One of the stigmas attached to VoIP is the cost of buying the actual hardware. Though it’s obvious why VoIP is cheaper than regular PSTN with regard to the monthly bill, many balk at the thought of replacing their existing hardware with VoIP compatible phones. For a long time this was a valid concern. In fact, it was something of a catch 22 situation for VoIP. Lower costs come with mass adoption and mass adoption comes with lower costs!

However even with this roadblock, VoIP adoption has skyrocketed and now the price differential is so low that it’s easily affordable. People are still sometimes stuck though with the image of how VoIP phones are costly. There’s no doubt that VoIP phones can be expensive. Some include high end features such as those designed to send and receive high quality HD voice. But there are cheaper phones as well to suit every budget.

VoIP phones vs PSTN phones

On an average, VoIP phones do cost more than PSTN phones. This is because they almost always have more features than a comparable PSTN instrument. The real cost savings of VoIP are being reaped by businesses and these users need more than just simple calling functions. Hence the large number of VoIP phones you see are tailored to these users.

In addition, VoIP phones need to be compatible with PSTN networks and for this they need a device known as an ATA adapter in some form or another. Certain phones are just regular analog phones with the ATA adapter built in and sometimes it’s an external dedicated device. There’s still no standardization of the way VoIP services are delivered, but this is a factor that will become a lot clearer in the coming years.

Starting prices and basic features

It’s important to ensure that your VoIP phone is compatible with your service. If you buy a “Skype” phone for example, it’s not going to work with a regular SIP VoIP service. Having said that, any decent VoIP phone should be able to connect using the SIP protocol as it’s the standard.

As an example, one of Cisco’s IP phones is available for just $16. Of course it has just basic functionality, but even that includes features such as Power over Ethernet (PoE), an LCD display and call forwarding. However, it runs the SCCP VoIP protocol and won’t work with SIP phones. This gives you an example Tadacip of the few pitfalls you need to look out for.

Author Bio: Bhagwad is an experienced writer for VoIP business solutions. He also specializes in recommending VoIP phones to those who are just starting out.

Category: Technology/VOIP
Keywords: VoIP Phones, VoIP Business Solutions