why is everybody not using voip?

pamplemousse

l have tried both skype and vonage but could not get a clear line on either. vonage did send me better equipment and tried to make it better but l had to give it up after one year l still have credit on skype but only use it rarely and very quickly if my other phones are busy. you cant dial emergency services on either.

shaq

yeh thats so true, that was another thing i found useful with ycv that if you dial 999 you actually get emergency services. Which truly now replaces a standard telephone.

Carl.

I have been extolling the virtues of VoIP for many a month.

Friends in the UK have been slow on the uptake but always comment when calling me on my ATA how clear the line is and how good the quality is.

In terms of usage, I have local numbers in the UK and US and use SiPBroker.com for all other connections, I have registered so that I can give people a very short "extension" code to get through to me.

I have chosen SiP/VoIP over conventional telephony because of the sheer flexibility which it gives me:-

- My numbers need never change (unless the provider goes out of business), meaning I can take them anywhere in the world with me and receive calls.
- I have free voicemail and CLI from all providers, which I am able to route to a single voicemail account.
- I can set different dialing rules for different providers and different numbers. This means if I get harassing phone calls from sales people I can simply set all calls from that number or range of numbers to divert automatically to voicemail or simply switch them off so I'm not bothered by them. I can have different numbers for people, such as a general number for things like sign-ups, domain whois and so on which divert to voicemail during specific times and actually ring during others, and a special number for close friends, family and work which makes the phone ring regardless of the time. This flexibility is superb and very costly on the PSTN network.
- Free 3-way calling and conferencing facilities, even with those using the PSTN network. Once a week me and friends around the world all dial a local number to be connected to a conferencing server for a free chat.

I have noticed a greater willingness from friends outside the UK towards VoIP than I have from those still living in the UK, despite, as I said earlier, the universal comments regarding the quality of the line on which they contact me.

It's a real shame more people don't use VoIP and ENUM because the savings and the features available are something which the PSTN suppliers chose not to replicate, unless it's at a comparatively large cost to the end users (what isn't large when it's next to free?).