NEWS: Verizon Releases Internet Phone Service

GEEK: Verizon Releases Internet Phone Service

Verizon Communications, in hopes of challenging rivals such as AT&T, has taken a delve into the realm of internet-based telephone service.

The new service, entitled VoiceWing, is currently available in 33 states at prices ranging from $34.95-$39.95 per month.

Bob Ingalls, president of Verizon's Retail Markets group, had this to say:

Services such as VoiceWing utilize a technology known as voice over internet protocol, or VOIP, to transmit phone calls in the same manner web pages and e-mail are sent throughout the internet. This technology makes VOIP calls considerably less expensive than traditional phone calls, which require dedicated circuits for each individual connection.

Editor's note: There must be a market, so is anyone out there interested in using this? It seems to me like a service that cell phones have already made unnesessary.

so they're gonna get rid of telephone wires? awesome.

Lingo is a much better deal, though. $19.95 unlimited to U.S., Canada, and Western Europe, plus Caller ID, Call Waiting, blah blah blah, etc. Even cheaper for 500 minutes.

That kinda got me hot.

repealed for stupidity

[Edited on Jul 22, 2004 by scrantonian]

Well, before all that, it serves as a consolidation of the communications infrastructure. The use of switchable communications protocols rather than direct circuits allows for a more flexible, extensible, and inexpensive infastructure.
With VOIP, adding a second line would be as simple as apportioning more IP addresses.

I hate Verizon.

Only because they cut off our phone service today, but I do.

Verizon is simply talking about using broadband connections at the moment to use VoIP... the problem I see with this is that their pricing is so much higher than everyone else in this market. True to form, Verizon prices themselves out.

Now admittedly, I have Verizon, and I have never had better performance from a carrier before, but still... why do I have to pay more for less?

Vonage offers the same service, starting out at 14.99 ... where is the upgrades that Verizon provides that make it worth your while?

one step closer to getting rid of land lines and 1000s of employees being out of a job.

VoIP is a wonderful thing, but yeah... price will need to drop. We used a Cisco system in Afghanistan hooked up by satellite to use for morale calls. Worked great, and I'm excited to see where they go with the WiFi angle. If they had a phone that worked with my current Airport Extreme basestation, I'd be all over it like white on rice.

-Trevor

those words are more idealistic then realistic

[Edited on Jul 24, 2004 by fiendish]

Should technology cease to advance solely to maintain old-industry jobs? To trot out the hoary cliche, a lot of buggy whip manufacturers went out of business when automobiles took off.

It's a shame when people lose jobs due to obsolescence, but it's a hazard of working in any sort of industry. The writing's been on the wall for traditional phone technologies and companies since deregulation in the 1980s.

Not really, technologies such as this generally create more jobs than they displace.

How would YOU know that?

Again, Lingo is a great deal, much better than any others I've seen. 20 bucks/mo., unlimited US/Canada/Western Europe, all the usual bells and whistles, plus other stuff.

How's the service?

Good.

hehe... I was JUST thinking the same thing. I have a particularly hot female friend that I would LOVE to talk to on the phone, but it costs fuckin 3 dolla/minute just to call! ugh... or 16 cents a minute if you use a prepaid calling card from some remote company that I have no clue if it would even work lol!