Many years ago, sending letters was the fad; people relied on letters for long distance communication. But thanks to the inventor of the first practical telephone, everything was made easy. Although very successful, technology didn’t just stop there, the telephone evolved from the big, bulky, vintage phones to the common smaller home phones to the much smaller easy-to-use and easy-to-bring mobile phones that we have now. As our world of technology entered the new millennia, every gadget that we have seems to be getting smaller and smaller in size. Smaller it may be yet each of the features became more and more high-tech.

Commercial telecommunications companies had played a crucial role in promoting our voice communications all over the world; it became faster, more reliable, and more affordable as time goes by. But do you know there’s another kind of voice delivery today, one that uses a third party service provider through a WiFi, 3G, GPRS, WiMax or other network providers? That is called Mobile VoIP or, simply, mVoIP.

Mobile VoIP services allow you to make free or cheaper calls conveniently, using your mobile phones which use IP networks. You can make free calls as long as you’re connected to the internet. Sounds easy right? But, let me give you the step-by-step on how mVoIP really works.

It is really not impossible to connect your mobile phone to an IP network, because almost all public areas now are covered with WiFi hotspsots. But even if VoIP offers free calls, if you are on a data plan for your mobile phone the GSM part is still charged at the local mobile rate, since it’s not free for most places. The call quality that you will experience, also, heavily depends on the strength of your wireless carriers. The higher the signal, the better the quality of calls you get. The mobile phone that you are using should also be compatible with the softphone program that you will download and install; and at present, that is quite an obstacle, since number of phones that are compatible to a soft client is still limited. In addition to that, you can only call people who also have the same program as yours.

It may now come out as a hassle, but once you get the right phone which is compatible to your softphone program, you can definitely see that it will be much more affordable compared to the usual rate that we have on our GSM. And if you’re worried about the call quality, don’t fret, because on the rate that technology is going today, it will not be long enough until we have stronger and better signals all over the world. So, for families of 8 children, or to business people and travelers, mobile VoIP services will really help in cutting down your expenses for communication, thus, proving to be much more profitable.

Some services you many find are advertised as free, but most have terms which include advertising as part of their conditions, this may be simple ads at the bottom of a page or more likely direct email marketing. In some cases only the first few minutes are free, if you are not accustomed to web conferences, the free time provided will be spent learning how to use the system, which is confusing to the virgin user. A few companies that you can consider on you search are:

Zip Conferencing-

They provide audio and web services for business conferencing. They offer new users a free trial to see if they like their service. If you do sign up the rates are average with most services.

Fuze Meeting-

This company is similar to webex and gotomeeting. There is no trial offered but their mothly rate is affordable for all business sizes and their platform is easy t understand. Their content is provided in an HG stream.

Webex-

This is one of the more innovative in the group and has the highest standard of technology and service. This group is mainly fir businesses and their pricing reflects that.

Freeconference.com-

They offer free basic services to all parties. They do have a paid monthly service which is much better than what they give you free, and some basic elements are not provided even though advertised.

These are a few of the top choices available, if you wonder what is so good about web conferencing as opposed to meeting in person consider;

• You can review projects without all the paper

• Presentation can be done with an unlimited number of participants

• Most services offer brain storming ability where each person can add their thoughts

• Training sessions done online are usually more productive

• Location is not a factor for any one in the conference

• You can record the meetings for later review

You save a lot of time and money by hosting online with business conferencing services. Your executive can focus more on the meeting as opposed to the logistics and comfort of the attendees.

 How does it work?

When calling, VoIP services converts analog audio signals—signals coming from your customary phones, to digital signals that can travel through the internet. With just the use of an internet connection you are ready to place a call anytime.

How can I use VoIP services?

Like what I said earlier, an Internet connection is necessary for you to be able to use your VoIP.

Commonly, you could place a call on VoIP services using 3 kinds of equipment such as ATA or Analog Telephone Adaptor , Special VoIP Phones, and of course by means of your computers.

ATA is an adaptor that connects your standard phone to a computer or broadband connection that will allow you to make VoIP calls. You’ll still be using your regular phone so this makes calling hassle-free.

Special VoIP or IP Phones are specialized phones that look and operate like your normal phone but have Ethernet connector and are plugged directly on your broadband connection.

VoIP through computers are probably the simplest way to place a call and usually computer- to-computer calls charged no fees at all. Necessary materials you need to set up VoIP service on your computers is a software or VoIP installer, a microphone, speakers and preferably a fast internet connection.

Can I call anyone using a VoIP?

