RE: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
Rich, as I ended my message it is probably the ramblings of a pre-Carterphone decision mentality. However, were my mom alive, she could easily fall in love with $15 a month instead of $60 a month even if there were a slight latency and cellphone quality to the sound. My pop would have loved the e-mail at the office sending .WAV files of all the "answering machine" messages. I'm not so sure that a savvy provider couldn't set up a very "sticky" relationship with even the more modest tech-unsavvy folks. But, that's just me and my experience with my family. My sister is an archivist and brother a starving artist...in love with what they discovered. But, they're only in their '60s and still young. . . . j o n a t h a n -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rich Comroe Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 8:59 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Very cool. I love gadgets too ... got'ta play with them all. > Rich, I don't agree. But I've no idea what I said that you disagree with. What I said was I don't see VoIP providing advanced services that the consumer marketplace as a whole is going to pick-up (for example, the way caller-id has ... everybody has it now). What I believe the consumer marketplace wants is talk minutes (disagreeing with the post that started this thread ... which says VoIP is incorrectly competing as cheap minutes, while what they should be selling is advanced features). Tony replied: what about IP video-conferencing or multiple numbers. In the email you're disagreeing with I said: come on ... the general consumer isn't going to go for these in a big way. Is this what you're disagreeing with, because you use these features? I have a constant debate over how bright or technically savvy the average consumer is. There's a lot of bright people. But never make the mistake of presuming the people you deal with on the cutting-edge of broadband are representative of the general marketplace. It ain't so. It ain't even close. The fact that you use these advanced features is great. I bet a lot of people on this list do. I do. But a lot of the people on the list (especially those that work with residential consumers) can speak volumes from their experience. And (I might add) I bet those that subscribe to wireless broadband may be closer to the cutting-edge than to the general population. (scarey). Virtually everybody's got a phone. Rich - Original Message - From: "Jonathan Schmidt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'WISPA General List'" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 7:42 PM Subject: RE: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone > Rich, I don't agree. My Lingo service is $20 a line, unlimited calling to > Europe-US-Canada, and I use simultaneous ring to cell when I'm away, I use > voicemail-to-Email (instantaneous) when I'm at the office or away, and use > quite a few other features. My AT&T line was 3 times that and no Europe > (when you finally get the bill with universal sevice fees, taxes, etc.). > > I put my second line on Lingo...it's seldom used and pay $15 for 500 > minutes > which is rarely approached by even 1/2. > > It's hard to beat. And, I can take my tiny box to Budapest and have my > home > phone in the Kempinski hotel room. But, I don't have to because of > simultaneous ring to my Skype-in number. Maybe it's just the fun of > somebody who grew up before the Carterphone decision. > > . . . j o n a t h a n > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Rich Comroe > Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 6:00 PM > To: WISPA General List > Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone > > Business users, sure IP video conferencing is great. I love it, and use > it > myself. Residential: sure I've setup skype video-conferencing with other > techie friends ... and then not turned it on again (everybody else I call > just has an ordinary phone). Ya'never'know. But I wouldn't wager any > money > > that residential IP video conferencing is going to make any inroads. Just > my opinion. > > On the multi-line steering you describe, I switched my phone service > (again > ... seems like I keep switching it every 2 years) and they offered me free > picks from the advanced feature list which includes distinctive ringing. > Didn't really interest me. But I'm sure the multi-line feature you're > describing would appeal to some (especially small business where you don't > want phones ringing on every desk when the call is intended for o
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
Very cool. I love gadgets too ... got'ta play with them all. Rich, I don't agree. But I've no idea what I said that you disagree with. What I said was I don't see VoIP providing advanced services that the consumer marketplace as a whole is going to pick-up (for example, the way caller-id has ... everybody has it now). What I believe the consumer marketplace wants is talk minutes (disagreeing with the post that started this thread ... which says VoIP is incorrectly competing as cheap minutes, while what they should be selling is advanced features). Tony replied: what about IP video-conferencing or multiple numbers. In the email you're disagreeing with I said: come on ... the general consumer isn't going to go for these in a big way. Is this what you're disagreeing with, because you use these features? I have a constant debate over how bright or technically savvy the average consumer is. There's a lot of bright people. But never make the mistake of presuming the people you deal with on the cutting-edge of broadband are