July 11, 2006
PSTN Phones Pull A Monty Python: We're Not Dead Yet
You may find it hard to believe, but I actually know quite a few people, mostly over 50 or 60, who neither have a computer nor want one. In fact, some of these people have never had an answering machine and have no intention of ever getting one. Think they have a cell phone? Some don't. What are the chances, then, that these people are going to rush out and buy VoIP handsets? Nil, of course. For them, VoIP has to be transparent.
Converged Wi-Fi/ cellular handsets might be the next big thing, VoIP hardware-wise, but good old PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) phones might not be dead just yet. Making VoIP simple for consumers will go a long way towards wider acceptance of VoIP, especially from customers reluctant to make unnecessary hardware purchases.
While VoWiFi (VoIP over Wi-Fi) may be relatively simple to set up for those comfortable with technology, and VoIP over Municipal Wi-Fi very easy to use, esecially if you have something like DLink's new VoWiFi phone, there'll be some resistance.
What could be easier, then, than VoIP that incorporates PSTN-to-PSTN connections via VoIP gateway in the network. From the customer point of view, it's transparent and requires no new hardware or handsets. Here's a diagram showing how such connections work, and also support PSTN-to-VoIP, VoIP-to-PSTN, and VoIP-to-VoIP.
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