Re: Verizon VoIP Service Announcement

[Alan Crosswell <>]

What always amazes me is the claim that $40 per month for VoIP service is less 
costly than landline service.  It's not.  You have to pay for you IP access 
separately which is another $20-50 per month.  Companies like IDT sell landline 
unlimited local and national access for $40.  Of course, if Verizon can figure 
out how to avoid the taxes that add another $20 to the bill then it comes closer 
to a break-even:-)
/a

CHRIS PEABODY wrote:
> Most of you have probably already seen this.
>
> I'm trying to learn a  bit more as to how Verizon plans to handle 9-1-1 routing.  
>
>
> July 22, 2004
> Verizon Launches Nationwide Internet Calling Service
>
> By Antone Gonsalves, TechWeb News       
> Verizon Communications Inc., the nation's largest phone company, launched on 
> Thursday a nationwide Internet calling service that's expected to give a 
> major boost to the low-cost communications technology.
>
> The New York-based company's VoiceWing service includes unlimited local and 
> long-distance calling in the United States for a flat fee of $39.95 a month 
> for non-Verizon subscribers. Customers can subscribe for $34.95 a month. 
> Verizon is offering the service for $29.95 a month for the first six months 
> to consumers who subscribe before Oct. 31.
>
> The service, which is available in the District of Columbia and more than 130 
> cities in 33 states, costs less than traditional phone service because it 
> sends voice as data packets over the Internet and the phone company's 
> network. Subscribers need a high-speed connection and a special telephone 
> adapter provided by Verizon, which charges a one-time set-up fee of $39.95.
>
> Besides Internet calling, Verizon's VoiceWing service also includes voice 
> mail, which can be accessed through a desktop or laptop; call forwarding and 
> an address book that enables subscribers to make a call by clicking on a 
> phone number.
>
> Verizon is not the first phone company to offer Internet calling, often called 
> voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP. AT&T rolled out its own service 
> earlier this year to 100 cities for $34.99 a month and $19.99 for the first six 
> months. Qwest Communications Inc. offers Internet calling in its region, and 
> plans to expand to other parts of the nation by the end of the year.
>
> In launching its service, Verizon apparently wanted to avoid a price war, 
> given its decision to stay above start-ups such as Vonage, which offers a 
> basic calling service for $29.99 a month. In addition, cable company 
> Cablevision Systems Corp. has bundled Internet calling, cable television and 
> high-speed services in a package for under $100 a month.
>
> "(Verizon's announcement) is a pretty big validation that VoIP is here to stay, 
> but the price point in which they entered the market doesn't put them in the driver's 
> seat," Vamsi M. Sistla, analyst for ABI Research, said, adding that he expects the 
> phone company to drop its prices over the next several months.
>
> Nevertheless, the move is seen as Verizon's latest step in battling rival 
> cable companies that have been taking local phone service away from phone 
> companies.
>
> Earlier this week, Verizon announced that Keller, Texas, would be the first 
> city where it would offer a high-speed Internet service with data speeds up 
> to 30 Mbps, making it on par with broadband services from cable companies. 
> Verizon plans to announce deployments of its fiber-optic cable service in 
> California and Florida, as well as more cities in Texas, by the end of the 
> year. The company expects to launch a video service competing with cable 
> companies in 2005.
>
> "Verizon's announcement clearly raises the stakes in the broadband arena for cable 
> operators," Allan Tumolillo, financial analyst for Probe Group LLC, said in a 
> report released Thursday.
>
> But Verizon, as well as other phone companies, are not expected to match cable 
> companies' TV service for at least a decade. "The tricky part is the 
> technology," Sistla said.
>
> Phone companies will have to build an infrastructure that can deliver video 
> service through multiple channels, such as fiber-optic cable, copper wire and 
> wireless, in order to reach the same number of subscribers as cable 
> companies, which have built their networks over the last several decades.
>
> Phone companies, however, could increase their coverage area quicker through 
> partnerships, Sistla said, pointing to SBC Communications Inc.'s partnership, 
> announced last year, with satellite operator EchoStar Communications Corp.
>
>
>
>
> Chris Peabody
> Director, Enterprise Network Communication Systems
> L Robert Kimball & Associates
> Washington, DC
> 301-296-4550  Work
> 301-529-3825 Cell