VOIP technology always intrigued me, so I decided that the only was to learn about it was try it out. So started surfing the web and some of the first searches on VIOP providers brought me to:

VOIP.MS: http://www.voip.ms

Callcentric: http://www.callcentric.com

I immediately created accounts as it does not cost any thing to create one, still was not sure what I was doing.

They were throwing terms like DID (Direct Inward Dial) and Termination.

DID is an incoming line which is assigned a phone number

Termination is the ability of a phone line to call other phone numbers.

VOIP.MS and Callcentric are VSP's (VIOP Service Providers). They offer a lot of services on a DID, to name a few, call waiting, caller id, voicemail, etc......

VSP's usually require the customer to be have a lot of technical knowledge to understand how this solution works. To use a VSP, at a minimum you will need to purchase a VIOP ATA (Analogue Telephone Adapter). An ATA connects to your VSP over your internet connection and also to your regular home phone. You need to configure a Trunk on the ATA to your VSP, it is through this trunk that all your voice data will travel and lets your ATA know who your VSP is and likewise tells your VSP about your ATA.

The other side of VOIP is through your cable providers and the famous company vonage http://www.vonage.com . What these companies do is that package the service, they provide the ATA and manage it for you. So for a regular Joe, just place the order, wait for the ATA to arrive in mail follow the included instructions on where to plug in the power, ethernet, and your normal phone line and everything is ready to go.