Karnidge 2 Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Can someone explain to me simply what this IP telephone thing is that I'm reading about? What benefits does it give me? Link to post Share on other sites
RayInJapan 0 Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Not sure exactly what you're talking about but if you're talking about Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), then you're talking about getting telephone service over your LAN connection, as opposed to getting your internet connection over your telephone line as many do now via ADSL or dial-up (or having 2 separate lines in the case of cable modems). Benefits? Possibly cheaper telephone rates? That remains to be seen. Current technology requires a lot of bandwidth to get the same voice clarity that existing telephone systems provide. The telephone smart folks I work with say its likely we won't see it anytime soon. There are a lot of folks cheering the technology but there aren't any major cites (or small ones for that matter) doing it anytime soon... Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 Ray: actually, VoIP is already here and thriving (in Japan at least, ie Yahoo's BBPhone service). It is definately more cost effective than regular analog land-line or wireless calls. It works much the same as sending an email. The quality's improved substantially over the past year or so. Here's a recent article from Wired Magazine that explains the scene (primarily focussed on the US. Link to post Share on other sites
RayInJapan 0 Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 Hmmm...I need to learn more about this then...I'd be interested in hearing about the voice quality of those using VOIP. I've used phone services over the computer like the article mentioned, and it was choppy at best but I'm sure technology is improving. The one complaint from my telephone folks is that VOIP is choppy too but we haven't actually used it yet. If ATT is getting involved though, perhaps the technology is improving so that it will be better...thanks for the link BTW... Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 I've used the BBPhone service several times and the quality is "acceptable". Compared to a normal phone line, the VoIP service was a bit more muted with a slight loss in clarity of tones (almost a bit "hissy", if that description makes sense). I didn't find it to be too choppy though; I assume that by "choppy" you mean that the service fades in and out or cuts abruptly from time to time. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 It is very common for the discount overseas calls in SE Asia (particularly Bangkok) to use VoIP. It is really a great technology and the one time I called America from Bangkok was pretty clear. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was a bit better than the local telco lines. Goemon - you know if any of the discount overseas carriers in Japan (Brastel, etc) are implementing VoIP yet? I imagine these kinds of places can have a local dial in number that connects to their VoIP service (telco from your home in Japan to their base, then VoIP overseas). There are free VoIP carriers out there but I have heard it is definitely worth the small price to use a pay service. Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 ender: Most smaller service providers in Japan (including Brastel) are implementing VoIP and that's a big reason why they are able to offer lower prices (and why NTT is shitting the bed right now). If you eliminate NTT's crippling usage fees, providers can offer cheap phone service to people and bundle it with internet service very easily. There are also some point-to-point set-ups that are free(including a Kazaa offshoot whose name escapes me). I've never used one of those though, so I can't vouch for the quality. Link to post Share on other sites
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