representative of the general marketplace. It ain't so. It ain't even close. The fact that you use these advanced features is great. I bet a lot of people on this list do. I do. But a lot of the people on the list (especially those that work with residential consumers) can speak volumes from their experience. And (I might add) I bet those that subscribe to wireless broadband may be closer to the cutting-edge than to the general population. (scarey). Virtually everybody's got a phone. Rich - Original Message - From: "Jonathan Schmidt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'WISPA General List'" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 7:42 PM Subject: RE: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Rich, I don't agree. My Lingo service is $20 a line, unlimited calling to Europe-US-Canada, and I use simultaneous ring to cell when I'm away, I use voicemail-to-Email (instantaneous) when I'm at the office or away, and use quite a few other features. My AT&T line was 3 times that and no Europe (when you finally get the bill with universal sevice fees, taxes, etc.). I put my second line on Lingo...it's seldom used and pay $15 for 500 minutes which is rarely approached by even 1/2. It's hard to beat. And, I can take my tiny box to Budapest and have my home phone in the Kempinski hotel room. But, I don't have to because of simultaneous ring to my Skype-in number. Maybe it's just the fun of somebody who grew up before the Carterphone decision. . . . j o n a t h a n -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rich Comroe Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 6:00 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Business users, sure IP video conferencing is great. I love it, and use it myself. Residential: sure I've setup skype video-conferencing with other techie friends ... and then not turned it on again (everybody else I call just has an ordinary phone). Ya'never'know. But I wouldn't wager any money that residential IP video conferencing is going to make any inroads. Just my opinion. On the multi-line steering you describe, I switched my phone service (again ... seems like I keep switching it every 2 years) and they offered me free picks from the advanced feature list which includes distinctive ringing. Didn't really interest me. But I'm sure the multi-line feature you're describing would appeal to some (especially small business where you don't want phones ringing on every desk when the call is intended for one particular desk). Problem is with most residential and most small business is that you may be anywhere in the facility (so you really *do* want all the phones to ring so you can pick-up anywhere). Again, just my opinion. I don't see any VoIP killer-apps. It's just a phone that is at the moment offered at a marginally lower price by IP providers that are not required to charge the same government assessments the the traditional providers are required to charge (at the moment). Rich - Original Message - From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'WISPA General List'" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 4:41 PM Subject: RE: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Rich In general I would agree with you expect for two features, one is video. Phones like the Grandstream GXV-3000 have are low cost with all the features one would need. I am not saying this is there yet as its not plug and play but it's a step in the right direction. Also the second is incoming lines, I do not see this offered that much as a feature but its there. One VoIP phone can handle lots on incoming lines when setup with a provider that offers It.
RE: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
Rich, I don't agree. My Lingo service is $20 a line, unlimited calling to Europe-US-Canada, and I use simultaneous ring to cell when I'm away, I use voicemail-to-Email (instantaneous) when I'm at the office or away, and use quite a few other features. My AT&T line was 3 times that and no Europe (when you finally get the bill with universal sevice fees, taxes, etc.). I put my second line on Lingo...it's seldom used and pay $15 for 500 minutes which is rarely approached by even 1/2. It's hard to beat. And, I can take my tiny box to Budapest and have my home phone in the Kempinski hotel room. But, I don't have to because of simultaneous ring to my Skype-in number. Maybe it's just the fun of somebody who grew up before the Carterphone decision. . . . j o n a t h a n -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rich Comroe Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 6:00 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Business users, sure IP video conferencing is great. I love it, and use it myself. Residential: sure I've setup skype video-conferencing with other techie friends ... and then not turned it on again (everybody else I call just has an ordinary phone). Ya'never'know. But I wouldn't wager any money that residential IP video conferencing is going to make any inroads. Just my opinion. On the multi-line steering you describe, I switched my phone service (again ... seems like I keep switching it every 2 years) and they offered me free picks from the advanced feature list which includes distinctive ringing. Didn't really interest me. But I'm sure the multi-line feature you're describing would appeal to some (especially small business where you don't want phones ringing on every desk when the call is intended for one particular desk). Problem is with most residential and most small business is that you may be anywhere in the facility (so you really *do* want all the phones to ring so you can pick-up