Disadvantages Of Soft Phones

Mobile technologies have become a normal part of everyday life. More people now have cell phones than landline phones, both within the Nigeria and internationally. In fact, so many people have terminated their landline services in favor of having only cell phones that a term has emerged to describe this action – it’s called “cutting the cord”.

Definition of Necessary Terms
Softphone: A softphone is a software program for making telephone calls over the Internet using a computer, instead of using dedicated hardware
VoIP: VoIP is the name of a new communications technology that changes the meaning of the phrase telephone call.
Protocol: a special set of rules that end points in a telecommunication connection use when they communicate.
2.1 HISTORY

A softphone is a software program for making telephone calls over the Internet using a computer, instead of using a dedicated hardware. The softphone can also be installed on a piece of equipment such as a workstation, portable computer, tablet or even a cellphone and allows the user to place and receive calls without requiring an actual telephone set. They are assigned extension numbers (like 2001, 2002, 2003….) just like how IP Hardphones are. So, calls can be transferred to these Softphones using their extension numbers. Sometimes a softphone is tailored to act like a traditional telephone, often appearing as an image of a phone with a display panel and buttons with which the user can interact. It is mostly used with a headset which is connected to the sound card of the PC, or with a USB phone. A softphone is a VoIP desktop application that is used for audio and video communication and can be an excellent replacement of an ordinary telephone. It is capable for all the purposes of a normal physical phone but has some extra features too like video phoning or providing presence information about the users (Ben,

The full meaning for the acronym VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and it means “voice transmitted over a computer network.” Internet Protocol (IP) networking is supported by any type of network corporate, private, public, cable, and even wireless networks not just the Internet. The corporate sector usually prefers private dedicated networks; telecommuters and home users generally favor broadband (Sinnreich, 2013).

Voice over IP is a collection of technologies and protocols that enables communication over the Internet Protocol. It contains all the necessary tools from the analog voice digitization to the data transmission and processing.
What does this mean in terms of your actual telephone? You can access your account on the VoIP network using a desktop telephone, a wireless IP phone (similar to a cell phone), or the soft screen dial pad of your laptop or desktop computer. With this setup, you can literally pick up your things and move to another location without having to forward your calls to a new telephone. You can also access the Web from your IP phone, enabling you to get announcements and e-mail at any point in time. I can strongly say that VoIP is a win-win for everyone. The added flexibility and prompt response times equals a greater customer satisfaction and