Newspaper Page Text
THE ISLANDER, OCTOBER 6, 2008, PAGE 15
The advent of Internet
based telephone services is
dramatically changing the tra
ditional ways people commu
nicate. At one time hard wired
service was the only way to
link telephone devices. More
recently, cellular telephones
have into prominence and for
many users have replaced
wired service. Now these
forms of communication are
being augmented by voice over
Internet (VoIP) systems that
allow you to use your com
puter as a telephone. While it
will be necessary to maintain
an Internet connection, and
preferably a high speed one,
these new services can provide
features that greatly augment
traditional services at rates
that, in comparison, are free or
nearly free.
The biggest player in this
market is Skype, a service of
eBay. Skype allows users to
make telephone calls from
their computers to other
Skype users free of charge, or
to and from landlines and cell
phones for a small fee. Addi
tional features include instant
messaging, file transfer, short
message service, video confer
encing and its ability to cir
cumvent firewalls.
To use Skype, download
the required software free of
charge from skype.com. When
this installed, you can send
text messages or engage in
two-way voice conversations
with other Skype users any
where on the planet at no cost.
Of course, for voice conversa
tions, your computer will need
a microphone and speakers or
a headset with these compo
nents.
While basic Skype service
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allows for computer based con
versations, it does not pro
vide the ability to call out to
standard telephones or receive
incoming calls from telephones.
However, those features are
available through the use of
Skypeout and Skypein.
Skypeout, as the name
implies, allows users to make
outgoing calls from their
computers to regular tele
phone lines anywhere in the
world. Under current prices,
12 months of unlimited call
ing to points in the USA and
Canada costs only $29.95 for
the entire year. International
calls are priced based on des
tination, but for many of the
most frequently called foreign
locations the cost is only 2.10
per minute.
Skypein provides a tele
phone number that users
may dial from any standard
or mobile telephone. The calls
appear as incoming voice mes
sages on your computer. If
you don’t answer, the calls
are relayed to voice mail. The
most exciting thing about
Skypein is its ability to give
you a telephone number in a
remote location. For instance,
if you are based in Atlanta but
want your users in Seattle,
New York, Paris and London
to be able to place locals calls
to reach you, set up Skypein
numbers for those cities.
Users in each city for which
you maintain a Skypein line
can make standard calls to
those local numbers without
any long distance fees. Each
Skype account will accommo
date up to 10 different incom
ing Skypein lines. Skypein
permits users to subscribe to
numbers in Australia, Brazil,
Chile, Demark the Dominican
Republic, Estonia, Finland,
France, Hong Kong, Ireland,
Japan, Mexico, New Zealand,
Romania, Poland, Sweden,
Switzerland, United Kingdom,
and the United States. The
current fee for a Skypein num
ber is just $60 per year per
line.
Skype is a great tool for
those who work primarily
from a computer. However,
what if you travel and want
to have voice messages and
faxes captured throughout the
day for your review at con
venient times. A free service
from k7.net can provide that
capability.
K7 messaging provides you
with a free phone number,
although it will be restricted
to a number in the Seattle,
Washington 206 area code.
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However, you can have your
local landline or mobile num
ber forwarded to this number
by adding that a forwarding
service to your local account.
The K7 system captures you
voicemail messages and faxes
which are instantly delivered
directly to your current email
account. The voicemails are
delivered as wav files, while
the faxes are tiff image doc
uments. You also have the
option to view and listen to
your messages on the K7 Web
site.
A similar but expanded ser
vice is offered for a $4.95 per
line per month fee by eVoice.
com. In addition to providing
you with a telephone number
that is local to either your
home city or other selected
location, eVoice provides an
automated receptionist func
tion. A professional quality
voice will announce the name
of your company and allow
the caller to enter an exten
sion code to reach you or any
other person in your organiza
tion who has been assigned
a line. The system will ask
the caller for his or her name
and then ring your telephone.
An announcement will let
you know who is calling and
give you the option of accept
ing or declining the call. If
you accept, you are connected
with the caller. If you decline
or don’t answer, the caller is
routed to voicemail. This sys
tem provides the services of
a receptionist and the func
tionality of a PBX at a very
low cost with no hardware or
capital investment required. A
free 30-day trial is available.
As you can see, the world
of telephonic communications
has changed greatly with the
growth of Internet based ser
vices. In addition to the pro
viders listed above, numer
ous other companies are now
competing on the Internet to
provide low cost, high qual
ity solutions to meet the voice
and fax based communications
needs of individuals and small
businesses. The ability to com
municate one on one with a
client, friend or relative on the
other side of the country or the
globe at no cost or very little
cost is now yours. All you have
to do is use it.
For more information and
tutorials, visit the authors’
website at www.bienvilleser-
vices.com. □
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is goori for your business.
Call 912-265-9654 for rates.
109 Key Drive, @
Brunswick, Ga 31523 (912) 265-3419 Turn To The Experts 7
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