Long-distance calling for a set fee may be the wave of the future
by RICHARD NILSEN For The Leader-Herald

Phone services like voice mail, conference calling and call forwarding have long been available. More recently, wireless cellular phones that can double as a digital camera or walkie-talkie have come into vogue.

But perhaps the newest twist on the old "land line" telephone is "voice over IP" (Internet Protocol). Unlimited long-distance calling for a set fee (or even free with some providers) is on the horizon.

"There has been quite a shift of focus from dial-up Internet use to high-speed broadband," said Tush Nikollaj, CEO of Logical Net. "Ever since we bought Telenet with their long-distance service, we have maintained that line.

"The transition to totally online voice over the Internet is a natural migration. Old traditional land lines are labor intensive. There will always be a place for them, but new options are coming."

Some people may have tried one of the free long-distance Internet services such as Dialpad in the past.

Breakups of voice, gaps in transmission and other problems made the service interesting, but not feasible for all long-distance use. All that was required was a combination earphone and microphone headset plugged into the sound card on a computer and a simple download of Dialpad.com's software.

The numeric keypad on the computer keyboard became the dialer which could take the user to any local or long-distance phone with no increase in Internet provider fees as long as the caller didn't lose Internet connection, have gaps in voice transmission or silences which caused the person on the other end of the hookup to hang up. Improved technology and high- speed broadband Internet service has negated much of those problems.

But those improvements don't come free

Peter Taubkin of Time Warner Cable services states that local and long-distance voice-over Internet services are currently available in the Capital District and should be available to its TV cable and Road Runner customers in this area within the first quarter of 2005. This would be for residential use only, at first.

"We'll be introducing digital phone access for residential customers first in the same way we introduced Road Runner for residential use only, and then expanded to business use," Taubkin said. "Existing Time Warner customers will be able to have unlimited local and long- distance phone service over their present phones for $39.95 per month.

"Additional services such as voice mail can be added for typical amounts, such as $3.95 per month for voice mail. The big savers here, of course, will be high-volume users who can get all the long-distance service they want for a flat fee."

The addition of a modem-type of cable connection box will allow TV cable users who don't have a computer to use this service.

The broadband cable service will support multiple usage so that making a long-distance phone call, being on the Internet with a computer and flipping through the cable channels can all be done at the same time by different members of a family over the same cable hook-up.

"There are several economic and convenience pluses here for the consumer," Taubkin said. "There will be one billing for TV cable, Internet use and telephone service. It won't fluctuate with usage because it is unlimited for a set fee."

A representative of Frontier Communications said Internet digital long distance was in the planning stages there, but no set date or description of services was available. Logical Net hopes to offer a similar service to its DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) broad-band users within the next six months. Nikollaj pointed out that last year, data transfer over phone lines outstripped voice- over phone lines for the first time.

"With Internet broadband high- speed connections, you can add another line with a flip of a switch," Nikollaj said. "As we expand broad-band service, we expect to roll over into voice- over IP (Internet Protocol) in mid-2005 for a flat rate fee.

"There is often a voice-over IP somewhere in the communication of any long-distance call. Voice-over IP may be at the back end on this call right now," Nikollaj said.

"While past digital voice quality has been poor, it's become very solid over the last year," Nikollaj said. "This enables any interested Internet company to be a long-distance phone company overnight. Prices will go down with competition, and land lines aren't going away, but they will be used differently with time. The infrastructure of land-based telephone lines are solid."

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