VoIP: The Next Household Word?
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By Cynthia L. Webb, washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
More companies and consumers, especially in urban areas, are tapping into VoIP. That's shorthand for "voice over Internet Protocol," which is nothing more than industry lingo for a simple but extraordinary concept: using the Internet to make telephone calls.
Using the Internet instead of the telephone network has its perks, but there are still plenty of stumbling blocks keeping it from becoming the de facto way of making phone calls. The San Jose Mercury News produced a series on the VoIP phenomenon that looks into all these facets. Here, according to the Merc, are some of the advantages: "Software applications can be added to phones, turning them into mini-computers for such tasks as tracking inventory or looking up a number on the company directory. It also offers potential big savings by allowing companies to change the way they manage their phone systems."
And some more: "In addition to voice mail, call waiting and caller identification, Internet phone customers can retrieve voice mail online as e-mail. They also can arrange conference calls with point-and-click ease on their computers and sometimes even pick their area code. Allen Long, president of Long and Associates consulting firm in Castro Valley, said today's Internet phone price savings may shrink, especially if authorities decide to regulate the service. Federal and state regulators are weighing whether to treat the technology as a phone rather than information service. If it's a phone service, the government may require payment of access charges and universal service fees."
The Merc also noted some of the drawbacks, and they are significant. "A traditional phone system for a 50-person company may cost around $30,000. The cost of an Internet telephone system could range from about $35,000 to $75,000 depending on its features, estimated Mike Plumer, senior director of sales for AltiGen. ... With corporate budgets still tight, the price tag of putting in a whole new phone network is holding back many companies from embracing Internet calling when the old system isn't broken," the paper wrote. "Security is another top concern – a company's phone system is vulnerable to the same attacks as its personal computers. Experts even warn about the possibility of 'voice spam' – imagine hearing: 'You have 98 new voice messages.'" The paper also ran a helpful sidebar VoIP's pros and cons.
Another Merc article noted some other potential snags. "[C]onsumer advocates caution that residential customers should weigh potential downsides of the new technology – limited 911 emergency functions, home-alarm incompatibility and dead lines during power outages – before signing up," the article said. "It's very attractive if you're a heavy phone user," Janee Briesemeister of Consumers Union told the paper. "But it comes with some risk in terms of reliability, particularly in an emergency situation."
• San Jose Mercury News: Companies Cautiously Switch To VoIP (Registration required)
• San Jose Mercury News: VOIP On The Verge (Registration required)
• San Jose Mercury News: To VOIP, Or Not To VOIP (Registration required)
CNET's News.com also wrote about potential VoIP problems: "Protecting your home could get tougher, as well. Some home alarm systems have trouble with broadband connections, or their manufacturers don't yet trust the reliability of the Internet. Also, there's still no way to guarantee VoIP phones will work when power is lost, and not all VoIP providers offer 911 service. During a power outage, a VoIP phone is only as good as any battery backups on hand, because delivering power through the broadband connection isn't possible on a wide commercial basis. An emerging alternative broadband-delivery technique, broadband over power line, will solve this problem, but wide deployment is years away."
• CNET's News.com: The Price of VoIP's Thriftiness
The VoIP Wave Machine
Drawbacks aside, some people are expecting VoIP to continue making waves. "Today people look at it almost as a fashion statement, but the reality is that the fundamental shift to [Internet]-based telecommunications will change the face of telecommunications forever," Internet phone pioneer Jeff Pulver told The Washington Post. "The Internet calling experience is still clunky. Sound quality can be spotty, and it doesn't work at all if the high-speed Internet connection is down. But early adopters of the technology are willing to put up with a few glitches in exchange for big savings and the satisfaction of thumbing their noses at the nation's dominant regional telephone companies."
• The Washington Post: Dialer's New Choice (Registration required)
July 19, 2004 at 08:31 PM in Telecommunications | Permalink
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