Here is a comparison of the normal telecommunications carriers, the latest Internet phone and world wide web phone technologies. We compare how they work, the cost of Australian STD & International calls, sound quality, and the ease of use of the different services.
HOW THEY WORK
A. Telstra, Optus & AAPT, normal carriers. (Phone to Phone)
B. Ozemail phone, Internet phone technology. (Phone to Internet to Phone, )
C. Net2phone, & Delta Three, web phone technology. (Internet to Phone)
D. Freetel, and NetMeeting, world wide web phone technology. (Internet to Internet)
PRICE COMPARISON
All prices shown are subject to change without notice, so please contact the companies mentioned for the latest pricing information, (Company contact information) There is difficulty in comparing Telstra pricing with the other carriers as it is so complicated. It is not only based on time of day, but also distance, plus they also have spot specials, and Flexi-plan etc. You can if you like, phone Telstra on the number supplied at the bottom of this page, and request them to send you a price list, which they will then post to you.
WHAT YOU NEED
A. Head set with mic and headphones.
B. Minimum of a 28,800 modem.
C. Full duplex sound card.
D. Internet phone software.
D. Fast Internet service provider.
ISDN connection is highly recommended!
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!
The best way to try the Internet telephone systems out for quality, and ease of use, without any initial cost to you is to go to this site IDT Corporation, and download the free Net2phone telephone software & set it up on your system.
Then go to the US toll free number directory, and get some US toll free numbers, then dial the numbers through your computer Internet phone system. You will then hear the quality of the connection you can expect from these technologies.
To be able to talk to someone at the other end with a normal phone through any Internet phone service, you will have to register with an Internet telephone company with your credit card, and buy some credit, unless you only use tollfree numbers. I would suggest that you wait until these technologies improve before you invest heavily in them for normal telephone calls, unless you have an ISDN link.
(The Ozemail Internet phone system is different from the other Internet phone systems because it uses the normal phone system plus the Internet, without the need for you to have a computer. First you must register with Ozemail, they give you a pin number, which you dial first, and then dial the normal phone number on a normal phone. No other special equipment is needed, but you can only dial from set locations. Go to the
Ozemail site for more information. They do mention the quality issue at their site.)
Try out ICQ &
Net Meeting, they allow you to chat person to person over the Internet via your keyboard. This technology works very well over the slow Internet. For voice, person to person over the Internet try Freetel & Net Meeting, if you wish to experiment.
Summary
It would appear from comparing price and ease of use, plus the quality of the connection, Internet phone technologies need improvement before they equal the ease of use and quality of connection, of the normal telephone discount phone carriers, in the domestic situation.
If you have a business ISDN link or better, it's well worth using these technologies. Unfortunately the sound quality is just not there for slow home based Internet connections. The technology is improving all the time and in a year or two the sound quality may equal the best. In any case keep an eye on these ground breaking technologies because when they come of age they will be worth it!
If you have a home based Internet connection, the best Internet to Internet communications technologies to use at present appears to be ICQ & Netmeeting, which use keyboard chat person to person communication over the Internet. These work well in the domestic situation because they use less bandwidth.
