NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: STEVE TAYLOR AND LARRY HETTICK ON CONVERGENCE 11/17/04 Today's focus: What's the impact of residential VoIP?
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], In this issue: * Assessing VoIP's importance in the greater scheme of things * Links related to Convergence * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Texas Instruments Learn how to offer better than toll-quality performance in your next-generation network Download our latest white paper on Wideband Voice Coding T E X A S I N S T R U M E N T S http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=88419 _______________________________________________________________ DOWNLOAD INDUSTRY WHITE PAPERS NOW NW Fusion's White Paper Library is your source for the latest industry white papers. Recent additions to the library include white papers on WLAN Security; IT Documentation; protecting the internal network from worms, Trojan horses, and other malware threats; measuring employee productivity and more. Click here to download: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=88292 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: What's the impact of residential VoIP? By Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick In the last newsletter, we discussed the recent FCC ruling that essentially frees residential VoIP services from the morass of different state telecommunications regulations. Now that the direction is clear, it's time to start thinking about whether this matters. Frankly, we're not convinced that residential VoIP services will be the biggest thing since sliced bread. On the surface, the concept is fantastic. And, admittedly, as "technology columnists," the implicit assumption is that all new technology is inherently good. But residential VoIP has some hurdles to jump over, and state regulation is a relatively small part of the story. Some of these hurdles include: E-911: The recent FCC ruling said that these services were not subject to the myriad state requirements. But this doesn't change the fact that fundamental problems with E-911 for mobile devices still exist. And when you're making that E-911 call, it's not a time that you're likely to think about which line to pick up. Caveat: E-911 capabilities vary significantly from provider to provider. Pricing: Residential VoIP service is almost free. But so is traditional voice service. Ten years ago, we would go to great lengths for making long-distance calls at a very low price per minute. But calling cards, cell phones, and fixed-rate plans from traditional carriers are competing for those same dollars. We're not convinced that the majority of consumers are ready to sit at the computer - or at a phone attached to the cable router - simply to save a penny per minute or less. And these current service pricing advantages may be short-lived depending on the FCC's decisions on issues like universal service fees. Ringer equivalence: Technology that's old but still applicable. A hidden fact that we found several years ago when testing ISDN terminal adapters was that most adapters would generate enough ringing current for two or three phones. Admittedly, most of us don't "need" more than two or three phones. But it's now expected that most people have a phone in the kitchen, the family room, every bedroom, and maybe the bathroom. So it's not a given that every adapter will provide the exact same technical characteristics as POTS. Service reliability: As techies, we're very tempted to convert to these services as a primary service. But for now Steve still has both cable and DSL Internet access so he can switch from one to the other whenever there's a service failure. As a second line for outbound calls only, the service is probably sufficiently reliable. But as a single line for the household, we're not convinced it's ready for prime time. So what do you think? Our assumption is that the readers of this newsletter, while oriented toward enterprise-class telecommunications, are among the most technically savvy users in the world. Are you using these services? Even more importantly, are you recommending them to your friends? Lets us know, and we'll summarize the feedback we receive. RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS Ringer Equivalence http://www.nwfusion.com/nlconvergence842 VoIP ruling a start, not an end Network World, 11/15/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/111504voip.html _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick Steve Taylor is President of Distributed Networking Associates and Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Webtorials.Com. For more detailed information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter, connect to Webtorials.Com <http://www.webtorials.com/>, the first Web site dedicated exclusively to market studies and technology tutorials in the Broadband Packet areas of Frame Relay, ATM, and IP. He can be reached at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Larry Hettick an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in voice and data. He is currently Vice President for Wireline Solutions at Current Analysis, the leading competitive response solutions company. He can be reached at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Intel IT Productivity; Increasing ROI Learn how to effectively measure employee productivity, manage IT investments and reduce the Total Cost of Ownership in enterprise data management. Visit Intel's IT Productivity center. Click here to download white papers, books and IDC Research. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=88351 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Archives of the Convergence newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/converg/index.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE NEW! Website dedicated to Networking for Small Business now available The editors of NW Fusion and PC World have combined all their expert advice, authority, and know-how into a powerful new tool for small businesses, the new Networking for Small Business website. Get news, how-to's, product reviews, and expert advice specifically tailored to your small business needs. 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