Get Free World Dial-Up -- With a Few Catches

maken writes: "Remember the Free World Dialup project? From their page: "In the Fall of 1995 several of us had been throwing around the idea of "patching" Internet phone to regular telephone lines in order to allow true "patching" of international phone calls over the Internet - not just for people with computers but for anybody with access to a phone... and this is how the Free World Dialup project got started. As commercial VOIP gateways became available, Free World Dialup II in 1997 was the first free network to provide a free phone to phone service to over 15 countries using commercial hardware and software." Well, they're at it again and are looking for members." It costs about a hundred bucks to become part of it (for hardware), as well as broadband access. Rather reminds of me the ambitious Bayonne Project, (about which more later).

Comments

Re:Economics and legality

[dachshund]

You see, data requires better quality lines than voice, so many older copper lines that run long distance would need to be replaced or upgraded to keep up with the required digital load.

True, but circuit-switched copper networks aren't cheap at all. The only reason they're economical vs. fiber is the capital investment needed to replace them. It's inevitable that most of those copper lines/switches are going to need replacement anyway at some point in the near future, and they're not going to be replaced with more circuit-switched copper (if your Telco has any financial sense.)

A check against the proliferation of VOIP services is the unreliability and limited bandwidth of the internet today. Telcos don't have to adjust to everyone using their computers to make phone calls right away, they have time to build the infrastructure and spread the costs over a number of years (it wouldn't do to crank up data costs, thus driving customers away from that growing market.) Most Telcos know that consumer long-distance as a revenue stream is going the way of the dodo, they just want to make the transition a little bit more graceful.

Excellent.

[Urban Existentialist]

I can't help but feel that this is yesterdays news. I already have a cheap international phone service, and furthermore I can use it anywhere - on the bus, the train, while driving my car. Its called my mobile phone.

Thanks to the fact that most of the mobile phone companies are now huge multinationals, I can expect my one little device to work in over 100 countries. I am with Vodafone, the British mobile company that is the largest in the world, with the majority of the European, Asian and American market. With the exception of America, all these regions offer a unified mobile system, and the upcoming 3G liscenses will unify things even more.

Presently I am living in Cuba working on a Journalism project, and my phone works perfectly well here. It has also worked in India, Malaysia, Britain and Germany without any reconfiguring or dificulty. The only place I have difficulty is America, but I hardly ever have reason to go there anyway.

3G liscenses will give me 256kbits of modem connectivity in just a few years, with mobile videophone, easy to use all over the world. I can't help but think that this news is the last gasp of the morbid and dying landline industry, which can see the writing on the wall.

I'll be glad to see the back of landline telephones. In fact, I already have.

You know exactly what to do-
Your kiss, your fingers on my thigh-

Infrastructure and Technology

[Bonker]

During human history, I've noticed that infrastructure follows a certain pattern. For a good example, take roads, something we all take for granted.

During the very earliest parts of the last two millenia, 'roads' were little more than well beaten paths. Relatively few people used them so that they weren't worth providing. Mostly you stayed in your own village and just occasionally, if you were very rich, you took the path to other villages to sell your goods. You had to worry about highwaymen, and didn't feel safe.

Even during the middle ages, what roads there were were maintained by baronies and kingdoms. There were stiff penalties for travel, and overbearing regulations. You didn't cross a landholder's property or bridge even if the road ran through it without paying the toll if there was one. The barons were responsble for keeping their own roads safe, but frequently did not.

In modern times, so many people use the roads for so many reasons that the local and country governments have become responsible for maintaining them out of tax money, with no profit whatsoever. Their existence buffers the economy by providing an avenue for commerce, shipping, and travel.

Apply this same pattern to the phone system. Before communication became important, only individuals used radio or line communication because of its relative cost and danger. Someone could easily overhear your private conversation. Before the telephone systems became 'accepted', the only real use for remote real-time two-way communication was to radio different parts of a battle for combat instructions.

Fast forward to today. We have the equivalent of 'divine right of kings'-granted baronies on our communication systems. Only a few hand-picked individuals or companies have control over a vast amount of infrastructure. This is true for the U.S. and most of the rest of the world. True, the phone companies are responsble for it's cost and upkeep, but let's get serious here. Just how good is the U.S.'s phone system, even with the modicum of competition we have? Phone companies *could* be laying DSL to every home, building, or apartment but they're not.

In the future, time being the only variable, we'll move into the stage where so many people use the communication infrastructure so much that it will be impossible to make a profit on. At the same time, it will be a necessary commodity for any given country's economy. The government will either rapidly or gradually assume control of the phone system, and like the roads, we'll assume 'free' use of them in exchange for tax dollars.

If you think about this, this is already happening with the power-system in California. The government is paying for juice at taxpayers expense. This isn't likely to change in the near future.

Please remember the time difference!

[typical geek]

When it's 8 pm in California, and you think your UKian friend that you 've chatted with on IRC might appreciate a free phone call using this technology, please consider the time difference.

A 3 am wazzup will not go very far in improving international relations.