Unless you have had your head in the sand lately you will have heard of VOIP. Everyone seems to be talking about VOIP, but you can be forgiven for probably not knowing much about it. VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and if you believe the media hype this new phone service is about to revolutionise the telecommunications market. As with a lot of new technological developments there are a few causes for concerns that you probably will not hear the marketing campaigns talk about.

What is it?

Just to give you a bit of background lets take a look at how VOIP works for those of you that are unsure. You will need to have a broadband Internet connection and to then open an account with one of the many new VOIP providers. By having an account with a VOIP provider you will be able to make a telephone call through your computer and its Internet connection. Many VOIP providers will allow you to call another user on their system for free or phone a standard telephone number for a low cost. Without getting too technical, VOIP works by converting your voice into lots of small packets of data. These data packets are then routed through the Internet to your VOIP provider