Reviews:
 ·Optimum Online
 ·Verizon FiOS
| interconnect fees The voip industry is realizing that like it or not, to connect with POTS lines costs REAL MONEY... peering with other voip companies costs next to nothing, so if VOIP doesn't get economies of scale (majority of market) it is SCREWED and will crumble in on itself based upon it's one REDEEMING feature: being largely cheaper and it's regulatory status of not required to collect taxes & fees (for the most part).
The so-called unlimited plans are based upon a $20-25 service fee per month assuming the majority of the minutes outgoing and incoming will be from POTS phone lines. Telcos are in the unique position of determining whether VOIP can succeed long-term.. this is of course more true of 3rd party voip companies as compared with cable voip, but if the 3rd party VOIP companies are virtually wiped out, there may not be a hills worth of beans left between the remaining cable VOIP and telco POTS pricing, and the sad thing about it is.. state and federal governments won't do a thing to prevent the small carriers from going out of business (because they don't profit in the form of taxes/surcharges levied against service).
VOIP companies need to fight back by getting at LEAST as large pocketed as the smallest cable company to survive for the long-haul. Vonage was almost in the enviable position (until they got sued). |
