Skype is certainly one of the most widely recognizable names in VoIP services. Introduced in 2004, Skype has grown rapidly in popularity because of its service offerings that include free PC-to-PC calls and discounted rates for PC-to-landlines and mobile phones. While Skype is undoubtedly a big player in VoIP services, there are other options for consumers and businesses that are frequently more cost effective and convenient. Let’s take a closer look at what Skype offers and compare it with three other leading providers – Vonage, MediaRing, and GoogleTalk.

Skype

Owned by Ebay, Skype is a provider of VoIP services for both individuals and businesses. Their most popular and widely used service offering is free Skype-to-Skype calls. By downloading their software, Skype users can call anywhere in the world, anytime to other Skype users for free.

Of course, not everyone is a Skype user, and this is where the service can become more complicated. The company provides several different options for calling landline and mobile phones. Their “Pay As You Go” option requires users to add money to an account to pay for calls as they make them. Currently, they charge 2.1 cents per minute to over 30 locations plus an additional connection fee.

Besides “Pay As You Go”, users can alternatively choose one of Skype’s subscriptions that can be billed either monthly or annually. The least expensive plan allows unlimited calls to the United States and Canada landlines and cell phones. There are plans that enable users to call one designated country other than the United States or Canada and a plan that provides unlimited calls to over 40 countries worldwide.

While Skype’s calling plans are substantially less expensive than traditional phone providers, it’s important to read the small print before signing up and placing your first call. Connection fees that apply to “Pay As You Go” users can be somewhat difficult to determine from searching on Skype’s website. For those who choose a subscription, there are limitations for making international calls. In some countries, only landlines are covered under the plan, and in the case of Mexico, calls can only be made to three cities. There is also a fair usage policy for all Skype’s plans that can affect the overall cost of a call.

Skype also offers a variety of bundled services with their subscriptions including voicemail, call forwarding, text messaging, and an online number to allow others to call you from a regular phone to reach you on Skype.

Along with the somewhat complex billing structure, there are several drawbacks to Skype which are worth noting. Skype doesn’t offer some of the extra services that competitors such as MediaRing Talk provide such as free calls to fixed and mobile phones to places like China, Singapore, and Hong Kong or multi-user voice conferencing for up to five participants.

Vonage

Another of the leading VoIP providers is Vonage. Unlike with Skype where you dial directly from your computer, Vonage requires you to purchase a phone adapter that connects your phone to the Internet. This provider also offers several calling plans that range from $17.99 to $34.99 per month for consumers. There are plans available for small businesses, as well.

The primary benefit to Vonage is that it works very similar to a typical landline. Plans feature voicemail, call forwarding, caller ID, and call waiting. You keep your existing phone number and continue to have 911 service. The phone adapter is also portable so that you can take it with you and plug it into any internet connection. This enables calls to be routed to you wherever you are located.

However, for these conveniences, you will pay more for Vonage than for Skype or other VoIP service providers’ services. As well, Vonage doesn’t offer features such as instant messaging, conferencing services, or file sharing.

Google Talk

In 2005, search engine giant Google released a beta version of Google Talk, their free Windows and web-based application for instant messaging and VoIP. The service provides users with the ability to chat for free, instant message, send and receive voicemails, transfer files, and receive email notifications.

Users of Google Talk swear by its application, but there are some negatives that are worth noting. Users of Google Talk must be signed up for Google’s email service (Gmail) to access the application. It also doesn’t offer many of the useful features that VoIP customers have come to expect such as voice mail, phone conferencing, and multi-chat features. It also doesn’t provide capabilities for pc-to-landline or pc-to-mobile phone calls. Therefore, international calls are limited to those placed between Google Talk users.

MediaRing Talk

Lesser known Media Ring has been around since the 1990’s and offers a range of VoIP services for consumers and small businesses. Their direct-to-consumer service “MediaRing Talk” currently offers computer and mobile VoIP services to over 2 million users. Like Skype, MediaRing Talk offers free PC-to-PC calls worldwide for users who download MediaRing Talk software. Where MediaRing exceeds Skype in their service is by offering free both PC-to-Phone and free PC-to-mobile calls to the United States, Canada, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong, along with free PC-to-landline calls to the UK, Australia, and Taiwan. Their calling rates to other destinations are competitive with those offered by Skype.

MediaRing Talk also offers other convenient and highly useful features such as instant messaging with presence and multi-user voice conferencing which allows the setup of conference calls with up to five participants.

Unlike Skype, MediaRing is able to offer more free services than Skype or Vonage because it uses an entirely different business model that derives income primarily through advertising. In contrast, Skype and Vonage are both dependent on paid subscriptions to generate their primary sources of income. MediaRing also offers a far easier to understand billing structure than what Skype provides. Rates and fees are clearly described on the company’s site at http://www.mediaringtalk.com.

The Future of VoIP Services

Many industry analysts are predicting that MediaRing’s current ad revenue model is the wave of the future and will need to be adopted by most or all of its competitors if they are going to remain competitive in an environment where consumers and businesses are increasingly demanding free long distance calling capabilities along with other tools to maximize their communications capabilities.

