more on POTS, VOIP and sound quality

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat net>
> Date: January 2, 2010 3:00:33 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net, ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] POTS, VOIP and sound quality

> I keep POTS lines around for what I believe are some very good  
> reasons. Firstly, even though it's a technology that really should  
> have fallen into disuse long ago, I still must send and receive  
> FAXes. I'm amazed that there seems to be no modern substitute, but  
> there really isn't.
>
> Secondly, I know that I won't be charged for using my land line to  
> make phone calls to supposedly "toll free" numbers (as I would on a  
> cellular phone). Since most companies' toll "customer service" lines  
> -- whether or not they actually provide decent customer service --  
> usually have long queues, it doesn't make sense to call them from a  
> cell phone and potentially pay large per-minute charges to wait on  
> hold.
>
> Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, nothing can beat the lower  
> latency of a land line. When one of the phones involved in a  
> conversation is a cell phone, the delay is bad enough. But when both  
> are, it's almost impossible to have a truly animated conversation  
> without talking over or interrupting the other person. So, when I  
> want to have a good conversation -- and especially when I know that  
> the other party is on a cell phone, I opt to use a land line  
> whenever possible so that I can, at least, cut that delay by half.
>
> Get me a low latency cell phone, true toll free numbers, a widely  
> adopted Internet equivalent of the FAX, and service that will stay  
> up during a weeklong disaster, and I might -- just maybe -- consider  
> dropping POTS.
>
> --Brett Glass



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