The Battle of the Dial Tones
Y’all have a good Christmas? Good. Now that that’s out of the way… Let’s get back at it!
Atlanta’s long-awaited phone fight is finally getting under way.
Telephone battle about to start in Atlanta: Comcast plans big push for VoIP. Story from the beloved AJC.com
Slowly but surely, the region’s dominant cable provider, Comcast, has started to promote and sell its phone service, called Digital Voice. Set for an even bigger push in early 2006, the service, delivered using Voice over Internet Protocol technology, or VoIP, will put the company on a collision course with telephone titan BellSouth.
VoIP is a cool and relatively new technology. It�s had some hick-ups in the past. Some headlines:
Texas lawsuit against Vonage could drive change in VoIP 911
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Voip
But, I think it�s getting there. I use Skype and Gismo. Very, very cool and it works.
I like Comcast. Ever since I had that little, let�s call it a �chat�, with one of the �big boys� at Comcast over their FIVE MONTH, �issue� with my cable modem, I just love them! They�re so sweet to me now.
I love BellSouth. I pick up the phone � dial tone � I call someone. I like Verizon Wireless. I speak to my phone, it dials, I talk.
Notice one thing. Three different companies. I like three different companies. If someone digs up a phone line and I�m out of service, I have Verizon. If Verizon is out for some reason, I�ve got BellSouth. If the cable TV is out, I normally have the Internet, even if it�s dial-up, etc.
I like to separate my �mission critical� utilities with different companies. I got the Comcast ad in the mail. TV, Internet, Phone, (they don�t have wireless, I don�t think). Even though I do, actually, like and enjoy Comcast, I just like my backups. Cost more? Yep.
It’s just a thought.
Comcast is going to have to beef up their service in order to win me over for VoIP. My cable went out for 2 hrs last night (which happens often), and I really would not want to be without phone/911 access for 2 hrs.