There are a number of decisions that prospective users of VoIP need to make in relation to the telephony equipment they choose to use. These relate not only to the actual telephone itself, but also the plugs and sockets used for connectivity.

The telephone

Here, there are 3 main options:

• A software phone : a piece of software that you run on your computer that allows you to make and receive phone calls. You then use this with a headset to provide the microphone and speakers.
• A VoIP adaptor: a physical adaptor which allows you to plug a traditional analogue or cordless phone into a VoIP system.
• A VoIP Hardware Phone: this is a full telephone which is 100% VoIP. It will plug into an Ethernet port on your broadband network.

What are the differences?

The key differences between the different options are ease of use and quality of calling. Typically, a traditional VoIP phone (or adaptor) will give you better sound quality and ease of use.

VoIP phones provide better sound quality than software phones because the telephone has signal processing chips in it which are dedicated to handling the voice call. In addition, the audio levels are carefully calibrated to ensure that the voice is not too loud (in either the speaker or the microphone).

VoIP phones also provide greater ease of use for most customers as the familiar interface of a telephone (dial and pick up the receiver) means that they are able to make and receive phone calls easily without having to understand a new computer program.

That said, software phones are useful for customers who travel using laptops regularly, and also desk bound operators who are handling high volumes of calls.

Plugs and sockets

If you decide to use an Internet telephone adapter or VoIP phone you will need to ensure that you have a spare Ethernet socket on your ADSL or cable modem.
If you have an ADSL connection, such as BT Broadband, Freeserve or Tiscali and you are using a USB modem to connect your PC to the ADSL line, you may need to replace it with an ADSL modem which has both USB and Ethernet ports. You can buy a four port ADSL modem/router from your regular PC supplier at a cost of around £30.00 but there are very good all in one ADSL modem routers with VoIP connectivity solutions around.

If your broadband provider is a cable TV company such as Telewest or NTL and your PC is connected directly to the cable modem, then you may need to purchase an Ethernet router with several Ethernet ports in order to connect both your PC and an Internet phone.