Under the Hood, VoIP Moves to Ubiquity

Is that your phone ringing or mine?

With the InfoComm trade show underway in Orlando, vendors are releasing a series of products that include voice-over-IP as an embedded feature in a variety of devices and applications, rather than a standalone replacement for traditional phone service.

For example, Konftel, the Swedish conference phone maker, is previewing its new 300W wireless conference device at the Orlando event. Able to run over cellular networks or Internet-based services, the 300W includes an embedded mode function that enables users to switch among the DECT wireless standard, cell phones and PCs via a USB connection.

Long promoted as a primary telephone service, a la Skype or Vonage (VG), VoIP has entered a new phase where it could approach ubiquity as an option along with other forms of IP communications, as well as conventional cellular technology. Now embedded as a “click-to-call” feature in unified communications platforms from major vendors like Cisco, VoIP is also increasingly popular with online retailers as a way for customers to quickly call service agents via company Web sites.

“We’re seeing a second wave of VoIP adoption,” said Doug Makishima, vice president of marketing at IP-communications software provider D2 Technologies. “The first was all about saving money by bypassing the long distance operators. We’ve moved beyond that now, to where VoIP is just a sub-function of the broader IP communications world.”

D2 said recently it has surpassed the 40 billion minutes-per-month threshold, as more vendors offer system-on-a-chip platforms and device makers incorporating VoIP into new mobile phones.

This development has been underway for a number of years but is just now becoming evident. Virtual environment producer Second Life, for instance, recently said it has carried 15 billion minutes of voice traffic since the 2007 launch of its VoIP feature for Second Life users, or “residents.” Now Second Life has introduced AvaLine, a beta service that allows outsiders to make calls from the real world to Second Life users. Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, will soon expand its messaging features to allow users to communicate via text message and VoIP without being present in the Second Life virtual world.