Wednesday, October 08, 2008
13:47 by FoxTwo
Image via WikipediaThe recent price increase by Singtel on landlines sparked off a wave of protest around my friends, and many bloggers. On the surface, if you look at it, the increase isn't really that much. Only 0.01 cent more per minute, and a total of $10 more per YEAR.
And yet, people protest and grumble.
I think, the problem isn't the amount of the increase. It's that everything has been increasing and yet we see no improvements. As a matter of fact, bus fare, MRT fares, and taxi fare increases have not done a thing to help us - MRTs are still packed like sardines, and we pay to be packed like sardines. Bus fare increases only help to put stupid TVMobile boxes into the buses, which do nothing to "entertain us" while we are in a "standing-room-only" packed bus.
The Singtel price increase is probably the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
Nowadays, almost everyone has some sort of broadband connection at home. It's high time we take note of VOIP technology (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and use it as a telephone. VOIP is not exactly a new technology. It has been around for at least 10 years if not more. Back then, the major application for VOIP technology was games. No seriously, it was used for games! Picture this - you're frantically fighting off a horde of monsters. Is it faster to shout "HELP!" or to click the screen, bring up the chat box, and then type HELP (in the meantime the monsters would still be pummeling you)? Even then, would your friends be looking at the chatbox on the screen, or would they also be busy fending off the monsters?
Over the years, VOIP grew from a game-only application into what it is today - ready for mainstream. As an illustration, Starhub already offers it as a commercial product - their Digital Voice products. Yes, Starhub leverages on the cables which they have already laid into your HDB homes meant for their internet and cable TV services to carry voice as well.
Why VOIP?
Because, it's dirt-cheap. You already have an internet connection. You're already paying for it. If you use VOIP to call someone also using VOIP from the same service provider, it is almost guaranteed that the call will be free. Another illustration - on MSN, call your buddy and TALK to him with a mic. That conversation is free. Yes, you hear voice. Yes you can see video (if you both have webcams). Yet, that session is free.
VOIP comes into its own when it comes to calling your friends and loved ones who are in a different country. If you actually sat down and compared IDD rates with VOIP global calling rates, the VOIP rates would typically be at least 40% to 70% cheaper! Seriously. About a year or so ago, I called a friend up in Hong Kong and had a 1 hour 30 minute conversation with her. The price? S$2.00.
No you didn't read that wrong. It cost me US$1.80 for a 90 minute call (2 cents a minute). US$1.80 is about S$2.00 or so. If you think about it, it was cheaper to call overseas at 2 cents a minute, for 90 minutes, than to call your buddy in Singapore up on the mobile phone (16 cents a minute) and talk to him for 15 minutes!
If you are worried about the "call quality", and whether there will be "drop outs" etc, you can rest easy. My overseas friends whom I have called, keep telling me I sounded so clear, it was just like standing next to them. Well it's actually not that surprising since the microphones you own/have is probably better than those on the phones.
Skype is a popular and well-known VOIP provider. Many people I know also have skype accounts. Even the company I work in now encourages Skype usage if you are not physically in the company network. In the company itself, the entire PABX system is all VOIP. To dial anybody up in the world, all you need is just a 5 digit number - first digit represents country, the other 4 digits for the extension. The "overseas call" is thus, free too. Why? Because we are using the company internal network, which is already laid for the LAN and WAN networks for the computers.
With costs so low and dirt cheap, it is little wonder VOIP isn't very well known outside of the IT industry. Telephone companies such as Singtel will definitely not want to lose their "golden goose". Without the masses paying for their high rates (16 cents a minute for mobile calls, 0.16 cents a min for landline calls), they'd lose a huge chunk of their revenue.
Some VOIP services like Gizmo and pfingo even have mobile clients ("software for your phone") that allows you to use your phone to call overseas using their cheap rates, as long as you have an Internet connection. Modern phones probably come with wifi as one of the connectivity options and thus you can just use your phone and "log in" to your own home wireless network, and call using VOIP.
Alternatively, you can subscribe to mobile broadband plans which are definitely cheaper than mobile phone plans. For about $22 a month you can get mobile broadband services on your phone with 50GB of bundled free transfers. 50GB is definitely more than enough for you to make VOIP calls. As an illustration, a typical user only consumes 20GB to 30GBs a month even if he watches youtube videos regularly
So, effectively, you can downgrade your mobile phone plan to the cheapest one available and get mobile broadband to use cheaper call rates (2 cents a min to call any number in Singapore).
If you use the pfingo service, they even have a callback function! Simply go to the internet on any computer, phone or PDA, key in a callback number for you (home or mobile phone), then the destination number. Your phone will ring, a message will tell you to hold, and soon your friend (overseas or local) will be on the other end. So you don't even have to be "on the internet" to use their VOIP service!
In a similar vein, Skype offers an "unlimited country call". Meaning for about S$8 a month you can call any number in Singapore (or your choice of country) free. Downside of course, is that you have to use the Skype client on the desktop or mobile phone, or own a skype-fone. If you go for the Global option, you pay about S$18.00 a month and call Singapore plus 35 other countries FOR FREE.
