely be out, unless you have a battery backup for your computer system. Anytime your internet connection is down for any reason, you will not be able to use the digital phone.
A very big disadvantage at this time is that emergency numbers are sometimes incapable of being dialed with the digital connection. Some VoIP companies have found ways to work around this problem by implementing artificial 911 connections that will eventually connect to local emergency personnel. However, the lack of a reliable 911 connection is still considered a major drawback by most consumers. Many people would still want to have a traditional phone as a backup, but this takes away from any financial savings of using a digital phone.
Another disadvantage is that it may only work if the other person you are calling has the same software loaded and running on their computer. There are still some complaints about the quality of sound as some connections have an uneven sound and sometimes there is a delay with an echo. Of course, the quality issues can be overcome with certain types of voice compression algorithms and echo cancellation software. However, this requires additional processing power for your computer that can make digital phones more expensive than the analog phones.
One of the biggest advantages of using digital phones for businesses is that it helps in reducing the cost by huge volumes depending on the size of the business. Most companies that make regular long distance calls, including overseas calls pay a lot in monthly phone bills. If you make frequent and lengthy long distance calls, you have to pay large bills. However, using digital phone technology, you would only pay a flat rate charge to a VoIP provider.
If you are using digital phones and the right software, you can talk with multiple people anytime you want, and all at the same time. This makes communication easier and very flexible regardless of the locations you are calling. It allows companies to conduct online meetings from all their various locations by using added features such as web cameras for visual communication. VoIP also allows easy exchange of data with the people you are talking to including such things as videos and other graphic displays.
Since this technology is still evolving, there are inevitably going to be some issues that you will have to think about before buying. After considering all the pros and cons, you can decide if you are able to live with the inconveniences in order to save some money. You may decide to wait for more advances in this technology before plunging into the digital phone market. However, if you are seriously considering a digital phone, you should check locally for a provider to find out about the fees and services they can offer you.