Vonage Testing Mobile VoIP Service Routers 91
kamikaze-Tech writes "In a Vonage VoIP Forum article
titled
Vonage Testing Mobile VoIP Service Routers
we learn that Vonage is doing customer trials involving a new Linksys Wi-Fi mobile service router. From the article comes the claim: "With the special router and handset, individual customers would be free to roam about their home or office, untethered from a modem or phone jack and without a connection to a laptop or desktop computer."
Suggesting the new routers are geared for installation in Wi-Fi hot spots: "In theory, someone should be able to walk into a Wi-Fi-enabled cafe, fire up a laptop, log on to the Internet and start dialing. But that now requires technical know-how and configuration hassles that most consumers don't want to deal with. The new routers are designed to do most of the heavy lifting.""
Re:Wow.... (Score:1)
Re:Wow.... (Score:1)
Re:Wow.... (Score:1)
Re:Wow.... (Score:1)
Re:Wow.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Wow.... (Score:2)
A couple reasons (Score:3, Informative)
* Your virtual phone numbers
* Calling to Canada
* Unlimited minutes. No worrying about going over minutes/roaming.
Just a couple reasons. I have a bare-bones cell phone service through MetroPCS and my home phone through Vonage. For everything, I pay about $50/mo total. Something like this might me useful to me, as I'm often in a hotspot.
Wow! (Score:5, Funny)
We live in exciting times!
these are exciting times (Score:2, Insightful)
there are lots of convergences going on, but this is a big one. the day may be coming when you spend 1/4 or 1/3 of what you are paying now for the whole suite of pipes.
That day should have already come (Score:1)
AT&T saw this trend and started buying cable TV, and cell phone businesses so that they could be the ones to provide this integrated communications services. Unfortunately, they underestimated the political power that would be used to slow this integration.
Other countries surpass us in the quality of their services
Re:these are exciting times (Score:2)
What is wrong with standard cordless phones? (Score:2, Insightful)
People seem to believe 802.11 is required for a wireless home phone but that is not true. The real point behind using 802.11 for VoIP is so you can build the MTA into the phone and use it not just at home but roam from any home/buisness/hotel/coffee shop with wireless internet access.
Re:What is wrong with standard cordless phones? (Score:3, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
solution already exists (Score:4, Informative)
Seth
Re:So what happens... (Score:2)
Yeah, I think ping is the least demanding application. 60-80kbps is not a lot of bandwidth.
Re:So what happens... (Score:2)
Apparently you have never done
because if you had you would have seen the -f option. I can't think of anything that uses more outgoing bandwidth. Most targets limit their responses, but even still you can really chew up a network with ping.
Re:So what happens... (Score:2)
It's very sensitive to latency and dropped packets, but it's not a bandwidth hog. In fact, I can fit at least 50 calls through a t1 using ulaw ( uncompressed voice codec ). Using gsm, that number jumps to over 200.
Re:So what happens... (Score:2)
Linksys WiFi routers already do 54Mbps... what's the big deal? Your problem is going to be the pipe on the back end, not the WLAN. Most people have issues with VoIP because they are on sucky ADSL lines (and, of course, Ma Bell, Inc. is really anxious to help them out with that).
Re:So what happens... (Score:1)
Re:So what happens... (Score:1)
Re:So what happens... (Score:2)
Various reasons.
1. Cost: I already have DSL, so that doesn't factor into cost, aside from the DSL Vonage is cheaper than the equivalent service from my local Telco. My local telco removes features and adds charges, Vonage adds features and lowers prices.
2. Flexibility: I can spend an extended time with family and take my home phone with me.
3. Second Line: While I have dropped most services off the copper line, I can still use it for the DTivo and fax without interrupting voice capability.
Re:So what happens... (Score:2)
I didn't think so.
bigger hotspot problems (Score:2)
p2p apps + hotspots = inconsiderate behaviour.
Re:So what happens... (Score:2)
VoIP applications properly compressed using SIP should be about 8k (and remember this is just voice were talking about, not video streaming); 10% QoS on a standard 1024/512 DSL connection provides more than enough bandwidth for 6 conversations.
Re:So what happens... (Score:2)
Unfortunately, the solution is to charge money for usage. Free wireless access is a classic Tragedy of the Commons. Everyone and their mom will overload free hotspots with their VoIP and P2P warezing.. until they have to pay for what they use!
Re:So what happens... (Score:2)
Yet most cafes do not charge for use of toilets.
Everyone and their mom might come to read the newspaper at the cafe. But is not a tradegy as long as they buy a cup of coffee.
I.e. say a 1Mbit/s internet connections is $100/month. A VoIP call on average is 50Kbit/s, the store is open 300 hours/month. Then an hour of phoning cost the cafe 50*$100/300hours/1000 = 2 cents.
I p
Re:So what happens... (Score:1)
So what (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:So what (Score:2)
Re:So what (Score:1)
Re:So what (Score:2)
You get shoddy business practices, poor customer service and unpaid (but promised) refunds. Welcome to Vonage!
Re:So what (Score:1, Interesting)
Having IP opens up all sorts of options. With POTS, you're kind of limited in what functionality you can offer. With VOIP, you've got IP, so the sky's the limit.
This sounds like the first time I showed my dad a spreadsheet -- um, yeah, it does pretty much the same thing you do with a piece of paper and a calculator, but think of all the things it *will* be able to do Real Soon Now...