Now if this blog post hasn't spurred you on to at least do some research into the VOIP technology and how it may be able to help you save some money, nothing else will :)
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13:47 by FoxTwo
Image via WikipediaThe recent price increase by Singtel on landlines sparked off a wave of protest around my friends, and many bloggers. On the surface, if you look at it, the increase isn't really that much. Only 0.01 cent more per minute, and a total of $10 more per YEAR.And yet, people protest and grumble.
I think, the problem isn't the amount of the increase. It's that everything has been increasing and yet we see no improvements. As a matter of fact, bus fare, MRT fares, and taxi fare increases have not done a thing to help us - MRTs are still packed like sardines, and we pay to be packed like sardines. Bus fare increases only help to put stupid TVMobile boxes into the buses, which do nothing to "entertain us" while we are in a "standing-room-only" packed bus.
The Singtel price increase is probably the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
Nowadays, almost everyone has some sort of broadband connection at home. It's high time we take note of VOIP technology (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and use it as a telephone. VOIP is not exactly a new technology. It has been around for at least 10 years if not more. Back then, the major application for VOIP technology was games. No seriously, it was used for games! Picture this - you're frantically fighting off a horde of monsters. Is it faster to shout "HELP!" or to click the screen, bring up the chat box, and then type HELP (in the meantime the monsters would still be pummeling you)? Even then, would your friends be looking at the chatbox on the screen, or would they also be busy fending off the monsters?
Over the years, VOIP grew from a game-only application into what it is today - ready for mainstream. As an illustration, Starhub already offers it as a commercial product - their Digital Voice products. Yes, Starhub leverages on the cables which they have already laid into your HDB homes meant for their internet and cable TV services to carry voice as well.
Why VOIP?
Because, it's dirt-cheap. You already have an internet connection. You're already paying for it. If you use VOIP to call someone also using VOIP from the same service provider, it is almost guaranteed that the call will be free. Another illustration - on MSN, call your buddy and TALK to him with a mic. That conversation is free. Yes, you hear voice. Yes you can see video (if you both have webcams). Yet, that session is free.
VOIP comes into its own when it comes to calling your friends and loved ones who are in a different country. If you actually sat down and compared IDD rates with VOIP global calling rates, the VOIP rates would typically be at least 40% to 70% cheaper! Seriously. About a year or so ago, I called a friend up in Hong Kong and had a 1 hour 30 minute conversation with her. The price? S$2.00.
No you didn't read that wrong. It cost me US$1.80 for a 90 minute call (2 cents a minute). US$1.80 is about S$2.00 or so. If you think about it, it was cheaper to call overseas at 2 cents a minute, for 90 minutes, than to call your buddy in Singapore up on the mobile phone (16 cents a minute) and talk to him for 15 minutes!
If you are worried about the "call quality", and whether there will be "drop outs" etc, you can rest easy. My overseas friends whom I have called, keep telling me I sounded so clear, it was just like standing next to them. Well it's actually not that surprising since the microphones you own/have is probably better than those on the phones.
Skype is a popular and well-known VOIP provider. Many people I know also have skype accounts. Even the company I work in now encourages Skype usage if you are not physically in the company network. In the company itself, the entire PABX system is all VOIP. To dial anybody up in the world, all you need is just a 5 digit number - first digit represents country, the other 4 digits for the extension. The "overseas call" is thus, free too. Why? Because we are using the company internal network, which is already laid for the LAN and WAN networks for the computers.
With costs so low and dirt cheap, it is little wonder VOIP isn't very well known outside of the IT industry. Telephone companies such as Singtel will definitely not want to lose their "golden goose". Without the masses paying for their high rates (16 cents a minute for mobile calls, 0.16 cents a min for landline calls), they'd lose a huge chunk of their revenue.
Some VOIP services like Gizmo and pfingo even have mobile clients ("software for your phone") that allows you to use your phone to call overseas using their cheap rates, as long as you have an Internet connection. Modern phones probably come with wifi as one of the connectivity options and thus you can just use your phone and "log in" to your own home wireless network, and call using VOIP.
Alternatively, you can subscribe to mobile broadband plans which are definitely cheaper than mobile phone plans. For about $22 a month you can get mobile broadband services on your phone with 50GB of bundled free transfers. 50GB is definitely more than enough for you to make VOIP calls. As an illustration, a typical user only consumes 20GB to 30GBs a month even if he watches youtube videos regularly
So, effectively, you can downgrade your mobile phone plan to the cheapest one available and get mobile broadband to use cheaper call rates (2 cents a min to call any number in Singapore).
If you use the pfingo service, they even have a callback function! Simply go to the internet on any computer, phone or PDA, key in a callback number for you (home or mobile phone), then the destination number. Your phone will ring, a message will tell you to hold, and soon your friend (overseas or local) will be on the other end. So you don't even have to be "on the internet" to use their VOIP service!
In a similar vein, Skype offers an "unlimited country call". Meaning for about S$8 a month you can call any number in Singapore (or your choice of country) free. Downside of course, is that you have to use the Skype client on the desktop or mobile phone, or own a skype-fone. If you go for the Global option, you pay about S$18.00 a month and call Singapore plus 35 other countries FOR FREE.
Now if this blog post hasn't spurred you on to at least do some research into the VOIP technology and how it may be able to help you save some money, nothing else will :)
