I've just done a radio interview for 5 Live's Up All Night Programme on Skype about the Little Red Book. It's almost ISDN quality and much better than doing it down a crackly phone line. For those of you who haven't downloaded SKYPE yet, check out Skype.com. It takes about two minutes to download onto your computer and you can be having conversations with friends all over the world free of charge within seconds. All you need is a microphone and a headset and you're away. The latest version of Skype also has video, so you can see the person you're chatting with if you have a webcam. Amazing. I am a very ungifted guy in the technical department so if I can set it up on my own, anyone can. Skpe must be BT's worst nightmare come true.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Skype is BT's Worst Nightmare Come True
I've just done a radio interview for 5 Live's Up All Night Programme on Skype about the Little Red Book. It's almost ISDN quality and much better than doing it down a crackly phone line. For those of you who haven't downloaded SKYPE yet, check out Skype.com. It takes about two minutes to download onto your computer and you can be having conversations with friends all over the world free of charge within seconds. All you need is a microphone and a headset and you're away. The latest version of Skype also has video, so you can see the person you're chatting with if you have a webcam. Amazing. I am a very ungifted guy in the technical department so if I can set it up on my own, anyone can. Skpe must be BT's worst nightmare come true.
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That's OK if you wish to make all your calls in front of a computer screen, but not so handy around the house or in the garden etc. and anyway BT gives you "free" UK calls for a very modest monthly sub'n. What still amazes me is the time and money so many people are prepared to spend at peak rates on their mobiles.
I limit myself to just a minute or two or preferably send a text - guess I'm just an old skinflint!
Despite the inconvenience of having to use it from your computer, it's very handy indeed if (like me) you have friends or relatives in the USA, whom you can phone with it (or they can phone you) completely free.
It's also got various additional capabilities available for a small fee. Very well-worth checking out.
Yay, techie Internet/telecom related post! I can now appear as knowledgable as Iain does on politics! First up, anonymous, you don't have to sit in front of a PC to use Skype and other VOIP services. You can buy handsets that look just like ordinary telephones if you want, and you can use them in the garden.
On the question of BT needing to be in fear of Skype, what you have to remember is that BT still own the copper between the exchange and your house (or NTL might). They still own the Local exchange as well, and even where Internet providers are "unbundling" excahnges they are still effectively buying backhaul bandwidth from BT exchanges into their networks (or their Tier 1 provider's network).
Yes, BT could lose out on call charges, but Carrier Pre-Select (CPS) from the likes of TalkTalk and AOL has been doing that for a while now anyway.
What's important is that BT still own the assets, and Internet and Talk providers have to buy Services from them even if the end consumers thinks BT is out of the equation e.g. those unbundlers who say they will "take over your line" are not really doing it technically, all they're doing is taking over the relationship with BT so you just pay them and don't have to deal with two bills.
Telecoms and the Internet is all wonderfully incestuous.
A hige fan of Skype too: but they STILL haven't done a video version for us mac users. Grrr.
Still, its the main way I speak to my extended family in Sweden- & just rocks.
BT deserve all they get.
Get youself a bluetooth mike/headset combo - up to 100 metres range. For a minimal charge you can make and receive calls to and from the existing BT network and similar networks pretty much anywhere in the world without being anywhere near your PC.
I agree, BT have a problem.
You're all wrong, BT don't have a problem. The consumer voice market is tiny in their world, and you'll still be lining their pockets somewhere along the digitial highway that your voice travels (even if it is just interconnect charges).
In SA te state owned supplier still has a monopoly on provision of voice calls and technically VOIP is illegal. Not that this seems to stop a lot of people using Skype etc.
It's something I really must get sorted on my own computer. Does anyone know how many megabytes per minute get used with Skype calls? The only reason I ask is that ADSL services are rationed in SA and buying more gigabytes per month over the standard ration costs an arm and a leg.
RM
Standard PSTN voice revenue is heavily regulated and is on teh decline. BT will in future have to gain revenue from the traffic over the network it owns, as dizzy has indicated.
