Making Calls, Cheaply

WITH the prospects for Vonage, the pioneering Internet phone service, cast into doubt by an unfavorable ruling in a patent infringement lawsuit, now is a good time to look at other options for Internet business calls.

Its worthwhile to sort them out because the savings are huge, and the voice quality can be close to conventional analog service.

Internet phone service is cheap because voice-over-Internet protocol, the technology behind it, does not require an expensive investment in network equipment, and can share an Internet connection with other applications like Web browsing and e-mail. Even conventional phone carriers like Verizon use Internet technology to cut costs.

Providers all offer service plans, including ones with fixed monthly fees for unlimited calls to North American phone numbers. This eliminates the surprise factor inherent in conventional pay-per-call service. Internet phone calls to international destinations are billed separately, but in most cases still cost pennies a minute.

Another advantage to Internet phone service is that customers have access to a wide range of business services that were once available only to large corporations. Features like call forwarding, multiple simultaneous rings (where an incoming call can be answered wherever it is more convenient), follow me (where incoming calls are routed to particular numbers at certain times of the day) and do-not-disturb are now part of most service plans at no extra charge.

This is a real boon for the 5-to-10-person office, said Henry Kaestner, chief executive of the Internet phone provider Bandwidth.com.

There are three ways to set up Internet voice calling. The first uses a normal analog telephone, which is attached to a special converter that sends calls over the Internet. The converter, which is a box about the size of a paperback, needs two additional cables for power and network. This is the method that Vonage uses for both residential and business customers and the method that has been the subject of patent infringement claims from Verizon. For handling one or two business lines, the equipment is usually provided free with a one-year contract.

This method is best for the smallest offices and home-based businesses, and there are other providers besides Vonage.

SunRocket (sunrocket.com) offers a $200 annual plan. Others offer monthly plans that start at $50 a line. These include Verizons VoiceWing for Business, AT&Ts CallVantage, Virtual Office from Packet8.com and various business-phone plans from Cablevision, Time Warner and other cable companies. Should the courts ultimately rule against Vonage, any of these competitors would be a good alternative, if they dont end up with their own legal woes.

The second method uses a computer with a headset to make and receive voice calls. The PC runs software that matches it to a particular phone number, and it must be connected to the Internet and switched on to make and receive calls.

America Onlines Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and Microsoft Messenger all offer voice features, but these are geared more toward consumers. The Skype for Business service (skype.com/business, now owned by eBay) is more appropriate for business customers and allows more control, monitoring and consolidated billing. Skype charges $68 a year per phone number for unlimited calls and voice messages in North America.

Third are the Internet protocol-based private branch exchange services, called IP-PBXs. These are for handling five or more phone lines and require special digital phones that are connected via ethernet. These services require a higher-speed Internet connection, like a T-1 line, to operate reliably. This can cost more than typical digital subscriber line or cable modem connections, but the savings in toll calls can easily pay for the faster line. A business can either buy the equipment or share hosted equipment that resides in the service providers offices. The advantage, particularly for offices lacking technology-support staff, is that the service provider manages and maintains the equipment.

Mr. Kaestner of Bandwidth.com said his company would waive a clients monthly service bill if service is lost for more than an hour. Similar guarantees are offered by CBeyond.com, and AT&Ts hosted service, Voice DNA.

For larger businesses, it may make more sense to buy Internet phone-switching equipment, special Internet telephones and a high-speed Internet connection as a package, and hire a consultant who specializes in Internet telephony.

Regardless of the product, a business needs to make sure that a consultant examines its data network to evaluate whether it can handle Internet phone calls. Call quality can be affected by the technical aspects of data networking, including the type of wiring used inside the building to connect computers and the way routers are configured.

We do the end-to-end solution, starting with the design and all of the engineering, said Chad Agate, chief executive of NeoPhonetics, a consulting company in Tinley Park, Ill. For a typical 25-phone line installation, he said, he might charge around $18,000.

No matter what, Internet phone service is here to stay. Internet voice is not even cutting-edge anymore, Mr. Kaestner said. The technology has worked for several years and eventually will become the de facto way that businesses will communicate.

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