INTEL/MICROSOFT aim to change things. Will Qdeck/Camelot/Vocaltec keep up
(WSJ):Intel Corp. To Unveil Internet-Phone Software
NEW YORK -- Intel Corp. will unveil a free software program Monday that
enables users to make long-distance telephone calls over the Internet,
reports Monday's Wall Street Journal.
Such calls only cost as much as the local connection to the global computer
network, so that if computer telephony catches on it could eventually make
a dent in the profits of phone companies.
Many experts believe that in a few years telephone companies may
actually abandon per-call charges for a set monthly fee based on the quality
of service rather than the amount of usage.
A few people already use the Internet to make phone calls, but caller and
receiver must have identical software and quality is poor.
However, Intel's software is based on a standard embraced by at least 120
companies, including Microsoft Corp., which will plug a compatible product,
NetMeeting, into its operating systems.
The standard will allow users of different computers and different phone
software to talk to each other.
'The reason we did our phone was that there were a lot of Internet phones
out there, but the frustration level was high because the phones didn't
talk to each other,' said Frederick Yeomans, marketing manager for
Intel.
'The dynamics of this Internet phone market are about to change forever,'
said Jeff Pulver, Internet analyst at Pulver.com in Great Neck, New York.
The product also provides further evidence that Intel has
shifted its strategy to become more of a computing and communications
company, not just a maker of microprocessor chips for personal computers.
Moreover, it fits with Intel's strategy of turning the PC into a
communications appliance, expanding demand for PCs and Intel
chips.
Intel will make its software available on its World Wide Web site
intel.com starting this Wednesday. It will also make use of a Microsoft
technology that helps computer users locate other Internet phone numbers
on the Internet.
Microsoft will distribute its similar product, NetMeeting, from its Web
site in September.
Major corporations already use proprietary computer networks to make
millions of intracompany phone calls.
By the end of the year, Pulver predicts that up to 30 million browsers,
or tools for viewing the Web, will be equipped with the software standard
for using the Internet phone.
He estimates that about 30,000 people make Internet calls now, using
software technology that has been around since early 1995, when VocalTec
Inc. in Northvale, New Jersey, launched a product. VocalTec will also
support the new standard, called H.323.
Intel's Yeomans believes the Internet's communications pipes will be
continually expanded to cope with added traffic and improve the quality.
Copyright 1996 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
