Although big Canadian phone and wireless companies are now offering new packages with lower rates and fewer restrictions, significant cost savings have been available here for years.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is an option to landline or cell phone services
VoIP services were launched in Canada more than a decade ago, but many folks still do not know what it is, or how to use it: VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and it refers to the technologies used to deliver voice (and multimedia) calls over the Internet (services can also be called something like digital phone, IP telephony or broadband phone).
No matter the name, the platform is the same: it basically turns voice conversations into digital signals, which are sent along the Internet like pretty much any other data stream, and then those data bits are reconverted into a voice. The bandwidth and infrastructure required is minimal, really.
The knock against VoIP once focused on performance and voice quality (oh, those echo-y conversations with long gaps and silent spaces), but those days are gone and things have very much improved.
(You can read more about VoIP and how it has improved of late in this look at some broadband phone services from WhatsYourTech.ca’ Ted Kritsonis.)
VoIP now supports both home and business users with solid service, most of the expected calling frills, all at lower costs than normal landline or wireless phone services. And VoIP is available on most smart phones, personal computers, and/or Internet access devices.
The idea for VoIP (or what was then called NVP, Network Voice Protocol) first appeared in the early 1970s, but it was 1990 or so till the first VoIP application, Speak Freely, was available publicly. It was originally written by John Walker, a computer programmer, author and social activist still active with technology issues.
By 2004, commercial VoIP service providers were cropping up all over (and in Canada, when the country’s telecom regular, the CRTC, opened up the industry to VoIP proceedings, and it opened the door to alternate phone services on the market).
At that time Primus launched the first VoIP service in Canada.
Founded in 1994, Primus Telecommunications Group Incorporated started as a global telecom service provider; in 1997, it came to Canada with its long distance service offerings (and a whack of strategic acquisitions and successful sales and marketing efforts)
Then in 2004, it began offering VoIP (now called ‘Digital Home Phone’ for consumers and ‘Business VoIP’ for businesses) services over its expanding data centre and network infrastructure.
Acquired by York Capital Management in July 2013, the company has over 600 employees located in five offices across Canada.
Michael Nowlan, CEO of Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc.
As the company celebrated its recent milestone, it also reenergized itself with the hire of new Chief Executive Officer Michael Nowlan, who has recommitted the company to continued high levels of customer service and technological innovation.
Its software application, for example, brings together “normal” telephone networks and features like call forward with digital Voice over IP services. Users can make and receive high-quality voice calls from their computers or mobile devices via a Wi-Fi or 3G/4G mobile data connection; it’s available for iOS and Android devices.
Primus also introduced a patented ‘Telemarketing Guard’ technology which identifies, screens and blocks calls from telemarketers. This is the only technology of this kind in North America, and further establishes Primus’ leadership role in the industry.
Softphone applications provide switchboard and VoIP features to smartphone callers.
Canadian businesses are also leveraging VoIP-based solutions such as Hosted PBX, a fully-managed, enterprise-grade phone system that uses cloud-based technology to support scalable business demands and requirements.
“Internet phone service has come a long way in the last decade,” described Matt Stein, Chief Technology Officer, Primus. “VoIP is now so popular with consumers and businesses that it’s recognized as the future of telecommunications. Once only used for carrying voice, it is now also the basis by which we carry video and instant messages.”
Stein added that both VoIP technology and the leading digital phone providers, like his company, are well positioned for future growth and success over the next ten years as more consumer and business pick up on its call.
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submitted by Lee Rickwood
