News Archive
"Voice over Internet is changing
the telecom landscape."
VoIP Mechanic has wanted to keep you informed with news that has had a direct affect on 'VoIP consumers and providers. We have highlighted events and news, placing emphasis on articles that have direct impact and relativity to the VoIP community. We believe this is preferable, rather than to just focus on the latest news event, which may not be as important. WE have kept our previous news articles for your browsing.
Previous News & Commentary
As VoIP providers increase stability and service features their growth may have some negative consequences. It seems as the numbers of VoIP subscribers increase dramatically some networks, such as high speed cable companies' quality is suffering, this according to an article in IT Week. The additional revenue that cable companies can generate from selling VoIP is a driving force to increasing their subscriber base. And although many cable providers are offering larger bandwidths and greater stability, which is a result of a large build over the last 5 years, it can still strain some networks, lowering voice quality. Some cable providers even have separate channels exclusively to carry their VoIP, which would not travel over their regular Internet channels, not affecting the regular Internet traffic, which many VoIP providers calls travel over.
We at VoIP Mechanic also believe the large increase in broadband subscribers must be part of this equation, as well, and as more people use broadband these networks will continually increase their levels of service and quality. As we mentioned before, new technology has some growing pains. The good news is that VoIP is going to drive the market, making communications better and better, but there may be a few bumps in the road. more 8-8-06
It looks like the ideal time for VoIP providers and sales reps to be selling VoIP. According to research firm IDC, a new report forecasts subscribers of VoIP are going to skyrocket. Currently there are 10.3 million residential users, but this number will explode to 44 million users by 2010. That's only 4 years away. The expansion will be fueled by the growth of broadband, where 62% of households with broadband will opt for a VoIP service. Features and portability, along with the need for instant on-demand telephony will be key points. And this does report does not even focus on small businesses, one of the strongest VoIP markets.
VoIP is ideal for home based entrepreneurs and small businesses who make lots of calls or need a feature rich communications service for a very reasonable price. Clark Howard explores some of VoIPs benefits and drawbacks in this article. Saving hundreds of dollars, Kelly a home based worker, logs many hours on the phone and now uses VoIP. Her example highlights those that can benefit greatly from a VoIP service. The article also points out some possible pitfalls of VoIP like alarm integration, E911 and loss of Internet connection, which will prevent calling. One suggestion mentioned is for a partial switch to VoIP, keeping a regular line, as well. One thing is clear Clark Howard loves his and so does Kelly, who uses it for business. more 5-19-06
Ease of use in placing calls and low cost were two recent benefits described by respondents to a VoIP survey, but 29% complained of sound and quality issues. Most subscribers appear to be happy with VoIP and will either maintain their use or even increase it, but would like their services quality to increase. Quality is something that has been improving generally over the last 18 months with many VoIP providers and the ISPs that carry the calls. In addition many users are learning how to correct some common quality issues like echo from knowledge sources (like VoIP Mechanic). more 4-15-06
It seems that education, demos and more consumer education is the way to sell VoIP. The terms Internet Phone and VoIP are being recognized by a larger portion of the population, but that still only amounts to some sort of general conception of what this technology is. Not the exact driving force to make a consumer subscribe to a new service. It all boils down to lots of advertising money is being spent that raises awareness, but still the old standard of sales people answering questions and showing how VoIP works gets the sale.
We all know that VoIP is revolutionizing the way we are communicating, and part of this evolving change will be applications and uses that can only come about because of VoIP. One enterprising firm has started a unique service where matching complimentary language students with each other around the world who are looking to practice their fledging new language. It's all about offering a particular service to a specific user. This can now be done because of the spreading wide based use of VoIP, and the benefits, both economically and otherwise that users gain from these services. And it is free. check it out on our services page
It seems that the VoIP gold rush has hit the rocky mountain high state of Colorado. VoIP customers are growing like crazy, according to some small local VoIP providers; grabbing at the chance to convert from their traditional telecom companies to voice over the Internet. The expectations are that this is just the beginning of the curve, as it is a growth area for everybody. Interesting, because it shows how small VoIP providers are benefiting from this new technology and given the opportunity can excel through direct marketing on a more personable level, offering customers information about a VoIP connection and answering questions. It has been a standing belief that VoIP sales will be driven by direct customer contact, something that the small customer service based providers can do best.
"It's a matter of how many people you have on staff and how many people you can talk to every day," said Roger Duncan, chief executive at Tellurium, a local provider. more 2/12/2006
Yahoo completed a survey that suggests that most (two thirds) of VoIP shoppers (those looking into VoIP) use Internet search to locate information. This does not seem unusual as most VoIP purchasers should be Internet savvy. It also illustrates the almost miniscule size of VoIP sales companies touching the bulk of would be VoIP users in other means than the Internet. As we know the increase of VoIP users during the next year will be extremely large, and the education of potential users is just starting to grow. As the large providers spend millions on advertising their product, consumers are becoming aware of VoIP, but still have many questions that need answering. They would naturally turn to the Internet to answer these questions, as there are so few actual live people to approach. This seems like the ideal selling environment for the more traditional sales force (small telecom companies and VoIP sales entrepreneurs) to get in on the action. more 1/21/06
