PC users have gotten used to combining memory with hard drive, with operating system to maximize what they hope to achieve. Is it time for VOIP users to do the same?

If the ISP were not a factor in VOIP then it wouldn't matter as much, what type of hardware you had provided. Beyond this if you are working from the home, making use of the equipment for business survival purposes, then the factor of the ISP performance will loom as large as corporate entities that use VOIP see it. The only answer must be in contingency hardware. Cellular technology hasn't caught up with the reliability of the landline, but it's getting close. This makes it possible to utilize cellular as a back up contingency in the event of a land based ISP going down. Instruments such as the Blackberry, Treo, or other entries via Wi-Fi offers from Dell and HP make alternatives to the standard high-speed landline land lock, viable.

"And Dell and Handspring aren't the only hardware companies getting behind devices that support wireless standards. Hewlett-Packard (Quote, Chart) said Monday it is coming out with a dozen new iPAQ handhelds, notebook computers and other enhancements for tablet PCs over the next six months. HP is supporting both the 802.11b Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless standards. HP is also supporting QuickLook, new software that will work with Compaq's new line of Tablet PCs." [Berniker, 2003]

This concept of alternative planning for failure of land line to cellular is an idea that has been used for some years, but usually isn't addressed for the home market. Affordability is the key issue and for the home worker who makes several thousand dollars a month from an E-bay related business, it makes monetary sense as well as, sound business planning sense.

"The good news is that cell networks are getting faster. Two protocols, EDGE and 1xEV-DO, are broaching broadband speeds in select metro areas. Availability is limited right now but continues to expand.

Enter a little green box, about the size of a videocassette, called the Junxion Box. It grabs a wireless cell connection and turns it into a Wi-Fi signal (it also outputs Ethernet). The result: instant high-speed network." [netstumbler.com, 2005] These sort of advanced uses of the technology are going to get more common as Wi-Fi becomes more prevalent and as the users of such demand more and better proficiency in its response to their network.