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VOIP - a Threat to the Industry?
So why is VOIP a threat to communications industry? Because it
means that by getting your hands on some of the free software
that's readily available, you can totally bypass your telephone
company, and start making long distance phone calls for free!
This revolutionary technology has the ability to totally change
the phone system of the entire world! Maybe you've seen
television commercials for one of the pioneers of VOIP - Vonage.
It brands itself as the "broadband telephone company", and
offers enticing perks to customers who switch to its service,
like low-cost 800 numbers, very cheap international rates (fees
are waived from the U.S. to Canada, and how about .03 cents a
minute to call Paris?)
But Vonage isn't the only company who is interested. AT&T is
setting up VOIP calling in several areas of the U.S. and there
are other major players on the scene as well, such as Skype, who
is relying on viral advertising to get the word out.
One of the really interesting thing about VOIP is that there's
not just one way to make a call. There are three:
1) ATA (analog telephone adaptor) - is the most commonly used
VOIP method right now. Using the ATA, you connect your regular
telephone to your computer or Internet connection. The ATA is an
analog-to-digital converter and it takes the analog signal from
your phone and converts it into digital data and transmits it
over the Internet.
This is how Vonage does it, and AT&T 's CallVantage will be
doing it. The ATA is free with their services. And using an ATA
is so simple that anyone can do it. Open the box, plug the cable
from your phone into the ATA instead of the wall socket, and
you're set. Depending on your computer, and where you live, and
what type of Internet connection you have, you might have to
also install the software onto your computer, but even my
grandmother knows how to do that these days.
2) IP Phones - They look just like the phones we are used to.
They have a handset, cradles and buttons. But IP phones use an
RJ-45 Ethernet connector instead of the standard RJ-11 phone
connectors. They connect directly to your router and all the
hardware and software is already built inside to handle your IP
calls. Look for Wi-Fi IP phones to be available in the near
future, which will allow you to make VOIP calls from any Wi-Fi
spot. (Can you see the power of that? Just take your IP phone
with you when you travel, and stop in at any Internet café,
hotel or other location where you can use your Wi-Fi laptop, and
you can "phone home" wherever home happens to be!
3) Computer-to-Computer. Arguably the easiest way to use VOIP.
Not only do you not have to pay for long distance calls, there
are several companies that are offering free or low-cost
software right now for you to make use of the VOIP technology.
All you need is the software, a microphone, speakers a sound
card and a broadband or cable DSL Internet connection, and your
loved ones sound as if they're in the next room. And, except for
your normal monthly ISP fee, there is no charge for any
computer- to-computer call.
Most likely, you have been using the VOIP technology without
even being aware of it, any time you've made a long distance
telephone call recently. Many of the major phone companies are
already using VOIP technology to reduce their own bandwidth.
It's a simple matter of routing thousands of phone calls through
a circuit switch and into an IP gateway. Once received on the
other side of the gateway, the calls are decompressed,
reassembled and routed back to a local circuit switch.
IP telephony is the wave of the future. It makes sense in terms
of ROI, from both an economic and infrastructure point of view.
It may take some time, but eventually all of the current
circuit-switched networks that are in use today will be replaced
by packet-switching technology. More and more businesses are
already installing VOIP systems. And as the technology makes our
way into our everyday language our lives, and our homes, it will
continue to grow in popularity.
Forrester Research predicted that nearly 5 million U.S.
households will have VOIP phone service by the end of this year.
The two biggest advantages for home users so far are price and
flexibility.
Currently, most VOIP phone companies offer plans similar to that
of cell-phone companies - what are commonly called "minute-rate"
plans for as little as $30 a month. And as with cell-phone
plans, you can also get unlimited plans for around $79 a month.
With the elimination of long-distances charges, unregulated
charges, and all the freebies that come standard with your VOIP
service, it can actually amount to a significant savings for
you. For example, you may be paying extra for features like:
call waiting, 3 way calling, call forwarding, caller I.D.,
repeat dial & last call return
With VOIP, they come standard. And then there are some advanced
features that make VOIP something worth looking into. With some
carriers, you can set up call-filtering options, and actually
have some control over how calls from certain numbers are
handled. For example, you can: forward the call to a particular
number, send the call directly to voicemail, give the caller a
busy signal, play a "not in service" message and send the caller
to a funny rejection hotline
With most VOIP services, you can also check your voice mail on
the Internet, or attach messages to an email that is sent
directly to your computer or handheld. (By the way, if you're
interested in any of these features, not all VOIP companies are
created equal, so do a little shopping around first, because
prices and services do vary).
The second benefit that makes VOIP so attractive for home and
small business users is the flexibility. With VOIP you can make
a call anywhere you can get broadband connectivity. Since the IP
phones or ATAs broadcast information over the Internet, they can
be administered by any provider. For business travelers, this
means they can take their phone or ATA with them on the road,
and never miss a home phone call!
By using a softphone, (which is client software that loads your
VOIP service onto your desktop or laptop), you can make calls
from your laptop anywhere in the broadband-connected world, with
just a headset and microphone.
We could easily see here that tremendous opportunities also
abound for the industry participants. It just depends on how you
see VOIP a threat or an opportunity.
About the author:
Alan Ocab is the Chief Knowledge Officer of VOIPService.Visit
http://www.thevoipservice.info