VOIP Tech Chat → [General] Voip Killer?

Let me first say that I am a strong advocate of voip technology I have been using voip for many years with several different companies qwest voip,phonepower, nettalk and callcentric. I like unlimited plans because I like to pay one flat rate for my phone service with no surprises.

I recently helped a friend of my dad (he is 81 years old on a limited budget) Install VERIZON Wireless Home Phone and I have to say it works better than I expected. I used a set of Vtech/ATT DECT cordless phones (CL84109) separated the base unit 10 feet from the receiver and it works! Voice quality is good and here is the big surprise, IT HAS CID NAME & NUMBER incoming and outgoing.

I later found out that cid name is a extra add-on for $1.99 a month that verizon added on at the store when he purchased it. AT&T wireless also has a home phone unit as does Sprint. All three carriers charge $19.99 a month for unlimited nationwide calling with AT&T you can purchase monthly refills for their home phone service discounted at target for $16.00 also walmart sells their “straight talk” home phone (uses Verizon) for $15.00 a month and no tax if you refill online. One huge advantage this has over VOIP is it has a battery in the unit and will work if the power goes out.

With these prices it is actually cheaper than I am currently paying with PhonePower for the unlimited plan. I don't have any plans to switch but I am wondering if the voip companies see this as competition and are they worried.

These have been around awhile, I don't think they're much of an effect on VoIP; two big things (one of which you've already addressed) is the lack of 911 knowing your exact location and the lack of name CID (which is really cool that you can apparently have that with Verizon with the add on) IDK if name CID would work on Sprint with their new premium caller ID add on, and I don't even know if AT&T offers it at all.

Fixed wireless (that's what this is) has been around for a few years now, it's not new even though AT&T took it national this year.
»www.multichannel.com/new ··· e/374744
»AT&T Takes Their Fixed LTE Service Nationwide [64] comments

It remains a niche market.

And in fact for Verizon and AT&T they would rather promote their [pure] wireless (mobile/cellular) rather than fixed wireless. The pure wireless is much more profitable for them.

Verizon and AT&T want to have a presence in the fixed wireless market, to show the flag so to speak, but don't really care much beyond that.

The much bigger issues are people dropping home phone entirely in favor of pure wireless, and also the cable company phone services that come as part of bundles (Comcast, Cox, Optimum, etc).

You need to understand also that the Business customers who use VoIP are receiving services well beyond those needed by your friend's father. And Business use is where the money is.

As for Residential customers using companies from CallCentric to Voip.MS and everything inbetween, again these are dedicated customers who benefit from the specific features and the good service provided by such companies.

The typical CallCentric user is not one who will be prone to flit-flutter-fly.

-----

Regarding your original point of fixed wireless, keep in mind also that it requires a strong 4G cellular signal in the neighborhood.

Again regarding your friend's dad, they should inquire as to the specifics of the 911 service, will the street address show up at the PSAP screens? That's a totally different issue than caller ID.

-----

I think that fixed wireless (like the movie Spaceballs) came about 10 years too late.

I can't see it myself. It costs me 1 cent/minute incoming or outgoing, and even if I do not always see the caller name, I always see the caller number, and I can add the number to the phone book and assign a name, and then I will see both name and number when a call comes in.

The $19.99/month would get me 1750 minutes in addition to e911 and cost of having the DID.

since I use only 300 or 400 minutes/month, pay-as-you-go works well for me.

I myself have considered using the fixed wireless but in the end decided VoIP is better because it offers generally better sound quality, better pricing, and all the features I could possibly need. One big thing missing from any of the WHP options are call block and call routing abilities. One upside to it is having it work in a power outage but our cellphones will serve the same purpose.

I can see this being great where reliance on internet is not desired, such as in a place where it's not reliable or you don't have Internet (ie elderly people) but the pitfall is no E911 locating like a landline or VoIP provides.

your forgetting on these sprint/verizon/att wireless at home its 19.99 plus taxes on it so really its NOT going to kill voip anytime soon. Actually voip is picking up speed over wireless....

Ooma offers basic phone for like 4 dollars an month and there prem is like 9.99 plus like 4 dollars for taxes.....

