Fast VoIP Speed - How Fast Should My Internet Be?

So you see the commercials on television for low rate phone plans with unlimited long distance. You wonder how the pricing is possible, then you hear the words "VoIP". You know you can afford the price offered on the commercial and you want to give it a try and chances are you already have friends or relatives with it anyways. Before you dial that number or search for alternative providers online, there are some things you should know that can save you time and money when shopping for voice over Internet phone services.

The Right Broadband Connection

The speed of your Internet is the first and foremost important aspect of VoIP and should be the very first aspect considered in your purchase of a calling plan. Without the right speed and connection, this service can lead to more hassles than convenience and end up costing you more money when you try to go back to your old phone plan due to reconnection fees, install fees, etc.

Dial Up Internet: Not surprisingly but still necessary to point out, dial up is not sufficient enough for VoIP phone services. Do not be entirely down on yourself though if this is the case, softphone technology has made some advancements to where you can use your computer headset and microphone to dial out from this software and have somewhat decent conversations. I wouldn't go advising replacing your phone service with this though, the voice quality of regular phone service just cannot be mimicked with a 56 Kbps connection.

Satellite Internet: Now this may come as a shocker to some, but satellite Internet is not suitable for a broadband VoIP connection either. Yes, you can get speeds up to 5.0 Mbps but it is the latency (delay issues) factor for this broadband speed that makes it not viable for phone communications. Perfect for downloads and web browsing, but say goodbye to using it for voice over Internet service.

DSL and Cable Internet: Okay, so enough discouragement now. DSL and Cable are suitable for quality VoIP communications. There is one aspect though, speed. Just because you subscribe to these services does not mean you have the right bandwidth package. It is important to understand that you will need at least 512 Kbps per phone modem connection over your Internet. If you use the Internet (downloads, gaming, etc.) a lot you may want to try to double the bandwidth to insure quality voice communications over your broadband connection. Follow the rules of bandwidth and connection type and you should have excellent talk time with everyone all over the world from your new services.