VoIP New Zealand News

Skype Phones Move away from crummy headsets By Stephen Schleicher

As this article puts it, if you don't know what skype is, you belong in Never Never land.

Skype is the largest free voice over internet application and its growth will continue with the development on new phone and headset options.

Skype is usually operated with a headset plugged into a pc, but 2006 will bring a range of other phone styles to suit a range of applications.

Checkout the link for a review of new skype phone options due out this year. These include speaker phones, wifi phones, usb headsets etc.

Computer Rx: Internet telephone calls now practical

Phone calls via the internet has been round for years, yet it is only now starting to take off.

Why? Because the technology has improved and the hassle has been removed. All the hype and questions stem from the want for cheap calling locally and internationally.

App.com looks at the uptake in the USA market and puts it down to the following reasons;

Now, though, the technology has advanced. Any phone can be used and only one party needs to be using the voice phone for it to work. The user no longer has to stay at home; calls can be made from almost anywhere, using an adapter. The advantage: it's a lot less expensive than regular landlines.

Fixed line revenue dropping out

Telecommunitcation companies in the UK who are expecting to bolster profits from call revenue may be expecting too much.

A smh.com article points out that;

Steve Picton, whose company Telecorp provides broadband and VoIP, said British Telecom had recently estimated that VoIP would account for about 30 to 40 per cent of cash flow for telcos in the UK by 2007.

Picton thinks that companies who can provide the toal package of services will win out, offering broadband and phone services from the one account.

Businesses look to VoIP solutions

When you mention VoIP to a traditional business they will look puzzled and perplexed.

When you explain what it is and what it can do, they may moan about voice quality and say it is too hi-tech for them.

VoIP users will say they need to get with the program as voice over internet will be the backbone for voice communication for business with in 10 years.

Internet phones are slow to take on, but they will. VoIP systems offer some great features that traditional PBX systems cant such as synching with PDA devices, recording phone calls to a server and displaying custom information such as stock quotes under VoIP systems.

Marvin Sirbu, professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University comments said;

The new functionality is compelling if you`re buying a new system, but hard to see if you`re junking a perfectly valid system, ... Some companies use conventional handsets and phone lines that go into a box in a closet that convert the signal to telephony and allows them to use the traditional handsets with VoIP technology`s extra features.

I think in the long run, VoIP will be the dominant form of voice traffic for residential or business. This will take a decade or so. The last hand-cranked telephone wasn`t taken out of service until 1974, traditional limitations fall by the wayside with the new technology. One of the things that`s possible in a VoIP system is to rethink voice quality. In a VoIP setup, there`s no reason not to support the 4 kilobit voice standard and not encode a higher quality standard.

ATUG STUDY CONFIRMS VoIP HAS A WAY TO GO

The Australian Telecommunications Users Group (ATUG) recently conducted a survey to gauge the uptake and popularity of VoIP. The results of the survey put a positive light on voice over internet and said that finding were inline with response in other countries.
VoIP News Australia covered the results of the survey and highlighted the key finding below:

(i) Customer satisfaction with VoIP service is driven by customer perceived value, specifically savings on telecoms spend.
(ii) The average saving of the respondents surveyed was 33% or $44.20 per month.
(iii) 85% of VoIP users would recommend it to others.
(iv) 85% of existing VoIP users are satisfied with VoIP call quality.
(v) There is a high probability that if you use VoIP at work you will use it at home.
(vi) The main inhibitors to increased VoIP penetration are lack of convenience, lack of information and an expectation of poor voice quality.
(vii) The survey indicated no clear link between tendency to use VoIP and telecoms spend, ISP provider, speed of internet, or VoIP service features.