Abstract
Existing VoIP offerings are simply discounted POTS service -- there are no value-added features, only lower cost, with fierce price pressure from cable TV and other low-overhead vendors. The result is a continued downward spiral on price that has plagued the telecommunications industry for decades, and it's not surprising because the industry only offers consumers the same audio-only service that's been around for over 100 years.
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Every phone becomes a website, every phone number becomes a domain name. |
Equally important is the fact that VoIP and the associated technologies of DNS, ENUM and SIP are susceptible to the inherent flaws of the Internet, including confidentiality, quality, and general Internet reliability. They are susceptible to hacking from malicious individuals and groups, including terrorist organizations and governments, and have suffered attacks that would be unthinkable and intolerable in the world of traditional telecommunications -- yet this is the direction that we are depending upon for our future. The Russian cyber attack on Georgia highlights this risk.
Despite its drawbacks, the Internet offers a richness of audio and visual and video that by contrast should be an embarrassment and an incentive to vendors of analog voice technology. VoIP vendors have not implemented new and exciting audio/video features. And, even though some view that VoIP (through DNS, ENUM, and SIP) holds promise in this direction, the article shows that universal multimedia service is not possible to achieve using these technologies.
This article offers a rethinking of architecture and the enablement of features that will enrich telecommunications and enable vendors to charge significant premiums for the new services that result. It will merge the best of the Internet with the safety, security, and reliability of the telephone network.
The underlying technology is based on a portfolio of patents issued to the author.
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