Bit late to the party Iain but better late than never! Yep, Skype (try Gizmo if you want to record in software, good for podcasting) is very useful and scares the living daylights out of BT, Orange etc...tis the future it is.;)
Iain you are correct. If you have Wifi and a laptop you can use it where you want.
Skype yesterday announced free calls from skype to any phones if you are calling from the US or canada and within the US or canada - cant wait for that here!
The one thing I really want it to be able to record both sides of a conversation. What a help that would be to a new podcaster!!
Agree Skype is good - call quality does vary though. But to be fair to BT they have seen this coming and are investing a new exchanges and infastructure for the business of selling data services. I'm trying to train Her in Doors to phone her sister in Australia on Skype saving ££££££ !
Isn't competition, innovation and the free market great ?
The required bandwidth of Skype is quoted as anything from 30 to 70kbps (around 0.5MB/min or 4.2Mb/min, if you want bytes or bits).
Skype is a reasonable service but there are better VoIP packages out there. If you want to properly get into it, check out VoIPcheap (www.voipcheap.co.uk), which allows you to call over 20 countries for free. Furthermore, you can set up conference calls from a webpage with it (that's a right laugh, for example a friend of mine set up a call between a friend's mobile and Windsor Castle as a prank, was very amusing and good for procrastination in avoiding finals revision...)
There have been numerous reports that some telecoms companies, BT included, have been seeking to block VoIP with limited success (although currently I don't think BT are blocking any VoIP services nor seeking to). For example, I believe Vodafone currently have VoIP blocked on 3G phones in Germany.
Jonathan,
There is a software program called Skylook, which integrates with Microsoft Outlook and allows you to record your Skype calls in mp3.
More info here - http://www.skylook.biz/
Poverty is thrift. If you could drop me an email re the software you mentioned that would be great:-
toryradioataol.com
and don't forget google talk has some good features too. Beware using Skype if you are on a university network (banned in Cambridge) or other large internet pipe. You may find yourself becoming a supernode and handling all the skype traffic for hundreds of users.
When does/did the Up All Night bit go out?
Yes, Geoff touches on the main drawback of Skype: It is peer-to-peer. Which means, if you have it running, other people's phone calls are being routed over your computer, using your bandwidth.
But the audio quality IS excellent.
For Internet A/V I also use iChat (Mac-only, uses the AIM network), Gizmo, and Google Talk. Although the audio quality in iChat isn't as good as Skype, the four-way videoconference capability is wonderful.
Ross, I assume it went out last night. They sent me an MP3 of it so I might try to upload it.
Skype won't damage BT much for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, as Dizzy says, BT own the infrastrucutre, the pipes, the transnational lines, etc.
Secondly, BT has committed to the creation of an entirely new telephone network to replace what is currently out there. The new network will basically be a country-wide IP network - like the computer network you have at work/university but on a massive, massive scale. This means telephone calls will be placed and routed using VoIP technology similar to that used by Skype. BT will own the whole network and be able to provide VoIP services from end to end.
If I had responsibility for or, indeed, any influence over the telephones we use at work I would recommend the company invests in VoIP technology. We have a network covering in excess of 100,000 people across the UK and I wouldn't even hazard a vague guess as to what our phone bill is like just for communicating between those users. NatWest Bank have had their own private telephone network linking branches and offices for years. It's the future.
Regarding the actual quality, I'd say it's fine for what the telecoms world calls 'voice' - i.e. intelligible conversation over a narrow band of frequencies (usually about 200-3400 Hz) - but on-air it often falls way short of ISDN quality. This is very dependent on which version of the Skype software is installed but in any case is more than just a simple matter of frequency response. The calls can suffer from drop-out and a sort of 'volume jitter' that is far more annoying to listen to on radio than an average phone call. In short a good Skype call can approach the lower end of ISDN quality; a bad Skype call is an invitation to tune out - do it on the phone instead!
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