The most mature form of Web calling in terms of technical stability, pervasiveness, and government regulation, IP phones also most closely approximate the traditional calling experience. Due to their fixed nature and use of hardware externals they are also virtually indistinguishable from older phones (figure 5). Broadband IP calls are initiated with either specially made IP handsets or headsets or with existing handsets converted with adapters. Unlike the small-scale startup culture of software VoIP, IP phones tend to follow a more traditional provider-subscriber customer service model. These characteristics make IP calling an easier conceptual leap for users who might find other Web-based calling tools less accessible.

IP phones differ from their analog counterparts in underlying connection infrastructure, provide additional features (transcribed voicemail to e-mail, SMS messaging and emergency notifications) and are typically less expensive to operate. At the same time, IP phones are intricately interconnected with the existing telephone infrastructure, often using older-generation phone lines to initiate and terminate calls.

Residential and office IP phone service has been widely available since the mid 2000s. While home subscribers have likely made a conscious switch away from analog phone service, landline VoIP in an office context is often not obvious to those who use it. Despite this, at the institutional level VoIP presents a paradigm shift to the extent of becoming a bellwether technology. In order to support digital voice, an organization must have a robust data infrastructure and be comfortable with change in a core communications area. IP phones unify data, voice, and video services, reducing costs and centralizing control with local IT instead of external companies.²

A 2009 study of communications in higher education found higher employee satisfaction with digital voice, which led to higher evaluations of campus IT competence.³ Cost savings can also be significant. The University of Louisville, which by 2007 had transitioned completely to IP phones and emergency notifications, estimates that after an initial network upgrade it saves roughly $1.5 million annually on 10,000 broadband IP lines.⁴

Digital telephony's high-speed network requirements often necessitate a considerable front-end investment of resources and strategic planning.⁵Spreading the Word: Messaging and Communications in Higher Education, the 2009 ECAR study cited above, characterizes VoIP as a “revolution … in the realm of two-way audio communication,” so much so that if an organization hasn't yet or isn't planning to switch to IP phones, it is likely held back either by technological conservatism or degraded data infrastructure (copper cabling that needs to be replaced by fiber optic, etc.), or it is considering foregoing desksets completely in favor of all-mobile communications (although likely still using IP networks for video conferencing).⁶ Higher education has lagged at developing comprehensive mobile strategies and fixed-location phones are still dominant among staff, meaning that nonadoption of VoIP at the campus level may indicate financial, technical, or cultural barriers.⁷ Students are trending in the opposite direction, preferring mobiles over fixed-line or software IP phones.

Among all forms of Web calling, broadband IP phones are regarded as the most stable, secure, and best in terms of voice quality, and are sometimes used by the same institutions that ban Skype and other types of software VoIP. Although emergency 911 service was not initially available to IP phone users, the FCC issued a series of regulations that mandated extended emergency coverage to residential users in 2008.⁸ On the security side, firewalls, anti-spam measures, and other well-established network security approaches can protect IP systems. Power loss can cause total service outage; if an electrical problem occurs or an external device fails, it can render IP phones unusable unless secondary power is available.⁹ While many organizations plan for this eventuality, some home Web phone users cannot. Therefore, it is inadvisable to use a home IP phone without backup power or an alternative communication source.

IP Phone Carriers

Vonage

www.vonage.com

Asterisk/Switchvox (open source)

www.switchvox.com

AT&T

www.corp.att.com/voip

Sprint

http://shop.sprint.com/en/solutions/voip

Cisco

www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw

ShoreTel

www.shoretel.com

Speakeasy

www.speakeasy.net

There are many local and national IP phone carriers. The gray box contains a brief list of the more widely recognized enterprise and residential providers, which are generally representative of typical rates and features across the spectrum.

Software voice and video calls are almost always made from personal desktops, laptops, and other portable platforms using Web-based or downloadable applications. Software VoIP users rely on built-in or external audio and visual devices, or, less frequently, plug-in adapters that convert legacy handsets. While many laptops, notebooks, and tablets feature built-in voice and video components, most desktop computers still tend to require external webcams, microphones, headsets, earphones, or speakers, most of which are available from a base price of $30–$50 per item. Recent advances include high-definition and motion-tracking webcams, some of which have experienced notable problems (several Hewlett Packard models notoriously failed to track faces with dark complexions).¹¹ Apple has also applied for a screen-embedded camera patent that could address the eye contact problem in webcam communication, a topic I revisit in chapter 6.¹²

Because software VoIP spans many subtly different applications, my approach is to present it in three subcategories and highlight a few products in each: Web calling (Skype, VoxOx, and Jajah), voice and video instant messaging (Google services, iChat, Windows Live Messenger, Meebo, and TokBox), and Web conferencing (Dimdim and Adobe Connect).