They generally should (be worried) even though it's wireless compared to fixed (internet-based or POTS) because of the "BIG 2" (Verizon and AT&T but you know who their predecessor were...right?) controlling most of America's communications (long distance, local, international even.... and AT&T Long Lines (Corp.) haven't replaced most of it's 4ESSes yet even though it's 2014/15)

Imagine what would happen if the F.C.C had an evil heart (like Powell but was focused with telecommunication companies instead of cable) and forced every VoIP (except for the "BIG 2") company to cease operations due to "poor QoS and lack of availability to every American" mentioned by the BIG 2.

1. Loss of jobs devoted to IP telephony (triple-digits unemployment rates like %27)
2. Phone numbers leased to VoIP companies have been revoked and since returned to the control of the BIG 2/ Displeased subscribers returning to POTS/wireless (while muttering words to the agents like "Fuck you", "suck dick", and things of that nature)
3. LECs having to deal with a plethora of calls going through its switching systems

and it goes on and on and on...and sadly, on forever until the F.C.C (with unbiased people) figures out their plan and apologizes for what it enforced.(in my opinion)

Breathtaking non-sequiturs.

-----

Imagine what would happen if electricity stopped working (cf "The Waveries" by Frederic Brown from 1945, or "Revolution" on NBC 2012-14).

I'd rather imagine unicorns and rainbows, with Skittles falling from the sky, but thanks anyway.

If I were to go with fixed cellular instead of VOIP, I'd lose the following:

- POTS-like call quality
- Faxing
- VOIP E911 gives your exact address to the PSAP and cellular E911 doesn't
- Caller ID with Name (CNAM) (yeah, I can get this with fixed celluar, but for an extra charge). The Panasonic cordless phone in my house has Talking Caller ID that has text-to-speech that says the CNAM when someone calls.
- And, the big one.......... junk call blocking. This was the primary reason I moved to VOIP in the first place

I'll just put my Home Phone Connect on the Page Plus $10 every 120 day PAYGO, connect it to the LINE port of my Obi110 and use it just as a backup. Or see if I can swap it for a similar AT&T-compatible or unlocked GSM device since Lycamobile and H20 Wireless offer a better deal than Page Plus on their PAYGO for strictly voice usage.

I do have my HTC Droid Incredible 2 with a Lycamoble PAYGO SIM that still has over $7 on it, but my mom would have too much difficulty trying to use a smartphone- I'd prefer a solution that would let her use the house phones instead.

For me, if my cell worked in Canada the same as the US, the that would be a VoIP killer. My T-Mobil has data and texting there at no extra, but voice is still extra, and calling there is extra. The calling there, is the tipping point.

They are good for older people who are unable to dial a cell phone and you can hook up any home phone you want.
Plus if go into rehab or nursing home easy for phone to follow them. Then when better follows them home or another place.
Basically easily transportable. Do not rely on an internet connection nearby. Plus if older people had no use for internet that would be a useless extra cost just to get voip.

there is sooo much competition for voip. this is just one of many. but it's one many don't think about much.

If someone's going to go that route, it makes more sense to just get a device to connect your cellphone to your home phones.

Thus: Blue Tooth at home, Blue Jeans when outside!

-----

Example:

Cobra PhoneLynx Bluetooth Cell to Home Phone Connection System (BT 215)
»www.amazon.com/gp/produc ··· 050SS4O6

I think that we could legitimately say that this new thing will be "Verizoned." Just like their old "Hub" was "Verizoned."

The Hub was a to be the centerpiece of a smart home. It combined a DECT cordless phone with a tablet-like touchscreen base. While the manufacturer, OpenPeak has some very pretty samples, the product delivered by Verizon was Ugly!

Also, the terms of service were dreadful, and support for the device was largely non-existent. I actually knew someone in the Baltimore area who had one. They liked the device , and saw its potential, but they hated the company. VZW eventually withdrew the offer.

Bear in mind that VZW will do whatever it can to steal lines from traditional telco's. They hope to get you using the fixed wireless for data was well. That's another capped service that will generate handsome revenues from overages.

For the best of both worlds, our office uses VoIP by default and one of the conference rooms has a fixed wireless pay-as-you-go as a backup. Came in handy a couple of times for conference calls when the internet was down.