Make VoIP Cheap... But Not Too Cheap

from the careful... dept

Tue, Mar 15th 2005 2:00am — Mike Masnick

Last week, a study came out saying that many people still didn't see the point of VoIP, but the ones who were signing up, were signing up due to the low, low price. However, another study (done by Level 3, so watch the bias) claims that while people do like VoIP for the low prices, if the discount is more than 25%, they lose interest. In other words, they want cheap VoIP... but not too cheap. The reasoning in the article makes sense. If VoIP gets too cheap, people begin to question the quality -- and since quality is already an issue with VoIP, people assume that a slightly more expensive offering backed by a recognizable name is more likely to keep working and to continue to offer the features to stay competitive.

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4 Comments

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EVDOguy, 15 Mar 2005 @ 2:00am

It already is cheap
VOIP is already cheap. For $25/month, I can get unlimited incoming/outgoing calls to US and Canada.
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VoIP business guy, 15 Mar 2005 @ 7:32am

No Subject Given
That's really cute, and does actually reflect some of my experience selling this stuff to people. I do wonder how long it will take for consumers to actually settle on a VoIP discount rate - 25% is pretty arbitrary (and who knows how accurate that is - I see a different rate in my market), and of course companies will adjust to perception before adjusting operations -- We're talking telco, afterall.
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crj, 26 Jun 2005 @ 6:15pm

voip Cheap
I want mine cheap, hot, and good. . .
just like my women. . .

yea right.
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"Hackbridge", 28 Jun 2006 @ 3:22pm

VoIP Cheap - Free is even better
It all depends on who is providing the service. Granted you can't expect everything to be free, but comsumerism is certainly calling the shoots these days.

Even today it was noted that shops in the UK (Womens fashion) are taking a battering because of shops like Primark who do sell cheaper than others. It's not just about the price, it is about quality, but why can't you have both?

Hackbridge
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