Internet phone services propose to replace your POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) voice lines with a plug-in to broadband telephone service that can dial-up or answer calls routed, at least partially, over the Internet. 

Who?

Broadband services like Vonage, Skype, Packet8, ViaTalk, VoicePlus, AT&T's CallVantage, Verizon's VoiceWing and others are for people and small businesses that have 'extra' high-speed Internet capacity.  They're NOT appropriate to every situation, and for many situations the issue is specifically the 'extra'.  (Note: AT&T's offering currently does use the DSL modem to do quality of service balancing.)

If you have AT&T's service, or if your Internet connection has capacity that is NOT being used up, Internet phone services can be a convenient and maybe a cost saving alternative.  But if that capacity is being consumed they can quickly become problematic.

As an example, we had with a client company that implemented a couple Skype lines using their office building T-1 connection.  As a result they routinely they found themselves competing for bandwidth and having both sluggish access and conversations that suffered in quality.

Rule-of-thumb

Consider Internet phone services for situations where you know in advance there is 'extra' capacity in the connection.  Homes and small businesses with broadband fiber, cable or DSL connections are good examples where you know in advance that you will not be using Internet connections on two, three or more computers while also conducting one or more Internet-telephone-based conversations.  If this fits you, Internet-based telephone services may make some sense!

Note:  Internet phone services are not the whole issue in considering the use of IP telephony and/or the interconnecting a company telephone system (e.g. a PBX) to the Internet.  We believe that they are worth their own completely separate and careful analysis.

WARNING: Remember that Internet phone services REQUIRE that your power is on (There's no phone company power like a POTS line) and that your broadband connection is working.  For example, Internet phone service users with cable-based Internet, are likely to not have a working phone during a cable service problem.

What?

Internet phone service choices like Vonage, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, AIM (AOL Internet Messenger), Windows Messenger, and more... have become well known names as Internet-based tools that let you have conversations formerly reserved to POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines.  The key question this raises for residential users is, "Can I use one of these for my home phone and terminate my phone company telephone line?"  The answer varies based in-part on how you connect to the Internet, If you're using:

• DSL, this service typically requires a phone line just to deliver the DSL connection, and the voice service works with it on the same line simultaneously. (You can find any number of reasonably priced DSL modems on eBay.)
  
  In our experience there is little if any noticeable impact due to using voice and DSL Internet connection services at the same time.
  
  
• Cable, this service might already be in place for TV service, and the cable companies seem to have figured out how to effectively provide two or three services simultaneously without degrading one at the expense of the other.  (You can find any number of reasonably priced Cable modems on eBay.)
  
  
• Satellite, this service is just not suited to voice.  The 22,600 mile trip up to and then back down again from a satellite causes a brief delay that is pretty annoying and therefore not recommended for a voice connection. 
  
  [In the 1980's a corporate client implemented Satellite connections for international voice traffic that caused a bit stink!  The delay was something you could learn to accommodate in a conversation, but the learning was so undesirable, that the system was quickly switched back, and the telecommunications manager with the original idea,  fired!]

Why?

Internet phone services may be more convenient for regular computer users, and they can be cheaper for some users with needs for International voice communication to 'friendly' or at least 'known' recipients (E.g. recipients that will put up with the idiosyncrasies and in some cases are appropriately 'equipped' to receive these types of calls.)

They are also viable second, or even third lines, for a 'quick fix' to a phone line requirement.  But in general our experience is that they DO NOT compete well with POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines on price or quality.

How?

The how of Internet phone services is very simple and probably part of their appeal.  The procedure generally involves acquiring a telephone hardware box (Vonage labels one of theirs a 'Motorola Vonage router') that accepts a standard Ethernet connection (RJ45) and that lets you plug in a standard telephone line (RJ11) and POTS-style phone.  So most anyone with a broadband connection and an open port to plug into is just a little an online application process, and a couple plug-ins away from having a working phone line.

For more information there is a a well composed review on Internet phone services, that touches on many of the issues mentioned above (See: the 'Net Phones Evolve' article at http:--pcworld-about-com/magazine/2209p020id117155.htm  <-- copy-paste-&-correct). For a side-by-side review, see: www-download-com/Web-Phones/3150-2349_4-0.html, and for more on the 'How To' aspects of Internet Phones, see a useful tutorial at: http:--reviews-cnet-com/4520-9140_7-5131535-1.html.

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