VoIP needs a reality check
Conventional wisdom has it that the telephone network will evolve away from old-fashioned circuit switching and be replaced by voice over IP.
Investors have ponied up to the bar to fund VoIP companies; most major telecom manufacturers have largely abandoned development of new circuit-switching and time division multiplexing (TDM) products. But before we nail the coffin shut on the legacy of the digital telephone technology that was so widely hailed two decades ago, let's examine the strengths and weaknesses of VoIP.
In looking at VoIP as a technology, it's important to distinguish between the cost of building or running a network and the price a service provider charges. VoIP benefits from the Internet's pricing model. There is rarely a charge for usage or for distance. The incremental price of a call thus seems to be free. That's not quite true, of course; additional loading can lead to degraded performance, or require a fatter, costlier access pipe.
