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March 09, 2004
Voice over IP
I recall commenting on Voice over IP around Christmas. Less than 3 months later, my Vonage box is going somewhat unused. I'm going to keep it going on the 500 minute plan for a while longer and see if it hangs on. The problem is that the Baby Bell's are getting it and offering flat-rate pricing for their long distance. Metered usage is a dangerous thing: it encourages your customers to not use your service. And if they learn to not use it, then maybe they learn to do without.
On the other hand, with flat-rate pricing, you can be undercut by a metered usage plan at a better rate. It's a strange Catch-22.
Now if you listen to VoIP pundits the mass VoIP appeal will be achieved by offering Pure VoIP that offers features and services that just aren't possible with POTS. I'm not sure if I buy it or not yet. The 'standard' telephone/handset model is a simple clean human interface for which POTS features have been adapted. There's a significant barrier to deployment without a good microphone/speaker accessory for people's computers and a variety of non-standard Softphones/Software for VoIP solutions. Interoperability is key to the success of a new technology in people's home.
ps... The win for VoIP, of course, is the office place. Replacing old PBX's with commodity hardware and IP networks (which are there anyway) opens up Corporate Telephony to the next level.
Posted by KnipSter at March 9, 2004 09:05 PM
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