Voice-over-Internet protocol or VoIP has been hyped for a couple of years now. After all, the world market has long been parched for a service that could marry voice, video and data all in one network with the hope of alleviating the woes that plague the telecommunication industry from the onset of the new millennium.

Of course, from the day VoIP was launched into the market large businesses immediately jumped into the bandwagon. In this economically challenge times, who could possibly resist the minimum 50-percent savings on phone bills?

However, with more than hundreds of companies competing for VoIP business, decreasing prices and ominous regulatory pressures, the miracle VoIP promises could possibly turn into a financial train wreck. It’s ironic how VoIP could very well deliver the deathblow to the industry that it’s supposed to resuscitate in the first place.

If you take the time to calculate the balance of line losses, you’ll know that VoIP is actually more of a challenged than an opportunity. The services offered by VoIP vary from a simple phone service to a collection of high-tech applications that can be incorporated to your computer systems. Needless to say the prices also varies; from virtually no cost to a $150 per month for each work station.