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February 04, 2005
Freebie phoning
I've always liked the idea of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) which apparently guarantees free phone calls over the internet. Figuring out how it works is something else. And if it's so good, why aren't more people using it? Is it too complicated? If not, why isn't Telstra worried? The Parliamentary Library has just done a Research Note on it. It's at www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2004-05/05rn29.pdf. According to the note: "A subscriber to VoIP service receives a handset that resembles and works like a normal telephone, but the service uses Internet Protocol (IP) technology over the data cable so as to provide more flexible phone calls ... A cheaper alternative is the use of computer microphones and speakers with www.skype.com software." For a clear idea of the legal and technical issues, this is a good start. Posted by belinda at February 4, 2005 11:39 AMEmail this