I can make a VOIP call with my iPAQ & Skype (Score:3, Funny)
Acquire connection.
Start Skype.
Make call.
Re:I can make a VOIP call with my iPAQ & Skype (Score:1)
throw laptop across room
order doughnut
Using your girlfriend's cell phone: Priceless
Re:I can make a VOIP call with my iPAQ & Skype (Score:2)
However, I spend a lot of time on the phone to both Europe and Asia. Skype works and saves me a lot of $$$
Ok, but *why* ? (Score:2, Interesting)
I have MetroPCS.. (Score:2)
Re:I'M AN OPEN PROXY, BAN ME! (Score:1)
Overloading hotspots? (Score:3, Interesting)
That said,I'm still struggling to see the market for these mobile versions. How is a VOIP phone through a WiFi hotspot superior to my GSM cell phone? I've got both VOIP and cell service and I don't see the former replacing the latter for mobile communications. VOIP is cheaper sure, but WAY more limited for mobile communications. Much better suited for office work IMO. Even assuming these new devices work reasonably well, my DSL service gets overwhelmed pretty easily if I'm using Vonage and doing pretty much anything else at the same time. I can easily see two or three of these things being brought into a coffee shop and soaking up all the bandwidth.
Re:Overloading hotspots? (Score:2)
I don't think that it will be superior at first, but it may be cheaper, a lot cheaper, maybe $4.99 extra a month, maybe free with vonage service. If so that will get people's attention. I have vonage it is great, but I like have my cell phone as a backup, if I had cheap bastard syndrom I could see getting the Vonage/WiFi as my only phone. I don't have CBS so having a cell phone makes a lot of sense to me.
Re:Overloading hotspots? (Score:2)
Fortunately, usually I'm in a place where it does work, not in a place where it doesn't.
Re:Overloading hotspots? (Score:2)
A lot cheaper in some cases. Eg. international calls.
I live in Denmark but use SIP phones when traveling. From the US phoning Denmark is $1.30 to $1.80 per minute (dependig on US roaming operator) with GSM and $0.02 with my SIP phone. Calling a US number is again $1.30 to $1.80 with GSM and $0.03 with SIP (A cent more because it is an internation call for a danish SIP-provider) That is unless I call another SIP number from my SIP phone in which case the call is free.
Receiving cal
Love those configuration hassles. . . (Score:3, Funny)
"...requires technical know-how and configuration hassles that most consumers don't want to deal with."
Yup, the 'technical know-how and configuration hassles' of many broadband connections are currently being 'dealt with' by the nice folks at the cable company, which has allowed many Slashdot readers to use their neighbor's Internet for the last year.
So now we're a year away from being able to use their long distance service too, I guess.
Vonage's tag line should be "Get your neighbor to sign up!"
Sounds nice, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
Being able to walk into a hotspot to use it would be nice I guess, but why not just use a cell phone for these occasions? The good thing is I could see this driving down the cost of WiFi phones.
Dialup 56K access (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Dialup 56K access (Score:1)
Re:Dialup 56K access (Score:1)
I also noticed Vonage will give me a "fax line" for more money. They didn't mention that b
Vonage Testing Mobile VoIP Service Routers (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Vonage Testing Mobile VoIP Service Routers (Score:1)
Mobile VoIP is useful because... (Score:1)
Talk about voices in the head...
Good thing it's easy to configure (Score:2, Informative)
I'll go back when they get some decent CS skills.
Softphone (Score:4, Interesting)
I currently use my laptop and softphone from Vonage quite frequently at the local coffee house that offers free wi-fi and have tried to use it at panera bread which offers free WI-FI. However, I have been able to get it to work rather infrequently at Panera. At the local coffee house I open up my laptop, load the softphone, and then attach my headset. The question people typically ask is why not use your cell-phone.
I can receive calls for free which would otherwise use my minutes, I can dial 1800 numbers which is what my university uses for its conference calls for free, and most importantly, it is the best way to have office hours when I am away from the university. I recently did my dissertation's first defense using the softphone and system to connect to all my committee members and did not have an issue. Recently, at a conference the second author of the work was unable to attend but had some new data that he wanted to present. I loaded the softphone and dialed into him and using the conference system called raindance and the conferences system, he was able to present the data without an issue.
I see the progression of Vonage being very useful for those of us that for work have seen our laptops becoming more important then the air we breathe.
WiMax (Score:4, Interesting)
Mobility Upwards (Score:2)
Re:Mobility Upwards (Score:2)
what about VOIP over 3G data channel? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:what about VOIP over 3G data channel? (Score:1)
How are these routers different? (Score:2, Insightful)
One word: convergence (Score:1)
Reliable service? (Score:1)
YES!!!!! (Score:1)
"Mobile" is a misnomer. (Score:1, Interesting)
Other wardrivers might say, "I can find dozens of hot & open access points while driving around". Yep, airsnort can certainly find them ok while moving, but you s
Not to nitpick, but..... (Score:1)
I just don't understand what this "new development" offers more than a conventional VoIP router and cordless phone ?
The concept of Hotspot VoIP is kind of dumb in my view. The magic of Vonage is that you just plug a regular phone into an IP router and it works out of the box. I don't see how they could do that in a wireless environment and I sure as hell don't feel like buying a hotspot-only vonage cell phone when my ex