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Super-powered peer to peer
October 6, 2004 -
Can Skype live up to the Net phone hype?
September 27, 2004
Winning over business will not be an easy task, Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom said Wednesday. Incumbent suppliers of business phone services and equipment fiercely protect customers, who in turn are extremely loyal. Also, why would a business trust its phone network to a start-up such as Skype, which uses new peer-to-peer Net phone technology, has just 60 employees and nascent sales channels?
This will be the biggest test yet for Skype, which after just a year in business has become a big hit with consumers. The company is trying to cash in on the fact that, since its free software first became available, 22 million consumers have downloaded it and made nearly 1.8 billion minutes of calls.
"We can't do all of this ourselves and are looking for partners--resellers, hardware makers, system integrators, consultants--to help," Zennstrom said. "But it's not the big that beats the small; it's the fast that beats the slow."
Zennstrom did not reveal when the business services will be offered and other important details. He did say "Skype for Business" will include Skype's free software to make unlimited calls between Web-connected PCs and some personal digital assistants. There will also be new premium features, including expanded conference calling, SkypePlus voice mail and SkypeIn, with which Skype users can get calls from the traditional phone network.
As for any new equipment that will debut with the business service, phone maker Siemens is already at work on a cordless-phone-like device that will likely be part of the new Skype For Business offers, Zennstrom said. It's also likely that Skype will use the business service to market its existing SkypeOut, in which Skype users can make calls from their PCs or PDAs (personal digital assistants) to the traditional fixed-line phones or cell phones for 2 cents a minute.
Skype uses peer-to-peer architecture, which requires no infrastructure and, compared with phone companies that own their own lines and switches, only minimal capital investment. Rather, Skype's 750,000 daily users create the network on the fly, sharing computer resources to manage traffic flow and ensure call quality. Skype claims its network can grow organically, without the need for the company to add new equipment to support increased traffic demands.
This "network free" concept is unusual, even among Net phone providers, which are already turning the century-old telephone industry on its ear. The concept is also relatively inexpensive; Skype has managed to avoid many of the costs typically borne by Net phone service providers.
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If Skype is able to come out with these basic features I'm all set:
1.) Call Que Ability
2.) Music on Hold
3.) Multi Line Hunt Group
4.) Toll free numbers (this I see is already done)
5.) Voice Mail Boxes
How many mid size companies do you think Skype could get with these features?
Our Phone bill is around the $500 - $1000 month range.
How much do you think Skype would charge for a 5 line system like the one described above running about 2000 minutes a month?
It's going to be very interesting when they come out with a solution.
By doing this you get the best of both worlds. Skype?s low rates and the many features of a PBX/Phone system like basic things like transferring a call to another in office phone, Automated Attendant, PBX Voice Mail, Call Que Ability, Music on Hold, Multi Line Hunt Group, etc. A great small business Phone system is the Avaya Partner ACS phone system. Regardless of the PBX/Phone system you have the Skype lines can be added to your PBX by connecting to trunk/line, station/extension, SIP Trunk or T1/E1 Ports. This is done by Actiontec VoSKY Exchange Skype Gateways. For more information on this please go to www.SkypeMyPbx.com.
Now with Actiontec's Vosky Exchange Skype Gateways the world's largest VoIP network is now accessible on your current PBX/phone system!! With a Skype annual subscription you get unlimited calls to landlines and cell phones in the US & Canada for only $23.60/yr per line - That's only $1.97/mo per line and of course Skype to Skype calls are always FREE anywhere in the world! Best of all Skype can now be on your phone PBX/phone system phones and not just your PC!! You can also use them to network multiple locations of any make or model of PBX/phone system anywhere in the world!
The cost of 5 Skype lines making unlimited calls is only $118.00/year - only $9.83/mo!!!
The cost for 5 Skype lines to be able to be added to your CURRENT PBX/Phone system is below:
You would need an Actiontec VoSKY Exchange 9080 Skype Gateway and a server. The 9080 connects up to 8 CO/line ports to your PBX and are treated like any normal Telco line. You can use your own server as long as the PC requirements are met - see the last page of the brochure on www.SkypeMyPbx.com. The recommended server made my Actiontec is the VS100. The 9080 retails at $1,950.00 and the VS100 retails at $2,000.00. So for $3,950.00 you could have up to 8 Skype lines going into your CURRENT PBX/Phone system for unlimited calls for only $1.97/mo!!
In the above example the average phone bill price was between $500 and $1,000 so it we average that to be $750.00/month the ROI (Return On Investment would be just over 5 months. After that the cost of the 5 lines will be only $9.85/mo (5X$1.97) saving $740.15/mo!!! ($750.00 - $9.85). So the first year savings would be $4,983.67 and the second year it would be a savings of $8,881.80 each and every year!!!
A great small business phone system is the Avaya Partner ACS. For more information on the AVAYA PARTNER ACS PBX/Phone system see below or at www.AvayaPartnerAcs.com
AVAYA phone systems were formerly made by Lucent Technologies and prior to that AT&T.
The AVAYA Partner ACS telephone system is the leading phone system in its class (single site location (NON VoIP - VoIP it at www.SkypeMyPBX.com ) with under 48 phones) and has sold over 1.3 million systems and comes with 175 built in features! The AVAYA Partner ACS telephone system is comfortable with a capacity of up to 14 lines, 33 extensions/phones and up to 6 concurrent users on the Partner Messaging Voice Mail Solution. Maximum capacities are up to 31 lines or up to 48 extensions and cannot be achieved simultaneously. The AVAYA Partner ACS telephone system has been serving America since 1997 and has had 7 new releases to stay current with technology. This means to you that is tested, tried and true!
If you don't have or need a PBX/Phone System but would still like to take advantage of Skype's low rates for your business or at home there are Skype Cordless Phones - the GE 28310EE1 and the Netgear SPH200D. They are both expandable up to 4 handsets and both work with out a PC (so you are no longer tied to your computer and your computer can be off) and they can accomodate a Skype-In number and a traditional line! Great for adding a second line or competely replacing your traditional phone lines and drastically lowering your phone bill! These are the top two Skype Cordless Phones. The GE 28310EE1 has the added feature of being able to conference a Skype line and Traditional line where as the Netgear SPH200D does not at this time. - The manuals and datasheets for these phones are also on www.SkypeMyPBX.com in the Brochures tab of the web page.
Feel free to contact me (Kelly Petry) at 863-614-1900 or Skype me at TelephonemanOfAmerica with any questions you may have.