We're Getting VOIP
Having a blog has done wonders for my geek credentials. Suddenly it seems like I am technologically advanced--even though I am by nature not that way at all. (I was blown away last weekend when a thirteen-year-old put a CD in my DVD player, and listened to it through the TV.)
Well look out world, because Henry Abbott is taking another big tech step: in the next few days, we'll be signing up for Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP). This is where you get your telephone service via your high-speed internet connection. So long as you have high-speed access to the web, you can kiss the phone company goodbye, and save a lot of money. There are residential plans that start in the neighborhood of $20 per month for unlimited calling in North America, with voice mail, caller ID, call waiting and all that for free. You can even check your voice mail on the web. And there are a bunch of other freebies.
If all goes as planned, that means our current set up of four lines (two for business, one for business fax and DSL, one for the home line) will cost something like $120 per month, instead of the current $300-plus. Big difference!
What's the downside? There are reports of dropouts in service and occasional poor quality. And when the internet service isn't working, neither is your phone service. But I have heard from some truly geeky people that if you get a good company, NJ-based Vonage has been recommended, then you don't have to worry so much about that.
I'll let you know how it goes.
posted by henryabbott @ Tuesday, February 22, 2005
3 Comments
3 Comments:
Aside from the fact that the VOIP system is not compatible with the 911 system (and the VOIP companies/customers don't have to contribute to any of the "common good" lines you find on the phone bill such as subsidized service for sick/old/poor and rural broadband, etc) I think the system has great potential, at least from a freeing up infrastructure point of view.
Let the world know how it works out, you early adopter, you.
Good points, weasel. I can't speak to the common good stuff because I don't know a damn thing about it, but I can tell you Vonage offers 911 service. It's a free extra you register for by filling out a form giving your physical address. Also, as we have DSL, rather than cable, we will always have one phone line for use in power outages, etc. And the services are amazing. For $5 a month we can have a local phone number in England where a lot of my family is--so they can call us for free or cheap. It's pretty great.
Henry, here's the common good spiel from the FCC, required of all over-the-wire (and I think wireless too) phone companies: Universal Service Fund. However, do not let me rain on your parade- an argument can be made that this really should be tackled by the Feds directly, not though a telephone use tax.
I think it's the way of the future; it makes so much more sense from a data compression stand point (think how clear a phone call could be versus crappy phone line) and the idea of being able to have the ultimate in portability is pretty cool. Now if the FCC can just get the VOIPs to chip in even the paltry contribution that the land line folks do to do partial good by society things would be golden.
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