There are many types of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) protocols that are employed by the VoIP providers currently providing VoIP calling plans. Luckily for the consumers, the VoIP providers have listened to what functions the consumers want in their Voicemails. Almost all of the VoIP providers provide Voicemail with the standard VoIP calling plan. The special feature of the VoIP voicemail plan is in how the consumer can access his/her VoIP voicemail message.

In general, there are 4 ways in which a VoIP consumer can access their voicemail. When you add the four ways up, you will be able to access your voicemail from virtually anywhere.

First, you can access your voicemail through your primary VoIP telephone by dialing *123 or some other combination of numbers (VoIP voicemail access code varies by provider). The automatic attendant will let you know how many voicemails you have and walk you through retrieving all of your new voicemails and saving/deleting your old emails. It is quite a slick system.

The second method is via a local voicemail access number, where you can call a local telephone number from any telephone (Cell phone/Land line/ VoIP phone). When you dial into your local voicemail access number, the auto attendant will ask for you to punch in your VoIP phone number and password to be able to access your VoIP voicemail system.

The third method is through your VoIP provider online account management portal. You can go to your Provider¡¯s VoIP homepage and access the ¡°Customer Login¡± portal by typing in your username and password. Once into the portal, click on the Voicemail tab and you can listen to your new voicemails over Internet connection.

The fourth method, and possibly the most useful, is every time you get a new VoIP voicemail, you are sent an email. That email will state that you have a new voicemail from your VoIP account, the date the voicemail was received, and an attachment of the voicemail as a .wav file. One outstanding feature is that you can save the .wav file on your computer¡¯s hard drive and email the voicemail to friends, family, or coworkers.

The above are generally how most VoIP providers give consumers access to their voicemail (but not all). Be sure to check each VoIP provider for how they provide their consumers access to their voicemail.

VoIP voicemail service is only one of the things to consider before choosing a VoIP solution. In fact, there are many things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider. An educated consumer generally results in a satisfied consumer. Please see our VoIP: Things to consider article to find a list of more things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider. You can Compare VoIP providers side-by-side at www.VoIPChoices.com.

Chris Landry is the foremost authority on residential and small business VoIP providers. Chris is the founder of http://www.VoIPChoices.com. Chris has prequalified several high-quality VoIP providers and compares them by price and features at http://www.VoIPChoices.com. Chris can be reach via email at Chris@VoIPChoices.com.