anywhere). Again, just my opinion. I don't see any VoIP killer-apps. It's just a phone that is at the moment offered at a marginally lower price by IP providers that are not required to charge the same government assessments the the traditional providers are required to charge (at the moment). Rich - Original Message - From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'WISPA General List'" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 4:41 PM Subject: RE: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone > Rich > > In general I would agree with you expect for two features, one is video. > Phones like the Grandstream GXV-3000 have are low cost with all the > features > one would need. I am not saying this is there yet as its not plug and play > but it's a step in the right direction. > Also the second is incoming lines, I do not see this offered that much as > a > feature but its there. One VoIP phone can handle lots on incoming lines > when > setup with a provider that offers It. This is very cool as one can have > one > phone number with 4 lines coming in each going to its own ext. This setup > on > standard pots would cost much more then VoIP, so you get more features and > save $$ at the same time :) > > Tony > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Rich Comroe > Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 5:03 PM > To: WISPA General List > Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone > > Nah. It's just a phone. Ordinary wired phones already offer more > features > than people want without VoIP. Ordinary phone service typically offers > you > a list of 25 features. People don't want em, so in my midwest Ameritech > area (now AT&T land) they typically throw in 5 features from the feature > list for free. Most people don't even want the 5 free features ... > they're > just nuisances. There's a "damn it, just take 'em" attitude where the > phone > company now bundles several of the features into all local service whether > you want 'em or not. > > For the mass of the population it's simply about dial-tone & plain local / > long distance talk-time. The phone companies learned to accept this. The > same hype that "it's more than replacing the phone" used to be said about > ISDN for 20 years (yes, ISDN *is* that old). Not one advanced ISDN > feature > EVER became popular with consumers. Within the telecom industry ISDN > eventually became known by several alternate names, one of which was > "Inventions Subscribers Don't Need" (my favorite). > > Rich > > - Original Message - >
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
That was my experience exactly! Finally used my own protocol analyzer (my PC) and saw each Q931 request being auto-repeated before the first D channel acks came back (there was nearly a SECOND of D channel delay!!). At that point it was obvious and I had the phone technicians switch me from a supposedly ISDN capable brand new fiber line unit to an old SLIC96 they had available and the problem immediately went away (and my phone started working). Ahhh, the good old days... You're right ... the phone company tech's had no idea how to make it work (or trouble shoot their own equipment). Worse yet, the Ameritech technicians had been issued ISDN capable CAT box's that were oblivious to D channel delay (so they were swearing it was working because their "test" box said it was working). Rich - Original Message - From: "Blake Bowers" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 5:04 PM Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Thats because ISDN really stands for I Still Don't No... Back in the 80's when Bellsouth introduced it in Nashville, the techs had to make repeated stops at my house to finally get it going. Probably 20 of them. Bellsouth introduced it, without bothering to show their employees how to make it work. Still, it was lots better than 2400 baud to access FIDONET - Original Message - From: "Travis Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 4:50 PM Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Hahaha my favorite was It Still Doesn't Work (ISDN). Travis Microserv -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
"It Still Doesn't Work would be ISDW! Got a chuckle out of your reply but I get your meaning. Asked the question, "What is ISDN", the answer you're thinking of is "I Still Don't Know". I'm sure that's the one you were thinking of. Got'ta love ISDN. I actually tried it for awhile. In my near-Chicago suburb I ordered it, the phone company tried for 10 weeks to make it work (unsuccessfully) because the local office and technicians obviously had no experience with it whatsoever (secret meaning: I was the first in my area to have ever ordered ISDN service!). Ultimately I had to debug the service myself (and then tell the phone company how to fix it). It was pretty depressing to go through the exercise ... no wonder the phone company couldn't sell ISDN service. Then there was the incident when an A band destination that I maintained a constant connection to had an equipment failure and kept disconnecting, while my equipment kept reconnecting. Unmetered still had a $0.03 (3 cent) connection charge, and my next months bill was $800!!! Got a MUD report and it listed roughly 30,000 connections! The other party kicked in to cover half of my phone bill since it was their equipment failure which caused the problem. ISDN ... got'ta love it ... not! Rich - Original Message - From: "Travis Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 4:50 PM Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Hahaha my favorite was It Still Doesn't Work (ISDN). Travis Microserv Rich Comroe