VOIP 1.0
November 3rd, 2005 Posted in Main Page, VOIP Services, Competition
Ever wanted to use the Web to make a
telephone call but didn't know how? Have no fear because Google, Skype
and EarthLink plan to finance an educational program. The Internet
Voice Campaign will focus on getting the mainstream comfortable with
VoIP - consider it the “Got Milk?” campaign for the tech-set. Perhaps
IDC is involved given it has bravely forecast there will be 27 million
people in the U.S. using VoIP by 2009 compared with 3.1 million this
year. While the campaign could be the target of a good-natured (?)
ribbing by Luddites and other non-believers, it's sounds like a good
idea. One of the problems being too intimate with new technologies - or
“sitting close to the fire” - is you sometimes forget there are lots of
people who have no interest or no idea about what's on the
leading-edge, let alone the bleeding-edge. A good example is the Web,
which moved into the mainstream in 1995 when Netscape came on the
scene. Still, it took several years before the Web really became a
mainstream tool. If you think about it, one of the reasons
everyone is hyped about Web 2.0 - whatever that means - is there is a
large and enthusiastic market for Web-based services - an audience
that didn't exist a few years ago. If done well, the Internet
Voice Campaign could provide VoIP with a jump-start. It will also be
interesting to see how the carriers react strategically as VoIP
becomes more of a mainstream service and starts to seriously
cannibalize legacy phone service. Bell Canada, for example,
is scrambling as it loses business to cablecos such as Videotron
(more than 100K customers since February), as well as players such as
Vonage and Skype.
telephone call but didn't know how? Have no fear because Google, Skype
and EarthLink plan to finance an educational program. The Internet
Voice Campaign will focus on getting the mainstream comfortable with
VoIP - consider it the “Got Milk?” campaign for the tech-set. Perhaps
IDC is involved given it has bravely forecast there will be 27 million
people in the U.S. using VoIP by 2009 compared with 3.1 million this
year. While the campaign could be the target of a good-natured (?)
ribbing by Luddites and other non-believers, it's sounds like a good
idea. One of the problems being too intimate with new technologies - or
“sitting close to the fire” - is you sometimes forget there are lots of
people who have no interest or no idea about what's on the
leading-edge, let alone the bleeding-edge. A good example is the Web,
which moved into the mainstream in 1995 when Netscape came on the
scene. Still, it took several years before the Web really became a
mainstream tool. If you think about it, one of the reasons
everyone is hyped about Web 2.0 - whatever that means - is there is a
large and enthusiastic market for Web-based services - an audience
that didn't exist a few years ago. If done well, the Internet
Voice Campaign could provide VoIP with a jump-start. It will also be
interesting to see how the carriers react strategically as VoIP
becomes more of a mainstream service and starts to seriously
cannibalize legacy phone service. Bell Canada, for example,
is scrambling as it loses business to cablecos such as Videotron
(more than 100K customers since February), as well as players such as
Vonage and Skype.