This will depend on the VoIP service you have. Some services are limited only to those subscribed to the VoIP service you are entitled to, some may allow you to call any telephone numbers—including a local, long distance or international number or a mobile number and some VoIP service also allows you to speak to more than one person at a time. Furthemore, calling someone who has a regular phone doesn’t require the other party to install a specialized gadget to be able to talk to you.

Some Advantages of having a VoIP

Perhaps the most compelling advantage of having a VoIP service is cutting down cost. I mean, where in the world can you find a service that allows you to make free calls all over the world through the use of your computer? However, there is a minimal charge if you are to make a computer-to-phone call but surely is cheaper than your customary phone service. Being able to call anywhere as long as there is an internet connection is also an advantage. It is so convenient especially for businessmen who need to place a call almost every time. There are also features incorporated in your VoIP service that aren’t present on your regular phones such as being able to send data like pictures or documents at the same time as your are talking at no extra charge.

VoIP service is without doubt the new trend for our communication industry.

Internet faxing services use the internets VIOP functionality to send and receive regular paper faxes via the internet. Some if the advantages to this type of faxing are:

There is no hardware as well as no software requirements

There are no extra phone lines required for a fax machine

You are able to communicate an share documents in a paperless environment

There is usually no limit to the amount of faxes you can send or receive at once

The overall cost of ink, paper and a phone line connected to a fax is nil

You are able to get faxes wherever you are as long as you can access the net

Many services are available that offer internet faxing packages at affordable rates. Many internet faxes can be received on regular machines, however not all can, so keep that in mind while choosing your fax.

Regular fax Machines 

The fax machine has been around and tried and true. It functions by copying a document placed into the feeder and transmitting over a phone line to a receiving fax machine in anther location. They are used mainly for business. Some if the advantages to this type of faxing are:

Papers are sent instantly without the delay of postal mail

There is no worry about email security

Wet signatures can be exchanged easily for contracts

Faxed signatures are legally binding in most countries while electric ones are not

Instant hard copies that can’t be altered are created through faxing

Many fax machines offer other print services

Many fax machines can also scan pictures or ID cards

There is no extra monthly charge other than your phone line

While both options have their advantages, one must look at their business model to determine which choice is best for their company or situation. Each option has money saving properties as well as easy of use properties.

Positive reasons for using online faxing:

i)                    For online faxing one can use a variety of devices including; PDA, cell phones, laptop, PC, satellite internet, voice over internet protocol, Wi Fi, wireless broadband, etc.

ii)                   Sending and receiving faxes using online faxing is as easy as using email. It can take two to three clicks to perform the task. What’s more, one can never miss the faxes sent to them since they are always stored in one’s online account.

iii)                  Online faxing is much cheaper than using a fax machine and it also reduces the expenses spent on buying fax paper, fax machine, etc.

iv)                 Online faxing can be accessed from anywhere provided that there is high internet speed at that place. These days almost everywhere you go there is internet meaning anyone around the world can have access to online faxing service.

v)                  To get the online faxing service, one is required to just sign up for the internet fax service which is entirely free.

vi)                 The online fax services is always available since they give individuals support be it daytime or at night.

vii)               One can sign up for a trial period before starting to use the service.

viii)              Online faxing is environmentally friendly because one does not have to make the environment untidy with papers or ink as one would do when using a fax machine.

ix)                 One has privacy because he or she is the only one who can see what goes on in his or her account and is the only one aware of the password.

Negative reasons for using online faxing:

i)                Customers are always concerned over the prices of the internet fax since they are normally different and it depends on the service one is using. Some may be high while others low and one can’t really know.

ii)              When many people may be using the service at the exact same time, the network may go down hence things will be operating a bit slower than usual.

Online faxing enables one to experience an extreme reduction in communication when faxes are being sent in far places and the cost is covered by a fixed line internet connection fee. This also helps companies to sustain good relations with their clients and business associates.

-          Online faxing reduces the incidents of wasting paper and saves on money. It also ensures that the environment is always clean and presentable.

-          Online faxing assists one to control one’s faxes enabling them to review the faxes and also allow one to be able to schedule the sending and receiving times of faxes from one’s computer.

-          It allows one to advance to electronic communication when there is need to.

-          Many services come with more methods one can choose from to protect their documents and convey them to the intended individuals only.

-          One can check their faxes any time because they go straight into one’s account.

When choosing an internet fax, it is important for one to consider whether he or she will be doing more of sending or receiving faxes or both so that he or she may know which package to choose. In addition, where faxes will be sent should also be considered.

Many a time, the success or failure of one’s faxes is notified through email where one is emailed about it or web interface whereby one logs in and are notified of the status of their faxes. The cost of each fax is usually sent by providers like MyFax.