wrote: Nah. It's just a phone. Ordinary wired phones already offer more features than people want without VoIP. Ordinary phone service typically offers you a list of 25 features. People don't want em, so in my midwest Ameritech area (now AT&T land) they typically throw in 5 features from the feature list for free. Most people don't even want the 5 free features ... they're just nuisances. There's a "damn it, just take 'em" attitude where the phone company now bundles several of the features into all local service whether you want 'em or not. For the mass of the population it's simply about dial-tone & plain local / long distance talk-time. The phone companies learned to accept this. The same hype that "it's more than replacing the phone" used to be said about ISDN for 20 years (yes, ISDN *is* that old). Not one advanced ISDN feature EVER became popular with consumers. Within the telecom industry ISDN eventually became known by several alternate names, one of which was "Inventions Subscribers Don't Need" (my favorite). Rich - Original Message - From: "Peter R." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 2:55 PM Subject: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone http://techdirt.com/articles/20060530/0032231.shtml For way too long, most of the attention on VoIP has focused on how it's a cheaper telephone replacement option -- which a few people have pointed out is the wrong lesson to take from VoIP. Yes, it can provide cheaper calling, but the real value of VoIP is that it opens up the ability to add new and useful applications to voice communications. When looking for game-changing ideas, simply doing something cheaper tends not to be nearly as revolutionary as enabling something that couldn't have been done before. That's why it's been disappointing to see so many VoIP providers focus on price wars rather than offering something different. The good news is that we're starting to see some companies offer something different using VoIP. The disposable phone numbers idea seems more like a gimmick (though one that some folks might find useful). However, what's more interesting are the features the service is looking to add on top of the disposable numbers, such as the ability to offer specific content to callers. Who knows if this particular solution will catch on, but it's nice to see companies trying to provide something more than just a telephone replacement service when it comes to VoIP. -- Regards, Peter RAD-INFO, Inc. - NSP Strategist We Help ISPs Connect & Communicate 813.963.5884 http://4isps.com/newsletter.htm -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
Business users, sure IP video conferencing is great. I love it, and use it myself. Residential: sure I've setup skype video-conferencing with other techie friends ... and then not turned it on again (everybody else I call just has an ordinary phone). Ya'never'know. But I wouldn't wager any money that residential IP video conferencing is going to make any inroads. Just my opinion. On the multi-line steering you describe, I switched my phone service (again ... seems like I keep switching it every 2 years) and they offered me free picks from the advanced feature list which includes distinctive ringing. Didn't really interest me. But I'm sure the multi-line feature you're describing would appeal to some (especially small business where you don't want phones ringing on every desk when the call is intended for one particular desk). Problem is with most residential and most small business is that you may be anywhere in the facility (so you really *do* want all the phones to ring so you can pick-up anywhere). Again, just my opinion. I don't see any VoIP killer-apps. It's just a phone that is at the moment offered at a marginally lower price by IP providers that are not required to charge the same government assessments the the traditional providers are required to charge (at the moment). Rich - Original Message - From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'WISPA General List'" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 4:41 PM Subject: RE: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Rich In general I would agree with you expect for two features, one is video. Phones like the Grandstream GXV-3000 have are low cost with all the features one would need. I am not saying this is there yet as its not plug and play but it's a step in the right direction. Also the second is incoming lines, I do not see this offered that much as a feature but its there. One VoIP phone can handle lots on incoming lines when setup with a provider that offers It. This is very cool as one can have one phone number with 4 lines coming in each going to its own ext. This setup on standard pots would cost much more then VoIP, so you get more features and save $$ at the same time :) Tony -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rich Comroe Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 5:03 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Nah. It's just a phone. Ordinary wired phones already offer more features than people want without VoIP. Ordinary phone service typically offers you a list of 25 features. People don't want em, so in my midwest Ameritech area (now AT&T land) they typically throw in 5 features from the feature list for free. Most people don't even want the 5 free features ... they're just nuisances. There's a "damn it, just take 'em" attitude where the phone company now bundles several of the features into all local service whether you want 'em or not. For the mass of the population it's simply about dial-tone & plain local / long distance talk-time. The phone companies learned to accept this. The same hype that "it's more than replacing the phone" used to be said about ISDN for 20 years (yes, ISDN *is* that old). Not one advanced ISDN feature EVER became popular with consumers. Within the telecom industry ISDN eventually became known by several alternate names, one of which was "Inventions Subscribers Don't Need" (my favorite). Rich - Original Message - From: "Peter R." