bondipom

VOIP Telephone calls on the internet (Voice over IP)

Check out these services. All a bit for those with technical patience but in theory I now have a UK local call no that forwards to my Aussie phone using www.voipuser.co.uk and a UK national call rate no that forwards to my SIP phone on www.freeworlddialup.com .

VOIP is turning the traditional phone on its head. It is early days yet so if you aren't technical I would wait. Otherwise if you are interested post your experiences here.

www.skype.com and www.virbiage.com are other sites one might want to look at.

wmoore

Yep, telecoms as we know it will be unrecognisable in ten years time, or even less. Why would you ever make an international call (say) when you can use Skype or some such program for the cost of a local call, or even less if you're on broadband?
BT have announced that they will have a significant VoIP public network in the next few years and that will be a big driver for UK businesses, eventually dragging the cost down for the consumer.
Not sure if the likes of Telstra have announced similar plans for Oz but they can't be that far behind.

Wol

I think it's only the BT network itself - the last wire to your home won't change?

I also hear that there are big problems to overcome in the regularity field: a system relying on computer power all the way (as opposed to the switching side) goes belly-up when the power twitches/goes down. No doubt they will solve the questions in the next few years.

wmoore

The wire to your house doesn't necessarily need to change, just what it's connected to at either end.
I'm sure that you're right on the second point too. They will need to do a lot of work to create a) a reliable system and b) a resilient system with redundancy. Mega-spondoolies for early takers.

MarkMyWords

That problem is already solved, otherwise the internet as we know it wouldn't work. Surely we already have dynamic path re-routing. A packet is a packet, whether it represents text, pictures or sound. Ok the quality might vary a bit, given that it's supposed to be streamed, but I doubt you would lose the connection.

mlbonner

Thanks for posting that - like you say, need some technical knowledge (which I dont have!) but luckily I know a man who does & I shall be with him very shortly.... this can be a nice task for him

bondipom

In the short term the comms companies will squeeze what they can out of the current copper lines. Long term I think we will need 10mbs + links for delivery of video on demand (end of the tv aerial and satellite dish) video telephony and internet access.

At work one site is on VOIP and it is a lot of money but the sound quality is much better than standard PABX systems. Traditional PABXs still cost a fortune but will become obsolete. Traditional PABXs also cost a fortune for any non-standard prgramming.

As I work for an international multi site company there will be savings from integration.

www.swiftdsl.coml.au have just conducted a consumer VOIP trial. It will be interesting to see what the main launch will provide.

Vegemite Kids

whoooooooooooooooosh .......



























That was the sound of this thread flying way above my head

bondipom

Well it was working for me yesterday but not today. One for the patient as well.