Softphone Software

This section of our technical library presents information and documentation relating to Internet Phone Software and Computer Telephony Integration software and products. Computer Telephony Integration CTI software is a rich set of phone software library routines that enable application programs to control your phone system. This comprehensive CTI software lets you increase employee productivity, enhance customer service and reduce costs by combining the capabilities of our PACER phone system with the custom functionality of your Windows, Unix or Web applications. Data collected by your phone ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) or IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems can be passed to your existing PC, Unix or Web applications through our phone software. The PACER predictive dialer can automatically call your customers and pass only connected calls to your agents. With our computer telephony software, your telephone and computer work together to provide cost-saving benefits.

Ben Swann-KFOX Morning News Anchor/Reporter

Some 1-million people are expected to use a new kind of phone service this year. It's where calls go over the Internet instead of through phone lines. It's called Voice Over Internet Protocol or VOIP for short. At this point, Internet calling is cheap, $25 to $40 a month for unlimited calling anywhere in the U.S. In this Consumer Watch Report we test to see if this service is worth trying.

To look at Joan Murphy you would think she is making a regular phone call. But Joan is talking over the Internet, and so is her husband, Andy. Their phones are connected to an adapter that sends calls over a high-speed connection, in this case a cable connection. However, you can make this kind of call with DSL as well. Consumer Reports just tested Internet phone service from five of leading providers: AT&T, Optimum Voice, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and Vonage.

Mike Gikas-Consumer Reports: "For the most part quality was very good, although some of our panelists reported an echoey sound on some of their calls."

In some cases, incoming calls didn't get through. Jon Linkov and other panelists who tried to install Internet phone service themselves found it difficult.

Jon Linkov-Internet Phone User: "It took me 3 attempts before I called tech support. All told it was over an hour and a half to get it up and running."

Overall, Consumer Reports found cable connections like Andy's, seemed to have fewer problems than DSL connections. However, neither type works in a power outage. With both kinds of connections, testers found dialing 9-1-1 can be a real problem.

Mike Gikas-Consumer Reports: "With a regular phone service you dial 9-1-1. It automatically gets routed to the proper emergency response center. They see your address. They know who you are. It's guaranteed. That's not true with Internet phone services."

So if you do decide to try Internet phone service, Consumer Reports recommends doing what Andy has done and keep a regular line as a backup. Even so, he says he's cut his phone bill by one-third.

Consumer Reports says if you spend more than $60 a month on local and long distance calling, you could see savings with an Internet phone service, even if you keep a backup line. There is one more potential drawback with Internet service. With some services, though not all, you can't keep your old phone number. So that's something to ask about before you sign up.

For more helpful consumer information, visit *Consumer Reports on the web.

http://www.consumerreports.org/