Internet phone is undeniably a great service that allows users to place
calls with their high speed internet connection and to save
significantly on long distance and international calling costs. Another
attraction of the service is its portability. Internet phone users can
go virtually anywhere with their adapter or SIP phone and use it just
as if they were sitting in their own living room as long as they have
access to a high speed internet connection. The popularity of internet
phone for both residential and business customers has grown
tremendously in recent years and customers are reportedly well
satisfied.
A large part of satisfaction with any product is related to customers
knowing what they're getting and identifying their expectations/needs
before purchasing. For all of its wonderful features, new consumers
need to realize that internet phone services are still somewhat in
their infancy as compared to regular land line telephone services which
are over 100 years old. Because of the youth of internet phone service
there are still a few issues that are being worked through. So, what
"kinks are still in the system?
Originally, call quality was a concern but quality is now rated as
similar to traditional calls in most surveys. Reliability is also good
in general although new users need to realize that when power is lost
or their internet connection is down, calls can not be made. This can
be easily circumvented however by using an auxiliary, uninterrupted
power supply, and back up communication in the form of a cell phone or
land line for use in such emergencies. However, the biggest hurdle
still being addressed by internet phone providers is assuring that
customers have access to 911 or E911 services.
In 2005, the FCC mandated that internet phone providers give customers
access to 911/E911. Providers are still struggling to make this happen.
In some instances, gaining access to the 911 system is limited but in
many instances the difficulty is due to the portability of the service.
Here is an example: With traditional phone services, the 911 system
allows emergency response operators to identify the location or address
of the person calling based upon their phone number; operators
basically receive the information from a sort of reverse telephone
directory database. However, with internet phone a caller's number is
attributed to the device and if the location of the device changes
(i.e. they take it with them on a trip) the system can not
automatically identify their location.
Currently, it is the responsibility of the consumer to assure they
notify their internet phone provider of their location/address to keep
the information up-to-date in the database. Obviously, if a caller away
from his identified location reaches 911 and is able to tell the
operator their location the call would then need to be re-directed to
the correct 911 center for the area. However, this becomes a much
bigger issue when the caller is unable to speak for any reason.
For some internet phone customers, the limited 911/E911 access is not
an issue. For these users, their phone is used exclusively in one
location, such as their home or office, and once registered their
location is easy to pinpoint. Others maintain a land line or cell phone
for other purposes and would be able to use those lines to make any
necessary 911 calls. Certainly, for consumers simply wishing to take
advantage of the cost savings and portability of internet phone there
are options to deal with some of the current shortcomings of internet
phone but for others, the prospect of using other technologies such as
satellite GPS to resolve problems in identifying the location of
callers will make internet phone services more desirable in the next
year or two.
The challenge of providing consistent and reliable access to 911 for
internet phone services will be temporary just as it was a number of
years ago for land line based phone services and subsequently for
cellular services. For internet phone customers today, it is important
to check with the service provider regarding access to 911 and to
assure that their address/location is up-to-date with the provider at
all times.