Are Wi-Fi & VoIP set to merge?

A recent Infonetics report states that the rise of VoIP will mean that Wi-Fi will become as common a feature in mobiles as it currently is in laptops. Could this be the beginning of the long expected convergence of these services? Read more...

11 Million Global VoIP Users

11 mln VOIP users globally, 7.2 mln in Japan, 2.1 mln in the US by ZDNet's ZDNet -- Point Topic estimates that over 11 mln people were using a retail voice over IP service for at least some of their telephone calls at the end of March 2005. That's an increase from just over 5 mln at mid-2004. Of these 11 mln, well over half, 7.2 mln, are in Japan. Yahoo Softbank provides [...]

The Big Debate Begins

Congress is poised to begin one of the biggest debates ever in the technology arena - one which can eventually have a huge impact on our lives for a long time to come. This is the debate over our rights to receive TV programming over IP. Why is this important? Because it will define not only how the programming is delivered but how future legislation may affect future offerings. The big cable companies are lined up on one side against the big telephone companies. Each has it's vested interests to protect - cable companies obviously want to protect their turf and continue to deliver services in their traditional way, and the telcos, who are seeing falling revenues in many areas, are looking to expand their markets.

We are not here to take a position on this one, because there are valid arguments on each side. If you are passionate about either position, by all means send a note to your representatives in Congress. But note that this is a tricky one. Each side needs confirmation of their position in order to justify development of future services.

So read the article, and keep watching because the fireworks are just about to start!

VoIP Study in UK raises questions

A recent study in the UK has concluded that VoIP just is not cutting it when compared with traditional wire-line services. However, we wonder if they should look beyond the obvious and question the reasons why respondents felt the quality was not up to par.

The vast majority of broadband users in the UK are on ADSL lines provided by BT. And a great number of these lines are running at 512Kbps or below. We have used our Vonage VoIP adapter behind cable modems at two locations in the US and behind our 512Kbps BT broadband line here in the UK, and there is definitely a difference. In fact it is so much so that we recently upgraded the service to 1Mbps (although we are getting an effective rate between 1.5-2.2Mbps), and we can already see better results. We have two lines running into our adapter, and we can use them simultaneously if need be with very good quality.

As to the stability of the services, we just have not found that there is any appreciable problem with trying to make a call. Admittedly, we have only worked with one supplier here, Pipex, but they have been stable and available whenever we needed to make a call.

So, our take on the survey is: run it again after BT has finished their current 1Mbps upgrade program. We think the result will be somewhat different!

Could a recent Supreme Court ruling mean trouble ahead?

The recent Supreme Court ruling against Brand X Internet, an ISP seeking to continue to have access to cable companies' and telcos' broadband lines has been generally hailed as a further assurance that our broadband providers will not be "over-regulated". However, if carried to the extreme, this could spell bad news in the long run for our VoIP providers. Under the ruling, the cable and DSL companies are no longer obligated to allow ISP's to use their lines at wholesale rates and essentially re-sell the services the major companies provide. Earthlink, for instance, could be hit instantly by this if their providers decide that they simply don't want the competition.

Nothing has been said about VoIP in this ruling, but it would seem that if the cable and DSL providers get really serious about offering their own voice services, they could simply decide to block voice packets not originating on their own adapters. Now, let me stress that this is an extreme case and very much a speculation at this point, but it is ironic that the Supreme Court, in attempting to uphold the growth of technology and the FCC in attempting to guarantee a free marketplace may have just had the opposite effect in the long run.

We will watch this situation carefully, and if things do start to take a turn in a negative direction, a congressional letter-writing campaign could be in order. Let's hope that it does not become necessary.

VoIP works...what are you waiting for?

A recent article at TechWorld outlined some of the results from surveys taken at the Business VoIP exhibition in London last month. The bottom line is that most businesses who have deployed it have found it works well and cuts costs. The biggest obstacle for those considering the switch is the voice quality - yet as those who have made it can attest, it is good and becoming great!

Although this reflects sentiment in the business world, the home and small office world is learning the same thing. VoIP works well and saves money. We have 3 installations - 2 on cable modems pumping out about 4mbps and one on our UK DSL line running at 512Kbps. Even in the UK, we have excellent quality, although we notice an occasional gurgle when someone does a big page refresh while on a voice call. (Fortunately, BT are in the process of a nationwide speed upgrade, and we will be moving up to 1Mbps soon.)

So the conclusion is - try it...you will like it!