Many people today have used or at least heard of services such as Skype, GoogleTalk, Vonage, or Gizmo on their computers; these are all services which use VoIP (voice over Internet protocol, also known as “telephony”) technology to provide communication over the Internet. At first, one only needed a computer with Internet connection to be able to use the software, but with the ever-advancing technology of cell phones and other portable devices, we basically have a computer in our pockets. The Internet has changed many industries; newspaper, movie, TV….now the cell phone… Why not?
One of the first advantages (and its strongest) of VoIP is its cost. VoIP uses encrypted data packets sent between the callers during a phone call, so it charges by the amount of data sent through the connection, rather than the amount of time a person uses the phone. This allows people to place calls for a fraction of any powerhouse phone providers such as AT&T or Verizon. With this reason alone many users are willing to change over to VoIP, especially due to recent economic pressure. The advancement of handheld devices (such as the iTouch) now have wireless Internet capabilities and can easily be hacked in order to use as a phone.
Although forms of VoIP have been developed since the 80’s, it still isn’t perfect. Some drawbacks include the necessity of a stable and fast Internet connection. If this is not met, the call will drop or add lag time between responses. Second, because WiFi is needed for many of these mobile devices, coverage might not be as good as current existing phone coverage. But it may only a matter of time. Every day cities and college campuses are striving to make their areas hotspots for wireless connections as a free public utility.
More serious drawbacks include emergency calling and Internet security. Emergency calls pose a threat to using VoIP in a time of need. A traditional fixed phone line has a connection with a physical location, so responders know where to go in case of an emergency. But because of VoIP’s reliance with the Internet, pinpointing an exact location of a caller is much more of a challenge during a time of need. Also due to this reliance on the Internet, hackers may pose a new threat to VoIP services and their users, whether it’s interrupting service or gaining user information.
How are phone companies responding? For one, companies are changing the uses of the cell phone. With downloadable applications people can use their smartphones for various other activities and services other than just calling alone. But if this is not enough, another effect would be for carriers to drop their rates to a profitless 2-cent per minute phone calls to compete with the VoIP technology, or convert their own services to VoIP altogether. VoIP is still not yet a mainstream form of communication for many consumers, but has been gaining popularity and market share slowly over the years. At least 10% of US companies use VoIP services. Soon, consumers will have to ask themselves if they want to stay with their phone providers, or switch to VoIP. What do you think? Will cell’s maintain their dominance or will VoIP (which has been around for quite some time in fact) overcome the changing market?