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 2:55 PM Subject: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone http://techdirt.com/articles/20060530/0032231.shtml For way too long, most of the attention on VoIP has focused on how it's a cheaper telephone replacement option -- which a few people have pointed out is the wrong lesson to take from VoIP. Yes, it can provide cheaper calling, but the real value of VoIP is that it opens up the ability to add new and useful applications to voice communications. When looking for game-changing ideas, simply doing something cheaper tends not to be nearly as revolutionary as enabling something that couldn't have been done before. That's why it's been disappointing to see so many VoIP providers focus on price wars rather than offering something different. The good news is that we're starting to see some companies offer something different using VoIP. The disposable phone numbers idea seems more like a gimmick (though one that some folks might find useful). However, what's more interesting are the features the service is looking to add on top of the disposable numbers, such as
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
But then it is to business, not necessarily resi, which it is about dial-tone. We've reached agreement! I agree completely. I missed where your comments were defined towards business customers. Wisps that I work with serve predominantly residential customers, which was my 2 cents. I know some of the wisps here target business markets. Nothing wrong with that, and IMO it's a more profitable market to serve, too. BTW, most all of the same features you cite have been available with ISDN for years before VoIP without gaining any traction with business customers whatsoever. Tried ISDN myself for a few years. Like everything else, I wanted to have my own hands-on experience with it ... and then dropped it after a few years going back to analog POTS! Rich - Original Message - From: "Peter R." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 4:18 PM Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone I beg to differ... Find-me/follow-me, Outlook Integration, Billing Platform Integration, video phone, do not disturb, call logs, distributed call centers, IVR, and the list goes on VoIP is actually more than a phone. But then it is to business, not necessarily resi, which it is about dial-tone. From experience, Caller ID, Call Forward and Voicemail are the most popular features, especially with so many SOHO. - Peter Rich Comroe wrote: Nah. It's just a phone. Ordinary wired phones already offer more features than people want without VoIP. Ordinary phone service typically offers you a list of 25 features. People don't want em, so in my midwest Ameritech area (now AT&T land) they typically throw in 5 features from the feature list for free. Most people don't even want the 5 free features ... they're just nuisances. There's a "damn it, just take 'em" attitude where the phone company now bundles several of the features into all local service whether you want 'em or not. For the mass of the population it's simply about dial-tone & plain local / long distance talk-time. The phone companies learned to accept this. The same hype that "it's more than replacing the phone" used to be said about ISDN for 20 years (yes, ISDN *is* that old). Not one advanced ISDN feature EVER became popular with consumers. Within the telecom industry ISDN eventually became known by several alternate names, one of which was "Inventions Subscribers Don't Need" (my favorite). Rich -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
Thats because ISDN really stands for I Still Don't No... Back in the 80's when Bellsouth introduced it in Nashville, the techs had to make repeated stops at my house to finally get it going. Probably 20 of them. Bellsouth introduced it, without bothering to show their employees how to make it work. Still, it was lots better than 2400 baud to access FIDONET - Original Message - From: "Travis Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 4:50 PM Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Hahaha my favorite was It Still Doesn't Work (ISDN). Travis Microserv -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
Hahaha my favorite was It Still Doesn't Work (ISDN). Travis Microserv Rich Comroe wrote: Nah. It's just a phone. Ordinary wired phones already offer more features than people want without VoIP. Ordinary phone service typically offers you a list of 25 features. People don't want em, so in my midwest Ameritech area (now AT&T land) they typically throw in 5 features from the feature list for free. Most people don't even want the 5 free features ... they're just nuisances. There's a "damn it, just take 'em" attitude where the phone company now bundles several of the features into all local service whether you want 'em or not. For the mass of the population it's simply about dial-tone & plain local / long distance talk-time. The phone companies learned to accept this. The same hype that "it's more than replacing the phone" used to be said about ISDN for 20 years (yes, ISDN *is* that old). Not one advanced ISDN feature EVER became popular with consumers. Within the telecom industry ISDN eventually became known by several alternate names, one of which was "Inventions Subscribers Don't Need" (my favorite). Rich - Original Message - From: "Peter R." