Residential VoIP Information

Hello,

I'm sure you get tons of users coming in wanting the 'lowdown' on VOIP. I am sorry, but you can chalk me up as I am on of them.

I'm currently working at a multi-million dollar company right now and am being Promoted to work on the Sales side of things when they launch a sister company providing VOIP Services, millions of dollars will be put into this company as it has been in the works for a long while (coding, hardware, software, billing aspect)! I was recently told I will be promoted in this sister company (I will release that information prior to our launch in about 1-2 months.)

As I will be in the sales side of things, I just want a brief lowdown on how VOIP works, and maybe touch the surface on the intricate operation as to how the calls are made.

Any guidance online or even a book that will give me a crash course on how VOIP works along with its software and hardware, I would love that!

I look forward to being an avid user in this forum, cheers!

Sidenote: I am setting up my VOIP account tonight as I was given a pap2 box (im a noob) and a phone number, it was given to me to test call errors and quality before the big launch) So expect a lot of questions! Thanks guys!

Welcome to VoIP User Vincent.

OK, basic overview of the technology:-

About VoIP

More detail from the server-side (what the new VoIP company will be building):-

How to Build a VoIP Network

Wikipedia has a nice write-up:-

Voice over IP

That should get you started. I suggest you setup an account with us. It's free, and experimentation is exactly what we exist for. You also may come across some interesting issues such as the common "one way audio". These are all things that a commercial provider needs to deal with and legislate for. Building a plug and play network is not straightforward.

Quote:

I will be in the sales side of things

General marketing or direct selling? Most users will have already made up their mind that they want your product before they contact you. A multi-million dollar advertising budget coupled to a patented Unique Selling Point (you must do something different or you'll get buried) is the way to sell VoIP. If you do not have a patented Unique Selling Point, you'll never make a profit, as you'll simply be competing on per minute charges with incumbent telco's who can price-cut you to pieces. Customer churn is the enemy in that environment, and if you're competing solely on price, it'll be high. Bargain hunters are a fickle bunch.

The key point is that you will own no network infrastructure or last mile connectivity. In the absence of that, you need to add some other value or tie-in. If the sister company is an ISP or cable company, then you're in a much better position.

Quote:

I will release that information prior to our launch in about 1-2 months.

Not here I'm afraid, as per our Posting Rules and Guidelines. Questions and discussion we can deal with, just keep it generalised.

Dean

Hi Vincent,

It's becoming fairly easy to see that the best way to make a small fortune in the VOIP business is to start with a large one.

I replied to a post here that you may find of interest

http://www.voipuser.org/forum_topic_8892.html

Not sure whether the enquirer understood my points, they were not intended to be negative but are based on a keen overview of the industry over the last few years so I think they have some validity.

It should no longer need to be the case that you need to spend several million to learn the same lessons as the others who went exactly the same route - keep your money in the bank , buy a yacht any other option will prove more enjoyable than any voyage into Voipspace.

Take a look at Vonage Share Value over the past couple of years to get the general idea and remember that they were an 'early adopter' so had some advantages.

If you are flavouring your Voip package with a 'special sauce' then it may stack up but the best suggestion I can make is to do your research very carefully.