Week 9 Reading Response- VoIP

February 22, 2007 ciararose

I agree with Valdes when he says that VoIP will replace the telephones we use today. The glitches the VoIP system is experiencing right now are only temporary, and as the internet increases in quality and reliability the VoIP system will become more attractive. None of the flaws are going to prove to be detrimental to this new technology. The issue of having no internet service when the power goes out will be remedied by how electric companies are constantly upgrading so these events can be avoided. I think the cable companies are going to try and quickly increase the quality of their services in order to attract customers. In the near future I think the speed and quality are going to be deciding factors for buys because they will be basing their decision on which company can provide them with the best connection to enable them to ‘talk’ over the internet.

I am actually planning on using some sort of VoIP service while I am studying abroad next quarter, so I actually gained a lot of valuable information about how the whole process works by reading this. A lot of my friends who have gone abroad have used this service and they have all liked it. It is way better than having to pay $5 a minutes to call long distance back at home. This brings me to my next point, I foresee this technology having a huge impact on how often people communicate. Presently I think there is a huge price barrier that keeps people from communicating with friends and family who they would like to speak with. It is simply unrealistic to pay so much to talk to someone long distance. I personally will be calling home/talking through my computer way more often once I get this service than I would have without it. I think this is a positive effect. People naturally want to communicate and doing so will have positive effects on our societies well being. Once VoIP is heavily adopted we will see many positive shifts in the way people communicate.

Questions:

Why do you think that VoIP has not been more heavily adopted by users? What factors may be contributing to this?
How could they possibly fix the flaw of not being able to trace an address to the VoIP caller in an emergency?
Do you think as more people adopt this new technology we will see an increase in people “listening in” on conversations? How might VoIP make this practice either more or less common?

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5 Comments Add your own

1. msk7 | February 27, 2007 at 8:07 pm

I like your appeal of the price and communication world-wide, but I don’t see the entire US population wanting or needing to call world-wide. As this continues prices will change and the competition will even out.

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2. jtm2 | February 27, 2007 at 8:08 pm

Nice post, it was interesting reading thoughts about VoIP from someone who is considering using it in the near future. Good question as well about the “listening in,” I had not thought about that.

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3. Wayne | February 27, 2007 at 8:08 pm

I like your positivity Ciara. I think you raise some good points, and i bet after the lecture we recieved today you will be even more enlightened about VoIP. My only advice to you, is that try to be able to have access to the emergency numbers like 911 =).
However, today, i feel as if the long distance barrier has lessened quite a bit, because of the use of cell phones, instant messaging, and things of the such. Maybe using your home phone line for long distance is super expensive, however widespread technologies like email and things of the sort seem to weaken the barrier.

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4. Katie Silva | February 27, 2007 at 8:09 pm

Ciara, I definitely agree with you that VoIP will allow people to make long distance calls without feeling burdened by the price. It’s practical for students like yourself who are studying abroad as well as families who just want to talk to each other. I have family in Hawaii as well as friends going to school in Boston and New York and I usually call them on my cellphone to make an in network call, but sometimes its just easier to call on the land line.

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5. rregina | February 27, 2007 at 8:19 pm

Compared to many of the other blogs I’ve read, you are very passionate about VoIP, which is refreshing. I’m glad that you have found it very useful, and will continue to do so while you study abroad. I guess VoIP is very helpful for those who want to internationally communicate and save money.

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