Most of the internet fax services offer a one month free trial period before proceeding to use the service. This gives you a chance to decide whether the service is the best or not. Companies like eFax gives one up to twenty free faxes a month.

When signing up for a free internet fax, one should be alert since some charge by the minute while some by the hours and international faxes are more costly than domestic faxes. Some of the services that give free services are pop fax, pamfax, ringcentral fax, faxzero, faxfreedom, send2fax, etc.

The best online faxing comes with high-quality customer maintenance, no startup fees, no annulment fees and no out of sight fees hidden. Online faxing will continue to become even more popular since many people use the internet and computers and technology is changing drastically.

Messaging is not new; it has been around as long as computers have been able to talk to each other. As mentioned it is free from virtually all providers. The three largest are MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger. They all offer the same basic services such as:

• Regular chat which is text messaging is the back-and-forth.
• Conferencing, which is also texting, but with several participants in the same conversation
• Voice chat is a feature that lets two use a audio connection in their chat session
• Video chat is the same as above, but of course with picture added.

The internet has brought forth a host of innovation in the way we stay in touch with each other and instant messages are another in that long line of advancements. Although email was the most quickly learned and utilized form of communication in human history, Instant messages are not far behind.  People have opted to email or instant message in lieu of actual postal mail and even phone calls. Instant messaging has also increased in popularity due to the fact that you can “see” when a person is available to talk. You are able to set your status on your IM profile to busy, away, invisible and so on.  You can easily share link to websites that you are currently viewing and get feedback in real time. You can also easily share pictures back and forth with less download times via your chat box. Files and video can also be shared easily. If you are looking for down time, a host of multi player games are also available for play between you and any of the people on your list that happened to be online.

Many business people utilize this service to get simple updates on work without having to make a phone call or actually walk to another location in the office.  This is also a favorite of those in their teens a way to talk with their friend without the added expense of a phone bill.

Pros:

• No office overhead, this includes rent, parking and utilities
• There is no travel time, so everyone can make it to the meeting on time.
• The cost of booking hotels and venues are greatly reduced for companies hosting training and other such activities
• Travel budgets and HR budget can be reduced to a minimum by ay of online conferencing and interviews
• The face to face socialization the usually occurs  in an office is moot
• Some clients prefer to meet in person so you may have to rent a satellite space for such occasions
• At times power failure or tech failure can result in the loss of connection; this may be a deal breaker in key meetings.
• Some international workers are on a different time schedule so when you are to have a meeting, they often have to be up in the wee hours of the morning.

Cons:

There are a great deal of pros and cons when it comes to virtual conferencing. Overall, you need to choose what is best for your business model. In terms of money saving benefits, there is a great advantage to hosting meetings online virtually. There are a wide range of companies that offer you the service such a gotomeeting, Skype and so on. Their price ranges vary in the terms of per meeting rates or monthly rates. When you use a conferencing service you are able to record transcripts be it in type or in the video format. These are not mandatory but the option is available.  Most connections are secured so that no one can “hack” or listen in electronically to your meetings.

If you are a start up, you can always consider using your webcam and messing service as an inexpensive way to utilize virtual business conferencing. If you use Skype, member to member communication is offered at no charge. Google talk, as well as yahoo also offer video messaging services at no charge between members.

Companies and employees can become more productive by reducing the amount of time they spend commuting and traveling for work related meetings or seminars. The cost of booking hotels and venues are greatly reduced for companies hosting training and other such activities. Executives are able to spend the time they save traveling and put it towards more enlightening activities to help the brand move forward.

While there are a lot of advantages to virtual conferring, the face to face aspect is lost. People who rely on technology to communicate over time have trouble reacting properly in person to person situations. In addition, there is some meetings that should always be done in person. If you happen to have a power outage during an important virtual conference, you may be left trying to quickly re-connect all parties through other means. This looks unprofessional as well as makes you seem underprepared. Another concern is that not all computer run on the same software, in some cases, you may have playback issues on one or more person that are participating in your conference. This occurrence requires more time to be spent in the meeting to assure everyone is on the same page.

Virtual business conferencing has become a must have in the business world due to the global nature of most markets. There is a lot of money to be saved as well as time that could be spent working.  Emails are great but can never replace an actual conversation. Being able to look your client or business partner in the face while you discuss work is something that is achieved via this communication method. While you should invest in good equipment t ensure your conference runs smoothly, you don’t have to break the bank. The cost of a average set up whether suited for your home office or for use on the go via your laptops is still far les than the cost of having a brick and mortar building or travel expenses.