VoIP Offers a Port for All Occasions

It is just one of the many communications changes made possible by a new technology - Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP in industry lingo - that is moving local and long-distance calls from telephone lines to the Internet.

"Every user has two ports in today's world, a phone port and a data port. Now, everyone is going to have one port (for both)," said Jerry Rocco, an Internet telephone specialist with Cisco Systems Inc.

Rocco was among Cisco experts at a workshop on VoIP technology for small businesses held Wednesday at the Prairie Heart Institute in Springfield. Cisco is one of the world's largest networking corporations.

While the technology of phone calls via the Internet was introduced more than a decade ago, it is only in the last few years that improvements have made it generally available to any business or homeowner with a high-speed Internet connection and a company willing to host the service.

Major carriers such as SBC Communications, AT&T and Verizon are among those pushing into the rapidly growing market.

"We're already on the third generation of the product. It's certainly the phone system of today," Rocco said.

He said one of the primary attractions of VoIP is that it enables users to bypass toll charges for local and long-distance calls made on traditional phone networks. It also allows for consolidation of a variety of telecommunication services, such as video conferencing, faxes, data downloads and e-mails on a single high-speed connection.

"You're going to get voice, fax, data and e-mail in a single (computer) window," he said. For instance, voice mails, rather than going into the traditional phone-mail system, can be sent to an e- mail window.

"The only difference (from existing e-mail) is that it's now going to play sound from the PC," he said.

The steady spread of VoIP, especially to residential and small- business customers, has attracted the attention of consumer advocacy groups such as Illinois' Citizens Utility Board.

CUB executive director Martin Cohen said the group views it as a low-cost alternative to traditional phone service, though he pointed out that users must pay the cost of high-speed DSL (digital subscriber line) or cable hookups.

"If you have broadband, it's available, though it's not being marketed everywhere," said Cohen, adding that customers often must buy new equipment or at least adapters for existing phones and computers.

Cohen said some technical issues also remain, including access to 911 services, backup systems if the Internet is down and voice quality, which can suffer if there is heavy demand on the high- speed network.

Federal regulators are still trying to determine whether the new service should be taxed or regulated. Internet phone calls are not subject to the same taxes and fees as traditional phone service.

"There's no doubt it's less expensive today. But it may not stay that way," Cohen said.

Some small Internet providers in Springfield experimented with local and long-distance phone service in the late 1990s, though it was never widely marketed. Now, another local firm is in the final stages of testing VoIP.

"We hope to have it ready in 60 to 90 days," said Raj Mahanty, director of operations for Hanson Information Systems Inc., which co- sponsored the workshop with The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

Mahanty said the service initially will be targeted to small- business clients.

"The big companies are interested in large markets. Small businesses are not the focus yet," said Mahanty.

Rocco said market research by Cisco found 78 percent of clients recouped their investment in VoIP within 16 to 18 months by cutting phone toll charges, administrative costs and equipment maintenance.

Companies that once were forced to maintain individual phone systems for each branch office now have combined telecommunications in a single "network of networks."

But Rocco said, as with any new technology, the greater access and mobility of VoIP might not be universally welcomed.

"You might love it, you might hate it," he said.

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