Internet Newsletter for Lawyers
March/April 2006, by Delia Venables

Talk is Cheap(er) with VoIP
by Chris Spencer

As I type this there are 4,916,708 users currently online using Skype - one of the most popular VoIP providers.

Analysts at a research group called IDC say that by the end of 2006 more than three million Americans will have switched from landlines to VoIP. Closer to home, Skype (www.skype.com) has offices in Luxembourg, Tallin and London, and has delivered more than seven million minutes of PC-to-landline calls in less than two years. 245 million people have downloaded its software (both “ends” of the conversation need to have the Skype software to utilise the free service) and its user base is growing by 150,000 a day.

Even staid old BT is offering me BT Broadband Voice. For less than £5 a month, it will route my calls across a domestic broadband connection and give me free nationwide calls on weekday evenings and at weekends.

What is VoIP?

First the science bit:

  • VoIP is an acronym for Voice over IP or, to give it its full name, Voice over Internet Protocol.
  • VoIP services do not use physical connections (as with a traditional telephone cable): they use virtual connections known as protocols.
  • Voice over Internet Protocol is the technology used to transmit voice conversations over a data network using the Internet Protocol.
  • The network may be the Internet or a corporate Intranet.

    In broad terms, this means that if you have a reasonable quality Internet connection you can get all or part of your phone service delivered to you through your Internet connection instead of from your local phone company.

    Incidentally, this is not the same as Integrated Computer Telephony (ICT) where (broadly) one uses a computer network to replace separate phone infrastructure within an organisation for internal calls but then (usually) use a mainstream telecoms company to take the calls outside the building and to the world at large.

    Why use VoIP?

    Lower Cost

    Skype’s slogan is ‘The Whole World Can Talk For Free’. But we all know that, just as there’s no such thing as a free lunch, there’s no such thing as a free call. Or is there?

    Well, currently at least, calls from one VoIP user to another (VoIP-VoIP calls) even if international are, in effect, free. Of course there is a core cost for the underlying Internet service but using VoIP over this service may not involve any extra charges.

    And, in general, phone calls to non-VoIP users from a VoIP service (VoIP-PHONE) cost less than the equivalent service from traditional sources. There can also be some cost savings due to using a single network to carry voice and data - especially if there is under-utilized network capacity.

    Increased Functionality

    VoIP makes also telephony into a ‘Martini’ service: anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Less hyperbolically, incoming VoIP-PHONE or VoIP-VoIP calls can be automatically routed to your VoIP phone wherever you plug it into the network. And of course the Internet is the network. So wherever you browse the web you can receive voice calls: abroad, at home, in a hotel, an airport or in Starbucks.

    Call quality can vary, but usually rivals or beats traditional PHONE-PHONE connection and a wide range of software plug-ins and hardware peripherals are reaching the market.

    Having said all that, many people use VoIP in addition to their traditional phone service. This is often because of the need for traditional back-up and that VoIP service providers usually offer lower rates than the traditional phone companies, but sometimes don't offer full 999, phone directory listings, etc.

    Another point to bear in mind here is that most VoIP software and services communicate directly with other VoIP users peer-to-peer rather than to any kind of central server. Thus, the services are only available to you when your PC is on and connected to the Internet.

    How I use VoIP

    My working role is varied and nomadic. I run a division of a software house creating legal software and I also give in-house legal advice as a solicitor to the EMIS group; I have to be available by phone and e-mail wherever I am and I need to talk to geographically diverse individuals and groups. And I have 6 children: 1 working, 4 at university and 1 at home. I need to keep in touch with them.

    Work

    I work from EMIS offices in Leeds and throughout the UK, from client’s offices and from my home-office in the North Yorkshire Moors. My laptop has a built in speaker and microphone. My two general managers have similar geographical and kit set-ups. We all have broadband at home. So our ‘meetings’ are often conducted using screen sharing technology (via GoToMeeting) and simultaneously talking for free using VoIP-VoIP. My laptop rings, I click on the phone icon and we talk.

    Similarly I can give legal advice to our nationwide employees or those in our Australian and Canadian offices. And I can engage in text chats and file transfers as well.

    And if – heaven forbid – I have to talk to someone who does not have the Skype software (so I have to pay something for the call) then I have a small pre-paid credit (currently 7 euros) for VoIP-PHONE calls.

    Home

    When on the road I can keep in touch by voice with my youngest son and my wife. Sometimes I ‘Skype’ them both on their laptops and we have a 3-way conversation.

    My second youngest son is based in Glasgow and he uses a desktop PC. So, rather than fiddling with soundcards, speakers and head mikes I bought him a USB VoIP phone for Christmas. He plugged it in, installed the VoIP software and answers when his VoIP phone rings. That’s it. The phone cost £14.99 as I’m the last of the big spenders but I could have paid a bit more (say £70) and got a phone to handle both VoIP and normal calls.

    There are some concerns about privacy and security but I can (and do) choose not to display my presence in Skype to the world at large and I can (and do) refuse to accept calls just as with a normal phone. How soon the first VoIP virus or malware strikes me and how quickly the Internet security providers will respond remains to be seen. How you can use VoIP

    I have mentioned Skype only because I chose it after reviewing what was on offer at that time. There are many other providers, each offering a different blend of ease of use and functionality - have a look at www.voipuser.org or www.voip-info.org for more information.

    Conclusion

    Free or cheaper calls coupled with the latest generation of easy-to-use hardware and simple installation mean VoIP is no longer just for early adopters.

    Computer Industry Almanac reports that Internet users worldwide have reached 1,000 million and will approach 1,800 million by 2010. The number of broadband users already exceeds 217 million and will hit 500 million by 2010. The potential for global point-to-point PC calling is growing on a daily basis, giving the VoIP-VoIP user more free opportunities to talk to the rest of the world. You might want to consider balancing reliability/security and low cost to see if at least a partial reliance on this technology might be of interest to you and your practice.

    Chris Spencer is an in-house solicitor with EMIS (www.emis-online.com) and product development director with emis intellectual technology (www.emisit.com).
    E-mail at chris.spencer@emisit.com or (on request!) by Skype.

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