Broadband Booster Can Improve Voip Quality
By Debbie Jacobsen, Sat Dec 10th

Although cable broadband internet is a whole lot faster thandialup, I usually experience a slight delay when opening awebpage. Perhaps most people don't notice the latency associatedwith cable internet, but as a former DSL user it got myattention right away. I noticed a distinct difference in speedbetween cable and DSL, but I realized I had to live with it inorder to use internet phone service in the most economical way.DSL requires a phone line, which requires telephone service - soif you want to replace your land line phone with low costinternet phone service, the only option is to use cable or T-1for internet.

With my internet phone up and running over cable broadband, thevoice quality was better than expected. I noticed no bigdifference between and my land line phone, but didexperience "dropped" calls and "incomplete" calls periodically.This is due to the latency in my broadband connection, but sinceVoIP saves me over $500 a year (unlimited calling for lessthan $20 a month) an occasional dropped call is fine withme! While flipping through a computer magazine, I spotted an adfor the Hawking Broadband Booster. This device is designed toeliminate the "lag" in your internet connection by monitoringthe data that is coming and going and re-prioritizing thepackets. It installs between your cable modem and router, andacts like a "traffic cop", eliminating congestion by ensuringthat both router and modem get nice even streams of data. In anattempt to decrease the latency with my cable modem, I decidedto try out this device. Although it is a bit pricy (around$100), I figured I could always return it if it didn't workas claimed. The broadband booster was really easy to install(just connect two cables and restart your cable modem)and required no configuration whatsoever. The device is tiny (2"X 4") and weighs only an ounce or so. I noticed an immediateimprovement in my internet connection, although there is still avery slight lag. In the past several weeks I have logged nearly3000 minutes on my service and have not experienced anydropped or incomplete calls. I am very satisfied with theHawking Broadband Booster (HBB1), and recommend it to anyoneusing broadband and/or internet phone service. Although I am nota gamer, the company claims it really helps with online playingas well. Many people with satellite internet cannot use dueto the inconsistent satellite signal. If satellite internet isyour only choice for broadband, it may be worth your while togive this little device a try.

© 2005 Debbie Jacobsen, all rights reserved

About the author:Debbie Jacobsen is an IT professional and owner of http://www.saveonphoneservice.com - an informative website about internet phoneservice as well as a comparison of providers. To read moreof Debbie's articles on VoIP, please visit her blog at http://djvoip.blogspot.com.