Voip Provider List
Since 2004, VoIP has been introduced in the mass-market as the necessary broadband access has increasingly become the standard used by both private and corporate customers. Subsequently, a large number of VoIP providers has entered the market, making it almost impossible to come up with a thorough list. In general, price differences between different providers can be huge while phone rates, especially for long distance and international calls, are still substantially cheaper than services offered by traditional phone companies. To be able to choose the best and cheapest VoIP provider, one has to think about individual calling patterns and possible technical requirements.
One of the best-known VoIP providers is Skype as it has been one of the first companies to offer VoIP services through a software application. The system used by the company is similar to other providers employing the same standard. To be able to use the service, the user has to download and install a software. Voice calls and other services such as video calls or conference calls placed to other users are free while landline or mobile phones outside the network can be called for a fee that usually has to be paid in advance, similar to the pre-paid system for mobile phones.
Other VoIP providers employ a different standard as they allow users to use dedicated VoIP phones and to place calls in the same way as would be done with a regular phone. In the United States alone, more than 1,000 providers are offering their services today, extensive lists can be found on a number of websites.