[lug] Business VOIP Advice...

[Davide Del Vento]

Hi,

> (What I really want is my own company's products to come down a LOT in
> price so I can hold video calls with family and friends that don't
> require a computer in-hand or anything other than a remote control to
> make those calls, right on the HDTV I already have.
 (snip)
> Fun stuff to think about, "ain't it"?  :-)

Yes, fun stuff to think about, but IMO that will happen on mobile
phones. We had similar services in Europe for years and it never took
off. A company started offering videocall on 3G mobiles 5 years ago (I
moved in the US 2.5 years ago) and bingo! they are selling like crazy.
Think calling your family and see your kids when you're on business
travel, think calling grandpa and have him calm your kids telling a
story when they're bored in the back sits while you drive, think
calling your wife and show her all the packages in the aisle, so she
can point you to the what-in-the-hell brand she wants, think her
calling her best girlfriend to ask which shoes she should buy among
the 23 pairs she's undecided in the store....
That's not a dream, that's business as usual in Italy. Five years ago
it was expensive, 2.5 years ago it was ok. I guess now it's cheap - I
know that now at least one carrier offer unlimited skype-to-skype
calls (no video, though) on most of their handsets, with just $5
monthly fee!
And the most amazing thing is that everything is with
no-string-attached: no years-long contracts, no early termination
fees, no monthly fees for the basic service, very low ones for the
advanced ones, every handset works with every carrier....
I am still surprised on how much mobile telephoniy sucks in the US,
despite claims from carriers that their are catching on (they aren't:
they are improving, but in Europe they are improving too).

Just my 0.02$ worth of OT.
;Dav