11-03-2005 02:14									#1
	VoIP Ushers in the Death of an Industry? Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Eventually we'll have one service provider for our phone, cable/sat, and ISP. I know some already do, however. I have to pay for Cable, phone, and ISP. Eventually, I will kill the phone payment and just use my ISP for this, and in the not to distant future I will be able to kill my cable/sat provider and get the shows I want to watch over the internet as well.

All I am getting at is that service industries are starting to consolodate. With the advent of VoIP new Baby Bells will arive this time on the internet. They too will be absorbed by larger companies, and eventually, there we will be left with one or two big bells to reap the benefits of supplying us with both our internet and phone services.

Analysts always say that with the death of one industry comes the birth of another.

How far with this service consolodation go? And who will end up at the top? Is AT&T/Singular only struggling to stay alive by intering the wireless world? Is that the next wave, or are they doom to failure as their services are loosing demand?

	11-03-2005 02:19									#2
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

If they adapt, they'll survive. If they don't, they'll die. It's as simple as that. VoIP . I haven't used it because my connection sucks and I haven't got a mic, but very impressive stuff!

	11-03-2005 02:21									#3
	Inflate your Upload Space

I have a buddy who has it. It works with his regular phone, his computer acts as his answering machine, and automatically call forwards all his calls to all his phones (cell, work, etc.).

	11-03-2005 02:23									#4
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When I get a mic I'd see first if I can use it as a replacement for IM, still it's a free lunch

	11-03-2005 02:44									#5
	Increase Your PM Length

One big company in charge of everything. Sounds fun.

	11-03-2005 03:32									#6
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

quote: Originally posted by Wezil One big company in charge of everything. Sounds fun.

Well thats essentially what we have already with Bell and Rogers.

	11-03-2005 03:34									#7
	Increase Your PM Length

I have no phone service. I have cable, a cable modem, and VoIP. It costs the same as if I'd had phone service, long distace (or VoIP) and DSL. So obviously I get more value from the former. Of course, should the power go out, I've got no phone service, but that's what cell phones are for.

	11-03-2005 04:12									#8
	Re: VoIP Ushers in the Death of an Industry? Full PM-box? Change here!

quote: Originally posted by Japher Eventually we'll have one service provider for our phone, cable/sat, and ISP. I know some already do, however. I have to pay for Cable, phone, and ISP. Eventually, I will kill the phone payment and just use my ISP for this, and in the not to distant future I will be able to kill my cable/sat provider and get the shows I want to watch over the internet as well. All I am getting at is that service industries are starting to consolodate. With the advent of VoIP new Baby Bells will arive this time on the internet. They too will be absorbed by larger companies, and eventually, there we will be left with one or two big bells to reap the benefits of supplying us with both our internet and phone services. Analysts always say that with the death of one industry comes the birth of another. How far with this service consolodation go? And who will end up at the top? Is AT&T/Singular only struggling to stay alive by intering the wireless world? Is that the next wave, or are they doom to failure as their services are loosing demand?

voIP isn't quite as reliable as land line yet, it is getting there though.

	11-03-2005 04:26									#9
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

latency and network problems have caused m VoIP to get pretty scrambled from time to time.

	11-03-2005 04:35									#10
	Got spare money?

And the recording industry is doomed too.

It's a great time to be alive.

	11-03-2005 08:21									#11
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quote: Originally posted by Agathon And the recording industry is doomed too.

Death to a parasitic, annoying, arrogant middleman who rips off both sides.

	11-03-2005 08:27									#12
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

Voip offers suck in Canada, they'll barely save you a few bucks per month. What does it look like in America?

	11-03-2005 08:39									#13
	Put an end to popups!

<---- Saves $500 a year after switching from Verizon to Vonage VoIP.

	11-03-2005 08:41									#14
	Put an end to popups!

quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger Death to a parasitic, annoying, arrogant middleman who rips off both sides.

Anti-semite.

	11-03-2005 09:27									#15
	Remove this text

quote: Originally posted by Ted Striker <---- Saves $500 a year after switching from Verizon to Vonage VoIP.

You're calling too much girls in Eastern Europe.

	11-03-2005 09:30									#16
	Increase Your PM Length

quote: Originally posted by Agathon And the recording industry is doomed too. It's a great time to be alive.

Not going to happen. I read reports that dispute the fact that P2P is not damaging the recording industry the way they would expect.

A great time to be alive? Man, what fool are you.. you are cheering over the fact you want people to lose their jobs?

