Copyright 2005 Gobala KrishnanWhile doing research on
Internet, I realized that most people are absolutely confused when it comes to selecting a VoIP or broadband phone service provider. I can't say I blame them either, when you consider that there are now thousands of companies out there with as many different service plans.
What I often come across though, is
question "Is company A better than company B?". To be honest I have no idea how to answer that question. All I can offer is a simple guideline that can help you discover
answer for yourself. Here it is.
1) Where is
company located?
Does
location of
company matter? Perhaps not, if
service provider is located in
same country as you are. However, if you have been offered VoIP or broadband phone services offered by foreign companies, it probably WILL matter.
The danger in subscribing to companies that don't have a presence in your country, legalities aside, is
quality of
service. Imagine making a call from Malaysia to your friend in Singapore. Now imagine your call being routed all
way to
US or Australia before it is routed back to Singapore to complete
call. Physically, this takes less than a second, but
consequences are sometimes obvious.
More often than not, you get a delay in your call. If you understand communication, you'll understand than even a one second delay before hearing a YES or OK can make all
difference in your sales talk or discussion. The solution?
Make sure your VoIP service provider has at least a few gateways located in your region, and most importantly, your country. This would reduce
distance
call is carried and usually result in better call quality.
2) Are
call plans unique?
All VoIP service providers out there suffer from
same symptom -
need to differentiate themselves. That's
reason why you get 100 different plans from 10 different companies. Understand, though, that they are all basically
same thing.
So if water is water, how do you choose when you flip open
refrigerator door in that 7-11 store? Is it
color of
bottle or
price?
The same question can be asked when choosing a VoIP plan. Choose what appeals to you, but don't get carried away by all
"Unlimited calls" talk. Understand that any VoIP provider worth their salt can offer you unlimited calls from one ATA (analog telephone adapter) to another ATA that they own, for free. However, consider this - how many people you know are using an ATA from
same company you are?