VOIP
I got my new phone today. It is a Vonage phone that allows me to pay a flat fee per month and then make unlimited calls anywhere in the nation. I plugged it in and expected that I would have to make some modifications to my network to get it to work. I didn't. It worked almost immediately. Take unit out of box, plug network cable in one jack, plug cordless phone base in other jack. Restart unit. I have a live phone that works without using the phone line. I call 15 candidates and 2 called back. It works. No one noticed that I was on a voice over internet phone. I noticed a couple of small skips and dropped syllables. I would say it is about 95% of the quality of the regular phone line. So for $25 month I get unlimited national calls, voicemail, caller ID, call forwarding, a near instant log of all incoming and outgoing calls, etc. I now need to do some more tests before I recommend it to my customers but so far I am impressed.
I remember a few years ago when someone tried to do this in Lincoln. The Public Service Commission issued a cease and desist order. The person appealed to the legislature. The legislature held a hearing and after this individual testified, I watched as several senators ripped the poor guy to shreds. Several senators were downright rude about it. Now VOIP is protected by the FCC. I think it will change the way a lot of people communicate. As a side note, AT&T, former owner of all long distance, has pulled out of providing residential service across most of the nation. One of the questions I will ask candidates is what they think about how communications policy should work.
How do we protect people that cannot get or afford broadband?
How do we protect the little old lady that doesn’t want broadband but because of VOIP, the traditional phone company loses many of its customers and hence goes broke and now grandma has nothing?
How do we encourage innovative technology that creates a more efficient communications system while at the same time protects traditional access?
Comments
Who were the two candidates that returned your call?
Posted by: John | November 11, 2005 12:31 PM
What I meant by saying that two called me back is that two people called me on my VOIP line after I got it. So it works both ways. Of the 15 that I called I either talked to them or left a message on their machines
Posted by: steve | November 11, 2005 03:44 PM