	11-03-2005 09:47									#17
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

The idea of a One World Corporation scares the **** out of me, and that's exactly what one gets when one extrapolates current trends. It's in the interests of shareholders for all the publicly traded corporations to merge. Gah.

	11-03-2005 10:01									#18
	Increase Your PM Length

quote: I have a buddy who has it. It works with his regular phone, his computer acts as his answering machine, and automatically call forwards all his calls to all his phones (cell, work, etc.).

Does VoIP allow for captioning, so that the words would appear on the screen during the conversation?

	11-03-2005 10:22									#19
	Put an end to popups!

quote: Originally posted by Oncle Boris You're calling too much girls in Eastern Europe.

Actually the number I gave is just for basic service, without extra long distance charges, so it probably adds up to even more.

	11-03-2005 10:34									#20
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

It should be so, but I don't think it will.

No user charge for mobile services.

	11-03-2005 19:44									#21
	Remove this text

quote: Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn Well thats essentially what we have already with Bell and Rogers.

We still have some choice. I am a customer of neither.

	11-03-2005 20:48									#22
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

Slightly off topic but I don't even use a land line anymore. I have two cell phones. My regular cell phone and a cricket pre paid phone that gives me unlimited local calls and over a 1000 long distance minutes for a very cheap rate. The minutes are only used if I make the call. Both cells together are cheaper than if I had a reglular land line although I may look a little silly carrying around two phones. My prepaid stays in the car or home and my regular cell phone goes with me.

	11-03-2005 20:53									#23
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

quote: Originally posted by Sprayber Slightly off topic but I don't even use a land line anymore. I have two cell phones. My regular cell phone and a cricket pre paid phone that gives me unlimited local calls and over a 1000 long distance minutes for a very cheap rate. The minutes are only used if I make the call. Both cells together are cheaper than if I had a reglular land line although I may look a little silly carrying around two phones. My prepaid stays in the car or home and my regular cell phone goes with me.

Why don't you get a phone that takes dual SIMs?

	11-03-2005 21:02									#24
	Inflate your Upload Space

This might be the death of an industry, but I think this will be a lot slower death than AT&T and the long distance business simply because the last couple feet of wire helps the Bell companies keep a hold on the business for longer.

	14-03-2005 00:21									#25
	Get a bigger avatar today!

I just checked my telephone bill and it's pretty damn cheap anyway. It costs $12.78 a month. Hardly worth switching over to VOIP, unless you make a lot of outbound long distance calls and need services such as voice-mail, call waiting, etc.

The fees and taxes are what kill you though.

Federal Subscriber Line Charge: $3.87 (a BS fee, as I understand)
Federal Excise Tax: $0.59
Federal Universal Service Fund: $0.42
State Gross Receipts Tax: $1.88
State E-911 Tax: $0.76

Total fees and taxes: $7.52

My cable TV bill is outrageous. I'm going to get rid of it. $70 a month for everything. I get the high definition programming tier, but no digital cable channels or premium channels.

Comparatively speaking, high speed cable internet is cheap. $43 including taxes and cable modem rental. 8 Mbps down/1 Mbps up.

Last edited by DanS on 14-03-2005 at 00:31

	14-03-2005 00:30									#26
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

quote: Originally posted by DanS My cable bill is outrageous. I'm going to get rid of it. $70 a month for everything. I get the high definition programming tier, but no digital cable channels or premium channels.

That's insane... I got digital cable channels.. and it costs me something like $44 after taxes and equipment charges... (originally $39.95).

	14-03-2005 00:33									#27
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

$22 of the $70 is for the high definition equipment and channels. But it's still insane. I agree. That's why I'll get rid of it.

	14-03-2005 00:44									#28
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

VoIP

	14-03-2005 03:30									#29
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

My cable connection goes down for some period of time almost every week. At the end of last year it was down for a solid two weeks, and then in January it was down more often than up for the first two weeks. I can't remember tha last time my phone failed. Needless to say I'm in no hurry to get rid of my telephone. OTOH the next time we're asked to vote on the renewal of the monopoly for cable service in this area I'll vote against the current company. Their service is terrible. It's almost Eastern European.

	14-03-2005 07:00									#30
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Cable industry has gone through tremendous consolidations during the 90s. Today, only 2 major players survive and become regional monopolies: Comcast and Time Warner. That should explain why your cable bills have gone way up.

For me, all the corporate dinosaurs from the switched circuit era can go to hell. All regional Bells offer crappy services for their customers and generate negative returns for their shareholders. Now Verizon has intimidated local municipalities in Pennsylvania from implementing free Wi-Fi access....