Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : IDT *(idtc) following this new issue?* -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawaii60 who wrote (7229)	5/5/1999 1:39:00 AM
From: Plan B	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 30916

You must be speaking of N2P DIRECT !! I use it too and it's great for phone-to-phone, but N2P through my ISP which is a high speed cable modem, and my brand new Andrea headset, and my 400mhz pentium, and my Creative Live soundcard, doesn't pass muster. That's not the first article I've read that echoes my sentiments, nor am I the first person in this forum to report less than acceptable quality. We've been around this rose bush before. I think both services have their place. IDT after the split will continue to build VoIP infrastructure and be successful with N2P Direct, but N2P by itself will continue to rely on gimmicky relationships with services like chat where less than regular telephone quality speech is acceptable. BTW, I swear at the lousy quality of my cell phone daily and only accept it because there is no alternative. N2P will succeed in emerging markets and applications for the same reason. By "ISP" I assume you mean gateway. That only affects one end of the circuit when using N2P, but both ends with N2P-Direct, hence the big quality difference between the two. Some day, as many articles have pointed out, the cost of voice transmission will approach zero. All of the various services, voice, fax, data, video, etc. will converge in one big pipe. I'd love to be able to predict how IDT will fit into that scenario which is only a few years down the road I believe, but I can't. There are too many players to make a call right now. For example, what will happen to IDT's N2P-Direct revenue stream when the advantage of international arbitrage goes away? The big guys with mature and established voice only networks will just continue to lower their prices taking away the advantage of VoIP for voice only business. Hopefully before then IDT and others will have more breadth to their business beyond just voice. I'm no VoIP expert, but I calls em as I sees em and I like to take the (polite) contrarian view because it stimulates others like you to do me one better which is good. I don't want to be the proverbial "pig" that gets slaughtered. Being contrarian helps me to form an exit strategy as well. Balance is nature and nature is ballanced.