Voip growth in US
VOIP has grown in the
Comcast comes to your house to deliver VOIP service. They install a box outside of your house that provides the PSTN to VOIP gateway so that you may use your existing lines already in your house and therefore use your existing phones. They don’t tell you what your options are, and they don’t offer any options. If I am getting VOIP service, I want to know what can change with my lifestyle to make it better. The box that comes with your High speed internet connection is called an MTA. The MTA is connected to a coax and provides an RJ45 connection for internet connectivity.
In VOIP, cable providers follow the packet cable standard. Okay, back to Comcast, they provide an MTA for your high speed internet connectivity, and the phone connectivity they make a media gateway connection on the pole outside of your home. Before I can explain why I think they do this, I will explain how packet cable providers in other countries work. The same MTA that provides an RJ45 handoff in your home, also provides a RJ11 hand-off as well. (This is what your standard telephone uses). You have three options, the first option would be to plug your phone into your MTA and talk VOIP over that single connection. As you know most European households are smaller square foot wise, so one phone is perfectly doable. Second option is they provide you a list of instructions and you can purchase your own phone to plug into a hub or switch located in your home. The third option would be you purchase IAD’s from the provider. IAD’s convert TDM to IP similar to a media gateway, but for a single unit and most likely over 802.11 (wireless). This way all of your current phones and investments (fax etc) can be used as if the technology never changed.
This is what technology provides, it provides choices. Comcast’s choice to provide you with a transparent box that sits where you can’t touch it. Reminds you when you were small and you parents hid cookies from you on top of the refrigerator where you couldn’t reach. The do this because of the union guys and sub contractors. Technicians who make a living off of running new phone lines in your house for $70 per hour. You see MTA’s can be administered remotely. You have a phone problem, why send a tech, I can fix it remotely. I have connectivity issues? It is all IP the problem is either at the CO (remote) or your house, which you can count the lights on your MTA to tell me if it is in the CO or not. That takes the little man out of the picture. It also generates less capitol for Comcast. So that unnecessary step is left in there.
Technology is great, but until you as consumers start learning how it works we will always be a dominant country with third world ability.
August 3rd, 2007 at 2:43 pm
The professor is in. I like it.
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Professor, don’t you think calling every American who doesn’t use a free VoIP service to commincate Ignorant a bit harsh? Now I agree that service providers like Comcast and others do keep their customers under a level of control. But what is the option when there is no competition? You have mentioned Skype and Jajah in the past and these are valid options for folks who are always on the computer or who are inclined to hook up a dedicated router to stay connected. Simple and inexpensive technology. But what about emergencies? I know I can’t use my Skype phone to dial 911. I have to have another option. My parents are as a technologically savvy as any average babyboomer. But would my dad want to be bothered with booting up the computer every time he wants to call? Hell no. Is he going to have one phone for calls and a different phone for emergencies? Hell no. Does he care what they use in Europe? Hell no unless it is being used in his town also. Everyone wants to save a buck. But some people are willing to pay the price for the most reliable service available to them that offers the most conveniant way to make the call. We are all consumers and we should be looking for the best options. Sometimes that is not the free one. But we are not all engineers, nor are we all entrepreneurs. That does not mean ignorance.
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Would you agree with me that the definition of Ignorance in short “is knowing that you don’t know, but not taking the steps to take corrective action”. Meaning everyone has to educate themselves to make a decision to move to new technologies. E911 is not mature as of yet, but there are VOIP providers that do offer E911. Every technology has obstacles to overcome, but it is up to us to make sure we do our part to participate.
You use Skype that is a step in the right direction. I am sure by now all Americans possess a cell phone, so 911 isn’t a real setback is it? Think about it this way, if your parents didn’t buy you that Atari with the pong game, your kids, nieces and nephews wouldn’t have XBOX 360 now.
August 3rd, 2007 at 4:08 pm
for the record, no I don’t agree with your definition of ignorant. Ignorance is simply lack of knowledge or intelligence. For some folks, the technology itself is the obstacle. We are not all completely connected yet. We do not all have choices. It doesn’t make all Americans ignorant.
August 4th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Okay. Look. I may take on Webster dictionary from time to time, so lets just agree to disagree. We all have choices. In the 80’s, the VCR was an obstacle. Now any idiot can configure a VCR. In the 90’s it was cell phones and pagers. Everyone has obstacles, but the lack to get around those obstacles is what I call ignorance. You can’t be ignorant if you are not aware. Everyone is aware but they don’t take the proper steps to learn. Simple as that. So for that I call them ignorant.