July 07, 2006
You're Afraid To Call It VoIP - Making Internet Telephony Simple
In my research of VoIP (Video and Voice versions) and IP telephony in general, it becomes obvious that there are a number of different terms now being used to refer to VoIP. Some are technical, others are pure marketing, some are playful.
For example, Bell Canada has a new service called Digital Voice, which their web page admits uses VoIP and clearly explains how the service works, what kind of calls can be made, and provides a link to their long distance calling plans. While their basic monthly charge for local calling is pretty steep (Cdn$40/m), their long distance plans start at Cdn$10/m. Not particularly competitive for 1200 minutes per month. Their overseas per minute rate also seem rather high, considering Skype offers more competitive rates and no monthly charges.
But Bell Canada has been around forever. Their marketing approach to the problem of enticing customers to VoIP is more likely to win over technophobes and those resistant to change. At least more so than the annoying semi-animated TV commercials that Vonage showed in Canada. Those commercials actually pushed me away from trying VoIP, until they stopped airing every ten minutes.
Tesco in Britain has taken a similar approach, advertising their Tesco Internet Phone, with no mention of VoIP. In their TV commercial, they've apparently focused on how simple it is to set up, so that people with low exposure to technology are not scared off. What's more, customers get assigned an actual phone number for their area code, something that is maybe necessary psychologically rather than technically.
Similarly, the service that Sightspeed's Skype-killer IM (Instant Messaging) client provides is referred to as "video and voice calling". Not a mention of VoIP anywhere on the homepage. In fact, if you click on their Features or Plans web pages, you will not find the word VoIP at all. It's not until you click on their About Us page that you not only see the term VoIP, but WoIP.
WoIP is kind of a visual and verbal play on the V and V from "Voice and Video over IP", since the letter "W" is pronounced approximately "doob-luh-veh" (double-V) in French. I've previously referred to WoIP as V2oIP, unaware of the term WoIP. While either term is probably fine in print, neither is easy to say without confusing people. I mean, how do you say V2oIP? And how easy is it distinguish WoIP from VoIP in conversation?
WoIP aside, I think Bell Canada, Tesco and Sightspeed have made wise marketing moves, given the drubbing that Vonage has taken going IPO, and where others now fear to tread.
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