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 2:55 PM Subject: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone http://techdirt.com/articles/20060530/0032231.shtml For way too long, most of the attention on VoIP has focused on how it's a cheaper telephone replacement option -- which a few people have pointed out is the wrong lesson to take from VoIP. Yes, it can provide cheaper calling, but the real value of VoIP is that it opens up the ability to add new and useful applications to voice communications. When looking for game-changing ideas, simply doing something cheaper tends not to be nearly as revolutionary as enabling something that couldn't have been done before. That's why it's been disappointing to see so many VoIP providers focus on price wars rather than offering something different. The good news is that we're starting to see some companies offer something different using VoIP. The disposable phone numbers idea seems more like a gimmick (though one that some folks might find useful). However, what's more interesting are the features the service is looking to add on top of the disposable numbers, such as the ability to offer specific content to callers. Who knows if this particular solution will catch on, but it's nice to see companies trying to provide something more than just a telephone replacement service when it comes to VoIP. -- Regards, Peter RAD-INFO, Inc. - NSP Strategist We Help ISPs Connect & Communicate 813.963.5884 http://4isps.com/newsletter.htm -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
RE: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
Rich In general I would agree with you expect for two features, one is video. Phones like the Grandstream GXV-3000 have are low cost with all the features one would need. I am not saying this is there yet as its not plug and play but it's a step in the right direction. Also the second is incoming lines, I do not see this offered that much as a feature but its there. One VoIP phone can handle lots on incoming lines when setup with a provider that offers It. This is very cool as one can have one phone number with 4 lines coming in each going to its own ext. This setup on standard pots would cost much more then VoIP, so you get more features and save $$ at the same time :) Tony -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rich Comroe Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 5:03 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone Nah. It's just a phone. Ordinary wired phones already offer more features than people want without VoIP. Ordinary phone service typically offers you a list of 25 features. People don't want em, so in my midwest Ameritech area (now AT&T land) they typically throw in 5 features from the feature list for free. Most people don't even want the 5 free features ... they're just nuisances. There's a "damn it, just take 'em" attitude where the phone company now bundles several of the features into all local service whether you want 'em or not. For the mass of the population it's simply about dial-tone & plain local / long distance talk-time. The phone companies learned to accept this. The same hype that "it's more than replacing the phone" used to be said about ISDN for 20 years (yes, ISDN *is* that old). Not one advanced ISDN feature EVER became popular with consumers. Within the telecom industry ISDN eventually became known by several alternate names, one of which was "Inventions Subscribers Don't Need" (my favorite). Rich - Original Message - From: "Peter R." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 2:55 PM Subject: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone > VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone > http://techdirt.com/articles/20060530/0032231.shtml > > > For way too long, most of the attention on VoIP has focused on how it's a > cheaper telephone replacement option -- which a few people have pointed > out is the wrong lesson to take from VoIP. Yes, it can provide cheaper > calling, but the real value of VoIP is that it opens up the ability to add > new and useful applications to voice communications. When looking for > game-changing ideas, simply doing something cheaper tends not to be nearly > as revolutionary as enabling something that couldn't have been done > before. That's why it's been disappointing to see so many VoIP providers > focus on price wars rather than offering something different. The good > news is that we're starting to see some companies offer something > different using VoIP. The disposable phone numbers idea seems more like a > gimmick (though one that some folks might find useful). However, what's > more interesting are the features the service is looking to add on top of > the disposable numbers, such as the ability to offer specific content to > callers. Who knows if this particular solution will catch on, but it's > nice to see companies trying to provide something more than just a > telephone replacement service when it comes to VoIP. > > -- > > > Regards, > > Peter > RAD-INFO, Inc. - NSP Strategist > We Help ISPs Connect & Communicate > 813.963.5884 http://4isps.com/newsletter.htm > > > -- > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