Whether you are using Web calling, chat, or conferencing, you may experience the same usability and quality issues as any other form of VoIP–delay, jitter, and echo. These problems can be exacerbated, however, when vying for network space with other Web users. Security and privacy are notable concerns with Skype, which has been banned by local governments, institutions, and even entire nations (South Korea and the United Arab Emirates) as a potential risk and resource monopolizer.¹⁴ Its peer-to-peer architecture can make bandwidth-hogging “supernodes” out of user computers, an issue Skype has attempted to address with a security section on its website.¹⁵ Despite more acceptance in recent years, software VoIP continues to be contentiously viewed in some educational circles–many primary and secondary schools prohibit Skype, while the 2009 ECAR study Spreading the Word: Messaging and Communications in Higher Education found that among the third of college and universities that had a specific software VoIP policy, almost 40 percent either discouraged or prohibited its use. Conversely, less than 3 percent encouraged or required the use of software VoIP.¹⁶

By 2013 there will be more smartphones than personal computers as more users bypass landlines and wired Internet in favor of Web-enabled mobile devices.¹⁷ This is more than a simple matter of preference: in developing nations, towers that broadcast 3G cellular Internet signals are cheaper to construct and maintain than other forms of wired or satellite broadband.¹⁸ In another demonstration of its adaptability, VoIP is now available on many smartphones and Web-enabled handhelds, meaning that users of even non-”phone” portable Internet devices like iTouches and iPads can make free calls and send text messages over 3G or WiFi (figure 10). Scaling back on minutes and text plans with the help of mobile VoIP is becoming an increasingly mainstream cost-cutting strategy–the Skype iPhone app was downloaded over a million times the week it was released.¹⁹

In 2009 the Federal Communications Commission Chair Julius Genachowski called for the principle of “network neutrality,” or greater openness and competition in all things Web-accessible, to extend to the telecommunications industry.²⁰ In response, a few major telecom companies began to open their phones and devices to third-party Web calling.²¹ Mobile VoIP use increased by more than 40 percent in the second half of 2009, noticeably affecting carrier profits.²² The global research firm In-Stat estimates that by 2013, 300 million mobile users will use VoIP via smartphones, creating a market in excess of $35 billion.²³ Mobile VoIP apps are either smartphone of software VoIP providers like Skype or mobile-specific services like Fring and Nimbuzz. Because they allow users to bypass minutes and roaming charges by using their data plans to make and receive calls, send text messages, and (eventually) video chat, mobile VoIP is banned by some major telecoms, while others offer scaled-down or “light” applications that allow only user-to-user calls and chat or outbound calls and SMS messages for a fee.

In February 2010, Verizon Wireless announced that it would offer Skype Mobile and Google Voice out of the box on BlackBerries and Androids. While Skype-to-Skype calls might be “free” for Verizon users, they are still required to buy a data plan, and SkypeOut calls are deducted from a user's balance of minutes. In early 2010, AT&T and Apple opened their services to VoIP over 3G, giving mobile device owners the ability to download popular apps Nimbuzz and Fring or subscribe to Vonage World Mobile. Skype Mobile has been available in the United States for iPhone and iPod users since mid-2009 and is slated for the iPad as well. Users can make free user-to-user and SkypeOut calls or send text messages over WiFi, but the app is not yet compatible with slower 3G mobile data networks due to “contractual restrictions” (figure 11). SkypeLite is also available to those without Apple or Verizon mobile devices, although with less functionality.

Like software Web calling and home or office IP phones, mobile VoIP offers savings particularly for international voice communication–one can avoid steep per-minute charges while traveling or collaborate free across borders. Mobile VoIP can also eliminate the need for domestic text messaging and cellular plans, but this may become less viable as carriers adopt service models tailored towards capitalizing on mobile VoIP. Call quality over 3G and WiFi networks is diminished from wired networks and is as inconsistent as the wireless network itself. With more of the broadcast spectrum being reserved for wireless and the 4G mobile Web upgrade slated in coming years, consistency and performance of Web calling applications via mobile should improve and incorporate more features. In addition to Web calling's limited availability and performance issues, the developing cellular VoIP marketplace itself remains unstable. For example, Skype discontinued its Windows Mobile and Java products in February 2010 in response to inconsistent performance and low popularity of these devices.²⁴

Voice and video communication is becoming standard in more types of consumer products in response to user demand, notably in the XBOX and other gaming consoles since the mid 2000s, and in the Sony PSP and handheld devices since 2008. At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, Skype announced that voice would be available as a standard feature on new Samsung HDTVs for video conferencing and calling via television. This VoIP integration process is transforming the concept of the telephone as a standalone object–consider a few of the themes of eComm America 2010, one of the telecom industry's major conferences: “The End of Telephony and New Voice Enabled Platforms,” “‘Phones’ Are Becoming General Purpose Always-On Computers,” and “Telecom Is Becoming Software.”²⁵

Mobile VoIP Applications and Startups

Fring

www.fring.com

Google Voice Mobile

www.google.com/mobile/voice

Jajah Mobile Web

http://jajah.com/products/mobile-web

Jajah Mobile Plug-in

http://jajah.com/products/mobile-plugin

Lingo

www.lingo.com

Nimbuzz

www.nimbuzz.com

Skype Mobile

www.skype.com/intl/en/mobile

TruPhone

www.truphone.com

Vonage Mobile

www.vonagemobile.com

Vopium

http://vopium.com

Vyke

www.vyke.com

Voice chat was an early addition to massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) such as World of Warcraft, with up to 70 percent of users as far back as 2006 relying on voice communication tools to strategize with other players.²⁶ Avatars chat via VoIP in Second Life and other virtual worlds, and voice and video applications have been available in social networks for years. Online dating sites increasingly rely on VoIP to establish secure voice connections: Match.com and eHarmony both adopted Jajah in 2009 as their chat and messaging provider. The comparatively antisocial site ChatRoulette, which randomly pairs participants for up to sixty seconds, relies on webcam voice and video to help users cycle through, reject, and accept other players.²⁷ Voice and video over IP is also a growing feature of productivity and collaboration-oriented tools–in early 2010 Ribbit released synchronous voice conferencing gadgets for Google Wave.