"When you're moving at Internet speed, you're not going to wait 100 years to form relationships [as a telephony service provider], and besides, there would be too many relationships because this part of telephony is not restricted to national monopolies, it's got a lot of small players" (Dunlap, 1998, 189). When perfected, Internet Telephony, or the merging of telephony and Internet will allow people to communicate using a number of media simultaneously. Internet Telephony, or the practice of consumers and businesses turning to the Internet for voice and fax phone calls, according to a 1997 study, could end up costing phone companies some $8 billion in lost revenues worldwide over the next four years.
The study suggests that "the potential for substantial savings, compared to calls on traditional phone networks, is the primary motivation for using Internet telephony." The report also notes that since Internet access generally is purchased at a fixed monthly rate, individuals or companies with the proper equipment can place Internet voice or fax calls between computers anywhere without incurring per minute fees. That is not possible today because users must sign on with individual telephony service providers in each of the regions they wish to call or the telephony provider must sign numerous relationships with other providers outside its region.
"Cut-rate phone calls over the Internet soon will transform the huge telecom business, especially on expensive international routes" (AIS, 1997). Already, some Internet Telephony providers are offering discounts of from 40 percent to 50 percent off standard international telephone rates. The software needed to make Internet voice calls now comes bundled with the latest Web browsers, and also can be freely downloaded.
Recent industry consensus on Internet Telephony standards facilitates Internet calling among users of software from a number of suppliers. In addition, se...