I beg to differ... Find-me/follow-me, Outlook Integration, Billing Platform Integration, video phone, do not disturb, call logs, distributed call centers, IVR, and the list goes on VoIP is actually more than a phone. But then it is to business, not necessarily resi, which it is about dial-tone. From experience, Caller ID, Call Forward and Voicemail are the most popular features, especially with so many SOHO. - Peter Rich Comroe wrote: Nah. It's just a phone. Ordinary wired phones already offer more features than people want without VoIP. Ordinary phone service typically offers you a list of 25 features. People don't want em, so in my midwest Ameritech area (now AT&T land) they typically throw in 5 features from the feature list for free. Most people don't even want the 5 free features ... they're just nuisances. There's a "damn it, just take 'em" attitude where the phone company now bundles several of the features into all local service whether you want 'em or not. For the mass of the population it's simply about dial-tone & plain local / long distance talk-time. The phone companies learned to accept this. The same hype that "it's more than replacing the phone" used to be said about ISDN for 20 years (yes, ISDN *is* that old). Not one advanced ISDN feature EVER became popular with consumers. Within the telecom industry ISDN eventually became known by several alternate names, one of which was "Inventions Subscribers Don't Need" (my favorite). Rich -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
Nah. It's just a phone. Ordinary wired phones already offer more features than people want without VoIP. Ordinary phone service typically offers you a list of 25 features. People don't want em, so in my midwest Ameritech area (now AT&T land) they typically throw in 5 features from the feature list for free. Most people don't even want the 5 free features ... they're just nuisances. There's a "damn it, just take 'em" attitude where the phone company now bundles several of the features into all local service whether you want 'em or not. For the mass of the population it's simply about dial-tone & plain local / long distance talk-time. The phone companies learned to accept this. The same hype that "it's more than replacing the phone" used to be said about ISDN for 20 years (yes, ISDN *is* that old). Not one advanced ISDN feature EVER became popular with consumers. Within the telecom industry ISDN eventually became known by several alternate names, one of which was "Inventions Subscribers Don't Need" (my favorite). Rich - Original Message - From: "Peter R." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 2:55 PM Subject: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone http://techdirt.com/articles/20060530/0032231.shtml For way too long, most of the attention on VoIP has focused on how it's a cheaper telephone replacement option -- which a few people have pointed out is the wrong lesson to take from VoIP. Yes, it can provide cheaper calling, but the real value of VoIP is that it opens up the ability to add new and useful applications to voice communications. When looking for game-changing ideas, simply doing something cheaper tends not to be nearly as revolutionary as enabling something that couldn't have been done before. That's why it's been disappointing to see so many VoIP providers focus on price wars rather than offering something different. The good news is that we're starting to see some companies offer something different using VoIP. The disposable phone numbers idea seems more like a gimmick (though one that some folks might find useful). However, what's more interesting are the features the service is looking to add on top of the disposable numbers, such as the ability to offer specific content to callers. Who knows if this particular solution will catch on, but it's nice to see companies trying to provide something more than just a telephone replacement service when it comes to VoIP. -- Regards, Peter RAD-INFO, Inc. - NSP Strategist We Help ISPs Connect & Communicate 813.963.5884 http://4isps.com/newsletter.htm -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone
One of the more interesting uses of VoIP for us has been dial tone only service. This is essentially a phone line that can make local calls, but can't receive phone calls since there is no number assigned to it. We've used this service to allow property managers to replace POTS lines used for access control devices that call residents to allow entry to a property. A recent example is a property, which had 34 of these devices and was therefore paying for 34 POTS lines. -Matt Peter R. wrote: VoIP Is About More Than Replacing The Phone http://techdirt.com/articles/20060530/0032231.shtml For way too long, most of the attention on VoIP has focused on how it's a cheaper telephone replacement option -- which a few people have pointed out is the wrong lesson to take from VoIP. Yes, it can provide cheaper calling, but the real value of VoIP is that it opens up the ability to add new and useful applications to voice communications. When looking for game-changing ideas, simply doing something cheaper tends not to be nearly as revolutionary as enabling something that couldn't have been done before. That's why it's been disappointing to see so many VoIP providers focus on price wars rather than offering something different. The good news is that we're starting to see some companies offer something different using VoIP. The disposable phone numbers idea seems more like a gimmick (though one that some folks might find useful). However, what's more interesting are the features the service is looking to add on top of the disposable numbers, such as the ability to offer specific content to callers. Who knows if this particular solution will catch on, but it's nice to see companies trying to provide something more than just a telephone replacement service when it comes to VoIP. -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
