We know we want to have a strong session on VoIP and unified messaging at the Electronic HOuse Expo in the sping, but we're strugging to find a focus and a speaker. Would love your feedback on topics that would be most useful. Also, any suggestions on who could do a good one-hour presentation on the subject would be great!
thanks,
julie

Julie,

I personally think it's a bit of a struggle to identify why VOIP is *currently* a desirable feature to have in the home. The advantages for business are HUGE, but I just don't think many of them carry over to the home (yes, you can have multiple homes and just one number for both homes etc. but how many people but us geeks really think that is that cool).

I remember when home automation first started becoming popular and for some reason the big selling point that I always saw mentioned in articles was how you could press a button in the morning and your coffee machine would turn on. I always cringed at that because I thought it was such a bad example. I'd like to see some convincing examples offered for why the average person wants VOIP in the home.

Anyhow, my biggest interest in some of the ("REAL") VOIP systems is that they will allow tie-in to a Crestron or AMX system so keys on the phone system could be programmed to perform basic house functions (NOT based on DTMF) re: lights. A/V etc. and feedback could even appear on the phones LCD display.

There is a company I've seen marketing a VOIP system to CEDIA dealers and if someone else doesn't post them first I'll list them when I find them. Otherwise, you might want to check with a company like Artisoft to find a speaker. They are one of the leaders in VOIP and being a smaller company might be good for you to talk to.

This message was edited by QQQ on 10/07/04 14:01 ET.

Not so sure I agree--besides cost savings, voip is an enabler of unified messaging, allowing users to access voice and email from one place, which is nice (the gist of Xperinet, the company I believe you were referring to).

In any case, about 18 million households are expected to have voip by end of 2008. Given that, how can integrators capitalize? Where's the money? Will carriers provide opportunities for integrators to resell? How do you evaluate the technologies? What are the concerns with security systems? You know....stuff like that?
-j

...to be re-edited to clarify if I get a chance :-).

There is one vital issue to remember when selling VoIP. Regular dial tone is dependable. Traditional telephone networks are built to five 9s reliability standards (i.e. they are 99.999 percent reliable. This translates to 10 minutes are of allowable downtime a year). Try making a 911 call when the internet is congested or down.

VoIP will be a cost effective vehicle for LD calls, but never assume that it will completely replace the traditional telephone network for reliable dial tone and 911 grade of service. There are many companies in the VoIP including the traditional telephone equipment suppliers such as Siemens, Lucent, Nortel and the network companies such as Cisco and the old PBX companies such as Mitel.

Basically, integrators like us will be selling VoIP systems instead of PBXs. The infrastruture required to provide the full range of VoIP services is quite large and expensive.

This is completely false. The internet is not as big an issue as your VOIP providers servers, and your high-speed providers servers and bandwidth! It has nothing to do the "the internet" and "congestion" it has to do with your equipment, your HS provider, and your VOIP provider!

On many VOIP service provider today, a 911 call means nothing more than any other call...and many providers do not offer E-911 (with address, phone, and EMD info) because they are not tied into the wired infrastructure of any particular area. If you are worried about 911 (many people are, especially with kids) then keep a basic line available, or a cell phone (many now at LEAST identify name and phone number, cross referencd to owner's billing addy)

Many of today's phones are compatible with VOIP, and many phone systems are easily converted...

the features are far superior, for a fraction of the cost

check here for the one I use, that seems to be making a real dent:

www.broadvoice.com

By the way, ATT announced today they are cutting 7400 jobs, to include Voip and ATT Long Distance, along with some cellular...

bye bye baby bell??!!

I have VoIP (Vonage) and Land Line (Verizon). I keep verizon only for emergency, and it is approx. $10.00 more than Vonage, which I normally make about 1000 min of calls / month. I love not paying AT&T or MCI for phone service. I hate the phone companies. If Vonage had a local number in my town, I'd drop verizon, and just use my cell for emergency.

Mark

Thanks for all the feedback, guys--great fodder for a CE Pro story. But back to the original question: who could present a good session on this at the EH Expo?
-julie

I sell VOIP to the residential market. I do it for a few reasons:

1) Retrofit of a nice phone system into a large residence. I can tie local branches back to ethernet then just run one cable back to head-end. Also, I can tie a VOIP desk phone into a wireless bridge. If both ends are fixed, it's pretty reliable. I'm doing this right now to tie two wings together where I have a whopping 2 2" conduits for every bit of wire I need between the two places. I'm saving conduit space for AV sources, not a bundle of 30 phone extensions....

2) Wifi/VOIP phones for future-proofing. Right now, wifi phones work worse than standard wireless (Panasonic, for instance.) But, the wifi phones are cooler looking in multi-line PBX systems (take a look at the wireless options for a Norstar system - they suck.) But, what is coming are integrated VOIP/Cell devices that will make life much easier for the homeowner. For instance, the Motorola CN620 can make and recieve calls on both GDM and wifi. So a homeowner with this phone in their pocket can recieve calls to their home # easily.

3) Latest technology. If your going to put in a switch today (i.e. something real, not a key system), why not do something up-to-date? A phone switch probably has a life of 9-12 years in a residence. The VOIP switches (at least the ones I sell), have follow-me/find-me features, forward voicemail to email account, can read your email over the phone, and intregrate to anything you'd like. Yes, analog PBX's do that too but they aren't any cheaper so why not get the latest?

Aaron Rosenbaum
Ambleside
www.al.net

Aaron,

What systems are you currently selling? We've been discussing adding VoIP to our product mix. Curious to know what others are using?

Thanks.

I'm selling Avaya Office IP.
[Link: www1.avaya.com]
-Aaron

Sorry, I've been out of town, but Avdude I have to disagree with your above statement. The internet is a big issue if you are trying to provide the same level of service as regular land lines. The internet service provider gateways do get congested and it it possible that your call will not get through. Not a big deal when placing long distance calls.

In addition, the reason why most VoIP service providers do not provide E-911 is that they do not have a network infrastructure that can provide that level of service. There is a reason why VoIP services are cheaper. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to defend the traditional phone companies, most of them are now into the VoIP business, at least in here Canada, but you need to compare apples to apples.