Computer Phones
Software allows users to send telephone calls over Internet connection
By Patrick Kelley
Monday, August 21, 2006
Emporia, Kans. — When Emporia roommates Andrew Messersmith and Tony Knaak sit down at their computers to work or play, they are also sitting down at their telephones.
Both of them have cell phones, but in place of traditional “landline” telephones, they use their computers to make calls all over the country. Those calls don’t cost them a cent.
Using computer software and a set of standards called Voice over Internet Protocol — VoIP for short — the roommates can send telephone calls over a high-speed Internet connection. Because of available connections between the Internet and the telephone system, calls can be made to any regular telephone or cell phone.
They use a computer program named Skype, created to allow voice-to-voice communication over computer networks. An addition to Skype, called Skype Out, allows computer calls to be transferred into the telephone system, so the roommates can call any telephone in the United States or Canada and never pay a local or long-distance charge.
Knaak, who works in the production department at The Gazette, said they’ve been using Skype at home for about six months.
“When they started offering Skype Out, you could call anywhere in the United States for free,” he said.
It still is — at least until the end of the year, when Skype plans to start charging for calls. The fee plan has not been set yet, but it is likely to be substantially lower than traditional phone rates.
VoIP programs are not new. Knaak said he started using VoIP as an online gamer.
“Team Speak was the first (program) I ever used, four years ago,” he said.
That program allowed people playing online games on their home computers to talk to each other as they played.
Messersmith, who works at Tyson Fresh Meats, said the programs still offer those features that made them popular with gamers.
“(Skype) has the advantage of three-way calling — actually, up to 10-way calling — and it’s free,” he said.
Will they keep using Skype when the company starts charging for calls?
“To tell you the truth,” Messersmith said, “I probably wouldn’t.”
“We’ll probably go to the next free (program),” Knaak said. “It’s all about freeness with us.”
Skype, which in its most basic form ties the phone service to the computer and its requirement for downloading, installing and trouble-shooting software, is most likely to appeal to people who already have a wealth of computer knowledge. But VoIP is available in less-demanding forms — for a price.
It is likely by now that anyone who watches television has seen an ad for Vonage, a telephone company that promises to give customers unlimited calling to anywhere in the United States and to several European countries for just $25 a month.
How can they do that? VoIP.
Vonage and services like it from more traditional phone companies such as AT&T and Verizon, can tie traditional telephones in a home or office into the Internet for VoIP service for a relatively low monthly fee.
Why are VoIP prices so low?
To begin with, the basic connection for VoIP services is the Internet. Once a customer has paid for Internet access by signing on with a provider, there are no additional fees to use that access for any purpose.
Just as important in the pricing scheme is that VoIP is not regulated. It is not governed by any Federal Communications Commission rules. VoIP providers pay no franchise fees and there are no taxes. VoIP is free from the entire burden of bureaucracy that traditional phone systems must deal with.
The price alone can make VoIP service very attractive to businesses, as well as private customers.
Jon Pool of the Emporia accounting firm of Pool & Wright, said he looked very closely at switching that company to VoIP about a year ago.
“I’ve read quite a bit on it,” he said. “I think it’s getting better all the time.”
In fact, he might have made the switch, but his regular phone-service provider offered a substantial reduction in the rates for Pool & Wright.
Weighing the pros and cons, Pool decided to stick with regular phone service for now.
There are some potential problems with VoIP. The biggest one, especially for businesses, is that a power outage or an interruption in Internet access will shut down phone service.
Pool said that a few days out of a whole year without phones might seem like a minor problem, but businesses depend on reliable and constant communication.
“There might be some benefits,” he said, “but it’s not worth the risk of the downtime.”
Resources
Hundreds of companies now offer Voice over Internet Protocol services in the United States. A good central source for information about those companies is www.voipreview.org. That Web site offers listing of services and user rankings.
Other listings may be found by logging on to www.google.com and searching on the phrase “voip providers.”
For the services mentioned in the accompanying article:
• www.skype.com
• www.vonage.com
For a useful explanation of how VoIP works, go to www.fcc.gov/voip.
tknaak (inactive user) says...
very informative, thx patk
August 21, 2006 at 1:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )