[LINK] Dial N for Net Phone - New VOIP system

[Chirgwin, Richard]

And Vonage is in the same class of service which reportedly is about to be
whacked by the FCC on the matter of "911" access (the emergency services not
the terrorist event). I've made an attempt to give the story some technical
meat on www.commsworld.com.au (because most coverage was from an inaccurate
mat on the wires).

As far as I can tell, there isn't much chance that a VoIP provider like
Vonage can deliver on accurately "mappable" caller location. The best
available is a kludge - register your "home" location with the service, and
register for 911 access. That way Vonage will map your "911" call to a
number - not the "real" 911 - and will pass on your registered location with
the call.

Of course, if you're calling from some other place (for eg using a
softphone), that's not so useful, but I guess you could argue that someone
calling from a hotel away from home can always use "conventional" 911 using
the hotel's phone...

Other caveats mentioned by Vonage on its Website:
- no 911 during blackouts.
- no 911 during broadband outages.
- no "live" update of user location.
- the customer assumes legal responsibility in the ToS for informing anyone
who might use the phone that it's not for "real" 911:
"You agree to inform any household residents, guests and other third persons
who may be present at the physical location where you utilize the Service as
to the non-availability of traditional 911 or E911 dialing from your Vonage
Service and Device(s)."

Put these caveats in the context of the Jamie Bolding case and draw your own
conclusions ... the first death at the far end of a VoIP service would start
an uproar which would go on for years.

RC

-----Original Message-----
From: jeff.evans at iird.vic.gov.au
To: link at anu.edu.au
Sent: 24/02/04 11:01
Subject: [LINK] Dial N for Net Phone - New VOIP system

From
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/print_version/garfinkel0304.as
p>

   Dial N for Net Phone
   An online phone service shows that Internet telephony's time may
finally
   have come.
   By Simson Garfinkel March 2004

   <snip>
   A new service called Vonage offers a completely different approach to
   Internet telephony. It still uses your high-speed Internet
connection,
   but instead of a desktop computer, you make your phone calls using a
   special "telephone adaptor" that's about the size of a trade
paperback.
   You plug this adaptor into your home network's hub or router, and
into
   the wall for power. Then just plug a standard telephone into the
adaptor
   and you're ready to go.

   The Vonage adaptor is a tiny digital-telephone branch office in a
box.
   It provides the dial tone when you pick up your phone and rings the
bell
   when there is an incoming call. It digitizes your voice and sends it
   over the Internet to Vonage's servers, where calls are transferred to
   the same public telephone network that traditional telephones and
cell
   phones use. Indeed, unlike NetMeeting, Skype, and the others, Vonage
   lets you make real telephone calls to other phone numbers. Vonage
also
   provides you with your own phone number that anybody can call.

   Another difference between it and the others is that Vonage costs
real
   money?but not much. The basic plan offers 500 minutes of calling
   anywhere in the United States and Canada for $15 a month. That plan
   includes caller ID, voice mail, call forwarding, and other features
that
   phone companies typically charge extra for. Unlimited local calling
with
   500 minutes of long distance is $25 a month. For $35 a month, you can
   have unlimited calling anywhere in the country. Plus, the adaptor has
   two phone jacks on its back, allowing you to add a second phone
number
   for a fax machine or your kids for a small additional fee.

   Vonage's servers are oblivious to geography. When you sign up, the
   company asks you in which area code you would like to list your phone
   number. I have a friend in France; his Vonage phone has a Maryland
area
   code because that's where he used to live. If I call him from my cell
   phone, the conversation moves over the telephone network on its way
from
   Massachusetts down to Maryland, then hops on the Internet for the
trip
   across the Atlantic. The result: no international telephone charges!
And
   he can call anywhere in the United States without paying a centime to
   France Telecom.

   The Vonage adaptor is delightfully easy to use. I didn't bother
reading
   the directions when mine came in the mail: I just plugged it into my
   network, connected it to a cheap telephone, picked up the receiver,
and
   dialed. I heard a normal ring at the other end of the line, the
person
   answered, and we started talking.

   Alas, there are some problems with the Vonage system. It takes
between
   five and ten seconds longer for local phone calls to connect over
Vonage
   than over my landline. The caller ID only shows the caller's phone
   number, not his or her name. Sound quality is great over a high-speed
   connection, but with a 144-kilobit-per-second ISDN hookup it is often
   garbled?like a poor cell-phone connection. My biggest concern,
though,
   is reliability: unless you have battery backup for your Internet
   connection, the Vonage phone won't work if the power goes out. You
can
   mitigate this concern to some extent by having your Vonage phone
number
   automatically forward to another, regular telephone number if your
   Internet connection fails.

   Other companies are entering the consumer and small-business Internet
   telephony market, but with more than 100,000 customers, Vonage is the
   leading player. If you already have a high-speed Internet connection,
   this is an easy way to shave cash off your monthly phone bill.

Regards

Jeff Evans
Manager, Business Channel
Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development
Victoria, Australia
Ph 03 9651 9590 Fax 03 9651 9725
Email jeff.evans at iird.vic.gov.au
http://www.business.channel.vic.gov.au
http://www.businessaccess.vic.gov.au
http://www.export.vic.gov.au
http://www.ecommerce.vic.gov.au



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