What are the advantages and disadvantages of using VOIP?
The advantages of using net phone services include: • Cost – One high speed line covers cable, internet, and phone services so you don’t pay for an additional telephone line. • No additional telephone line is needed. • If you purchase an digital adapter, you can literally take your phone line with you and use it with any existing broadband connection. The disadvantages of using net phone services include: • Internet commerce is unregulated and anything goes. • The VOIP is only as good as your broadband service carrier. If the cable company goes down, so does your phone line. During power outages, phone service also becomes unavailable. • Because it is an emerging technology, widespread connections may be a problem, and additional surcharges may apply for calls outside of a service area. Again, this depends on the broadband service. Also, some services may not handle faxing. • Privacy – digital lines travel over networks, which may be hacked.
