Will Skype Become a Telephony Replacement Service?
A few months ago I made the switch to Vonage from Verizon and it saved me a bundle. I now have a telephone line for pennies on the dollar and can call all over the globe with very little added to my monthly bill. I am happy as a clam.
Lately, however, there has been some buzz about Skype. This brings me to my question. Will Skype Become a Telephony Replacement Service?
When I made the decision to choose Vonage over standard land-line service, I looked into Skype. At that time, Skype-Out was in its infancy. Skype-Out is the Skype service that lets users call standard land-line numbers. I had hoped that Skype-Out was what I needed and that I could save even more money that Vonage saved me.
I was wrong. At that time, Skype did not offer a true telephony service. It did not interface with 911 emergency dialing for one thing. No incoming calls were available from landline phones for another. Browsing their Web site today I noticed that this disclaimer is still in place. “Skype is not a telephony replacement service and cannot be used for emergency dialing.”
Now, Skype offers another component of telephony replacement: SkypeIn. Now Skype allows customers to receive calls, with their own phone number, as well as make them. Skype offers voicemail as well. What’s left before we no longer need a telephone or more advanced service?
Sweetening the deal even more, the Skype folks recently launched a beta service that adds video conferencing to its growing suite of services. With their considerable investment in features and upgrades since I last looked seriously at them, it seems that the only piece of the telephony replacement puzzle that is missing is emergency dialing.
It looks to me like Skype may be a viable telephony replacement service in months. Perhaps it already is for some small businesses.
… now off to Skype to try another download and test …
December 1st, 2005
