Mobile Phone Bridge To VoIP System?
from the what-exactly-is-this-doing dept
i2 Telecom is making some news today for releasing what appears to be some sort of bridge device to tie mobile phones to a VoIP network. The articles and the press release about this offering are a bit confusing. i2's website doesn't offer any more help. Looking over their site (which doesn't seem to have this product listed yet), it appears that i2 Telecom is really yet-another-Vonage-wannabe - though with fairly inexpensive prices. What's interesting is that they pitch it in a different manner, focusing much more on the box they give you - as if it's this magical box that lets you make VoIP calls - rather than the service, like most players in this market. This new offering is basically an update on that box with one additional feature: if you call into your home line with your mobile phone, the box will recognize your caller ID and let you then bounce another call out, using the VoIP network. Basically, it lets you use your mobile phone on your VoIP system. It's a neat idea, but it does involve a few extra steps (calling your home line first). I can see this being useful mainly for those who make a lot of international phone calls, since the rates are cheaper. However, with the amount of included minutes that most mobile phone plans offer, it seems like it would have limited use for most domestic calls. Also, it probably only makes sense for those who also need a mobile phone plans and a home VoIP plan. If the person doesn't already plan to use either separately, than the added cost of this probably doesn't make much sense.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
