VOIP.com - Internet Phone Service

71% of people between the ages of 50 and 64 use the internet on a regular basis. E-mail helps them stay in touch with loved ones who are far away; online photo sharing sites, like Flickr, allow them near-instant photographic updates of growing family members; they even use the internet to research medical conditions and reach out to others via online support forums. A significant percentage of people in this age group are also broadband subscribers-which makes them excellent candidates for voip internet phone service.

However, voip has been, to date, largely the domain of businesses and hip, young early adopters. Besides lack of exposure to voip, there are a number of erroneous voip preconceptions that contribute to the older demographic's reluctance to replace familiar copper wire phone systems with voice over IP.

The first being, "it's going to be unfamiliar and hard to use". In the past, when voip was in its infancy, voice over IP communication required each user to have a computer, a special software program, a microphone, and a set of speakers. Today, making a voip call is as easy as picking up the phone and dialing a number. No computer or complicated software required. Sound quality is another big question that late adopters have. Early voip calls were generally made over slow dial-up lines with a sound quality ranging from passable to atrocious. Now, fortunately, most people have a difficult time distinguishing between a "regular" phone call that comes in over traditional telephone lines and a next-generation voip call traveling via broadband connections.

Another myth is that voip is hard to set up or you have to be technogeek certified to make it work right. Again, this dates back to the dawn of voip, when the only people using voice over IP applications were card carrying Lords of the Cyberspace. Voip didn't have to be user friendly. Now however, well marked equipment and clearly written instructions make it easier to set up a voip system than program your VCR.

Reliability is also a concern. People want to feel confident that their ability to communicate will be there when they need it. Recent mandates from the FCC ensure that Enhanced 911 (E911) is available to all voip consumers who live in E911 areas. E911 automatically transmits your name, callback number, and address information to the nearest emergency response call center. Additionally, equipment like an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) can provide your voip system with backup power in the event of a blackout. Some people also use their GPS-enabled cell phones or a backup landline.

Superficially, voip may not seem like the telephony choice for the Baby Boomer generation; however advancements in both technology and the network infrastructure make voip a smart move for retirees on fixed incomes who want to stay close to friends and family without spending down their savings.