Description of VoIP provider iConnectHere
Friday, November 24th, 2006
The idea of using the internet architecture with which to replace the standard telephone service is not new although it seems to have taken a long time for the technology that allows this to happen to become commercially available. However, at last some communications service providers are entering this new marketplace able to offer a serious alternative to standard telephony systems.
iConnectHere is an American based company able to provide a service that almost mirrors any offered by standard telephony services. What iConnectHere demonstrates is that internet telephony has arrived to take telephone communications into the 21st century and beyond.
A major reason for change to Internet telephony and possibly the biggest draw relates to costs. For $19.95 a month iConnectHere offers free of charge a fairly sophisticated, attractively designed phone equipped with a voicemail facility plus 800 minutes call time. Alternatively you could opt for another service plan that either offers pay-as-you go terms or a flat-rate plan. The phone is not included in anything other than the $19.99 per month service plan, and retails at $39.99. The cheapest plan iConnectHere currently offer works out at $5.95 per month and provides 400 minutes call time in North America. However all plans include access to call forwarding and the inclusion of calling-card and softphone options which are backed up with attractively low per-minute rates; free member to member calling and no cancellation or hardware fees. The phone will need to be returned if you have not made a direct purchase. In addition customers are provided a new telephone number with a choice of 40 area codes located in 18 States as it is not possible to use an existing phone line. However it makes sense to keep to a localized number if you wish to avoid costing others in your area paying long distance charges. Average call charges are set at 1.1 cents per minute for calls within the United States or Canada while calls to Europe are about 6 cents per minute.
The iConnectHere phone a Grandstream BudgetTone 100 SIP is large with user friendly buttons that are easy to read while the handset is weighted for comfort. An inbuilt speakerphone is supported by Mute, Hold and Voicemail Message buttons. Additionally iConnectHere offers an adapter which makes possible the use of any phone including cordless models for use with the service. The Cisco ATA adapter retails at $109 and is equipped with a fax port for business convenience.
The useful voicemail feature can be accessed via any phone or even streamed from the iConnectHere web site in order that messages can be viewed from any PC. While a call forwarding feature is easily managed via your account where you enter the number you want calls forwarded. In addition to your call log and billing information is retained online for customer convenience. However, iConnectHere does not yet support fax and call waiting. But support the 911 service.
Support for the iConnectHere phone service is given online with good response times that ensure customer satisfaction.