While Skype, Vonage, MediaRing, and Google Talk are among the leading VoIP providers, there are a growing number of companies to choose from. Price is generally the first consideration when deciding on a company, but there are also other factors worth comparing. For example, many providers only offer voice calls and nothing more. These bare bones providers don’t offer many of the important services like instant messaging, conferencing, and video.

There are, undoubtedly, many companies, prices, and plans to consider before choosing a VoIP provider. However, it is always advisable to choose a well-established company that has been around long enough to provide consistent, high quality service and has the capital to invest in continuing to expand their technological capabilities to offer its customers the most comprehensive and up-to-date services available.

photo by ScubaBeer (via Flickr)

Cutting Back Doesn’t Have to Mean Compromise

The global economy is in a tailspin. Companies are downsizing, individuals are cutting back on expenses and money just isn’t as readily available as it once had been. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to compromise when it comes to communications. In fact, today there are options for communications that are as good—if not better—than what you may be using right now. And surprisingly, many of these are free.

The World is Flat

The collapse of the U.S. housing market, liberal regulatory structures and lack of capital flow have all contributed to the perfect economic storm—a crisis of global proportions. And one can point to subprime mortgages as being the primary culprit responsible for this global stagnation of world economic growth.

In this day and age, we’re realizing more than ever before that a local change can have international ramifications. Just as the U.S. housing market touched the world, however, there are some changes that have positive ripples.

For example, due in part to major advances worldwide in communications technology and the Web, you can now conduct both personal and business communications—with all the dependability and features of traditional service—at a fraction of what you would have paid just five years ago.

It doesn’t matter if you’re in Singapore or St. Louis; today you can make free phone calls, chat online and use other cloud-based technologies to conduct important business—or to simply keep in touch with loved ones.

From China to Silicon Valley

Li Hong moved from the People’s Republic of China to the U.S. to pursue a dream he shared with his family: To be the first in his family to attend and graduate from college. He had always wanted to be an engineer; Li’s family helped him raise the money he needed to come to California and pay for room, board and tuition at Santa Clara University where he had been accepted into their esteemed School of Engineering. But he left more than just his country behind; he had also left his family.

“I knew inside that the move, it was required. I had goals that only could happen in United States and waiting at home wasn’t part of my plan,” said Li. Once in the U.S., however, keeping in touch with family and maintaining those important connections proved not only difficult, but expensive as well. “Initially, I called home only when I could, to stay in touch with my parents and my little sister. But I felt that I was losing touch with them.”

Li began looking for other means of keeping in touch. He soon found that VoIP (or Voice over Internet Protocol) calling was the answer to his dilemma. “It was great! I found a firm that I could trust—they’re the leading VoIP service provider in Asia—and they let me make free, unlimited calls home!”

What Li discovered is what many others are discovering every day: That VoIP calling is just as easy, convenient and reliable as traditional phone service, and gives anyone who has access to a computer and the Internet the ability to call anyone, on any phone, in select global destinations for free.

The way VoIP works can be explained as such: The VoIP software serves as your ‘phone’. Instead of a traditional landline handset and receiver, you can use a headset attached to your PC, your computer’s microphone and speakers, a USB phone or even an existing analog telephone with an adaptor.

To make a call, simply start the program and on a familiar dial-pad (but now digital and on your computer), enter the number you wish to call. The call is placed to the landline or mobile device of your choice and you can talk for free with crystal-clear digital quality.

Today’s VoIP Service

Millions of people are adopting VoIP to reduce calling expenses. In the computing cloud today exists tools such as VoIP phone systems that give you flexibility you never imagined as well as save you quite a bit of money.

Quality VoIP providers offer services of high-value, and often free of charge. You should look for these features when evaluating VoIP service providers:

• Instant messaging with presence lets your contacts—whether they’re family, friends or business associates—know of your availability with a presence indicator. Typically, a provider will allow you to send and receive unlimited text messages for free.
• Multi-user voice conferencing allows you conference call with up to five participants at a time. Because no prior reservations required, this is perfect for an impromptu collaborative get together with the old gang. (Within these types of conference calls, you are typically allowed a mix of your online contacts and one contact who can be reached only on their fixed or mobile phone numbers.)
• Multi-user text collaboration for inviting up to five contacts into one chat session.

When selecting a VoIP provider, I recommend you do a bit of homework like Li did: look for a company with a long history in VoIP communications and features of interest, including free PC-to-landline and –mobile device to select international destinations.

Li Hong Chose MediaRing Talk for his VoIP service. One of the first companies to offer free PC-to-PC calls and instant messaging, they have built a complete VoIP service portfolio. Founded in 1993, they have an established reputation for quality products, service and support and are now the leading VoIP service provider in Asia.

Through strong technological capabilities, global network and extensive distribution network, MediaRing has brought high-quality voice communication services to carriers, enterprises, service providers, and now to the consumer.

Li speaks as often as he wants (though his parents wish it were more!) to family back in China, and because he uses MediaRing Talk, these calls are unlimited and free to both landline and mobile phones anywhere in China as well as the U.S., Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong. Additionally, they allow calling to landline phones in the U.K., Taiwan and Australia. (For all other global destinations, they have very competitive rates.)

Summary

Because the economy may not recover for some time, it’s important that you keep all your costs down. But you don’t have to compromise when it comes to communications. Search around, trust the best and you’ll be surprised at how much you can do with so little.

Sign up now and start making free calls today!