 | September 15, 2000 |
Click to talk
Internet telephony for the rest of us
The benefits of VoIP technology—efficient use of network resources, cheap long-distance—are becoming well known to corporations. Now FreeWebTel has announced a system that aims to extend some of those benefits to home users and small and mid-sized e-businesses.
The system provides voice connections from phone-to-PC, PC-to-phone and PC-to-PC. All subscribers need to get started is an Internet-linked PC equipped with speakers and a microphone or a headset.
Users install software and are issued a PC number when they register with FreeWebTel. When a user places a call via a PC, the digital signal travels to a voice gateway (in either San Jose or New York) for termination. For a phone-to-PC call, users dial an 800 number that connects them to the network, and then dial the corresponding PC's number. On the PC, incoming calls elicit a ring and an alert window that offers the user the opportunity to accept or decline the call.
The main thrust of FreeWebTel's system, however, is to provide home Web surfers with a simpler way of interacting with online businesses. Companies who register with FreeWebTel can hotlink 800 numbers on their sites to FreeWebTel. Rather than logging off in order to call for technical support or place an order, home users who are also registered FreeWebTel can click those links to place an immediate PC-to-phone call to the company. The improvement to customer satisfaction and company sales will be tremendous, Lee says.
But in order for the service to be successful, both home users and e-businesses both have to bite. FreeWebTel will initially offer the service free to both parties, eating any termination costs itself. After at least three to four months, says Lee, the company will charge a nominal fee for services. Companies will incur the charges first, FreeWebTel says, and the company hopes to continue offering free service to home subscribers. Needless to say, PC-to-PC calls involve no termination.
The service is being beta tested by about 50,000 users. Voice transmission is excellent, according to FreeWebTel. However, the company admits that it falls prey to the same foibles as all Internet-telephony calls—echo, especially when the user doesn't use a headset, and delays.
The system employs the G.729 protocol for compressing and decompressing data, says Michael Lee, FreeWebTel's marketing director. The advantage, he says, is that G.729 can intuitively fill gaps in voice transfer that can occur on congested networks.
—Leah Jiorle
| 
