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For an interesting perspective on the benefits of hosted VoIP there's a recent blog post by Roberto Sedycias, an IT consultant for PoloMercantil.

"It is easy to use VoIP," Sedycias says. "With an analog telephone adapter and an existing telephone jack, you can enjoy VoIP from a fixed location, provided by broadband Internet and cable companies and with the use of your computer."

Or, if you use a VoIP phone, you can connect to the IP through Wi-Fi or Ethernet, he says, adding that if you purchase a softphone, "you can install it into your computer and access VoIP without any added hardware."

Many cell phone carriers, such as Nokia (News - Alert), are participating with VoIP to create a merging between the cellular network and the Wi-Fi network, Sedycias says. "Since 2004, the marketing of VoIP has spread to the masses and now many big businesses are embracing VoIP in the place of traditional telephone systems," he explained, "because of their bigger bandwidths and low costs."

VoIP "is amazing in its ability to transmit more than one telephone call over a single broadband connection without the need of extra phone lines," he noted, adding that much of the problems of securing a regular telephone connection is "not a problem with VoIP, as it is already a digitized and secure line. You can enjoy pure location independence, as VoIP is accessible from anywhere at any time and only requires a fast and stable Internet connection to get a connection from a VoIP provider to anywhere you choose."

He acknowledges that yes, there are some limitations to VoIP. Unlike telephones, which are connected to and powered by central telephone companies, VoIP is susceptible to failed modems and cables on the computer. "Additionally, because of VoIP’s omnipresence, in the case of an emergency, it is difficult to track down the location of the call and does not provide a mapping of the IP address needed to indentify the caller’s location," Sedycias says, putting his finger on one of VoIP's most acute shortcomings.

However, there are VoIP Enhanced 911 services that keeps a list of its customers’ addresses so that in the case of an emergency. More problematic is that VoIP is susceptible to hackers who can sneak into the system, so Sedycias recommends investing in a Public Secure VOIP, which is "available and with free GNU programs."