Like many early adopters of VoIP, back around 1995 I first started experimenting making internet calls using a headset plugged into my desktop computer and using a Windows program I can't remember the name of. Anyway, dialing the keypad on the screen with my mouse and making the home phone ring was absolutely amazing. Of course, in 1995 doing pretty much anything other than reading websites on a computer was pretty incredible.
Anyway, not much later I decided to sign up with a service that sent me their own branded ATA and hook it into my home cordless phone. WOW. Hearing that simulated dial tone emanate from that little white box sent shivers down my spine. I got multiple phone numbers in cities and countries around the world so people could call me as if they were local, and I never had to pay for call waiting, call forward an other similar services again. The only problem was that unless I was at home, all these great conveniences and cost-saving VoIP technologies ended at my front door.
Fast forward to 2010 and the technology crammed into a 3oz WP04 WiFi VoIP Phone or any of the other VoIP and Dual-Mode phones available. There is no longer any reason to operate an ATA or any style of cordless phone with a built-in ATA. In fact, here's 5 reasons to dump your ATA or cordless-style phone for a VoIP WiFi phone:
1. VoIP Ends When You Leave The Home or Office -- With a VoIP WiFi phone your deep discounted inbound and outbound calling goes with you. Take a VoIP WiFi phone on the road with you and you're in your VoIP Zone in any open WiFi hotspot like a hotel, office, library, park, hospital, coffee shop etc etc.
2. Pages and pages of VoIP & IP settings -- Current VoIP WiFi phones have only a few setting to enter like account, password and VoIP server IP address. Codec settings, echo, etc are mostly automatic and self adjusting. You can be up and running in no time at all with nothing complicated to enter into the device.
3. Only 1 or 2 SIP Providers can be stored -- VoIP WiFI phones have at least 4 SIP provider account settings so you can switch from one provider to another as you need them. Use one for inbound domestic, another for free inbound, and another for international calling. Of course you can simply use one provider for all your inbound and outbound needs.
4. All your calls are being converted to analog -- Dropping the ATA and going dedicated WiFI VoIP means your digital call will no longer be converted to analog for your home cordless phone. Even if your cordless phone is digital, the digital transmission is between the phone and base. The ATA converts the call to analog and your cordless converts it to digital and back again. Long trip for a cordless call. Switch to 'all digital' and you and your callers will notice the difference.
5. One person on the phone ties up others -- An ATA does the same job as a single line phone jack in the house. I've got a friend who has 3 WP04 VoIP WiFi phones in his house. He set up 3 sub-accounts (for free) with his VoIP provider. Now he essentially can never have a busy line at home. How? Remember, unlike dialtone lines VoIP is setup to work as a path. So he, his wife and his daughter can all be on their VoIP WiFI phones at the same time, they can all receive incoming calls at the same time, and all setup conference calls at the same time. As long as his internet connection (most DSL and Cable lines can handle even more than this) is up and running, it sounds like he's running a full-fledged PBX at home, but he's not. Oh, and he's spending around 90% less than if all 3 of them were each using a family plan cell phone.
If you'd like the best of both worlds such as VoIP and a cell phone, then look no further than a dual-mode VoIP phone with a full login browser. This way, you can use VoIP at home or at the office and when you need to take a call on the road or when you're not in a WiFi hotspot, you're still using the same phone.
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