미국 가정용 10대 VoIP 사업자 정보

미국 VoIP 전문 블로그인 "Smith on VoIP"에서 미국 가정용 10대 VoIP 사업자를 선정해서
발표했다.
우리에게 익숙한 이름도 있고.. 그렇지 못한 업체들도 많은데.. 아래 내용을 소개한다.

일단 선정 기준에 대해서 살펴보면...

1. Service Plans (사업자가 제공하는 서비스 및 요금 측면)
2. Hardware Selection (하드웨어 선택권. 공짜로 하드웨어를 제공하는지 여부)
3. Call Quality/Reliability (통화 안정성 및 음질)
4. Customer Service/Support (고객 응대 및 서비스)
5. Overall Customer Experience and Satisfaction (고객 만족도 등)

위와 같은 기준에 입각해서 Smith는 아래와 같은 순위를 발표했다.
Vonage는 3위, 스카이프는 5위를 차지했고.. VoIP.com 이라는 회사가 영예의 1위를 차지..

혹시 미국 VoIP 사업자 구도 및 동향에 대해서 관심있으신 분들께.. 아래 자료가 도움이 되었으면
좋겠는데.. 흔히 말하는 가입자수/통화량/매출액에 대한 순위가 아니라.. 약간 주관적인 관점이
반영된 것이라 얼마나 도움이 될지 미지수이다.

아래 글의 원문 주소는 다음과 같다.
http://www.smithonvoip.com/voip-commentary/smiths-top-10-residential-voip-service-providers/

1. VoIP.com - $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year.

   GS:VoIP.com’s unlimited plan allows for true unlimited monthly calling to the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Your VoIP adaptor is absolutely FREE. Call quality is superb and there was not a moment that their service had failed to connect or dropped a call. The sign-up process was easy, the installation process a breeze, and customer service (called to confirm order/shipping) was definitely friendly and informative.

2. BroadVoice - $19.99 per month.

   RT: Broadvoice’s $19.99 Unlimited World plan offers unlimited calling to the USA and 21 other countries. The pioneers of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), BroadVoice allows customers to choose between bringing their own SIP based device or from one of their three pre-programmed devices, allowing for hardware that meets a users specific needs. Call quality and service reliability was above average, but there were a few momentary outages. Customer service and support, when calling in about momentary outages, was able to effectively communicate the issue.

3. Vonage - $24.99 per month, with one month FREE.

   GS: Vonage, due to it’s size, gets alot of negative publicity, but in over seven months of service there has only been one issue with them. They offer a decent selection of hardware, I chose the cordless V-Tech phone, and their sign-up and account management process is simple and straight forward. There was one day while using Vonage, that I went almost a day without the ability to make a call. I did notice longer wait times when calling during peak hours, but their customer support was quick and concise once i got them on the phone.

4. iConnectHere - $6.99 per month, plus per minute charge.

   DS: iConnectHere is the perfect service for those who are making calls internationally. iConnectHere is unique in that it bills per minute, so you only pay for the minutes you use. Upon sign-up, you get $30 of calling credit, and a free Linksys PAP2 telephone adaptor. Customer service and support was excellent. Definitely in the top three.

5. Skype - $68 per year.

   GS: If there was more VoIP hardware available for Skype, that moved the service away from the desktop, it would be a shoe-in for number one. It is, by far the cheapest service out their. Call quality was excellent, and there has been only a few occassions when their has been connection issues. Customer service and technical support, especially via email is lacking. Price, ease of use, the fact that there is more to Skype than just voice, keeps it in the top 5.

6. SunRocket - $199.95 per year.

   RS: SunRocket is a very inviting service to sign-up for. Their process was simple, even for someone who is not that computer savvy. Their annual plan gave unlimited US, Canada, and Puerto Rico calling. Porting my number took a bit of time, but I do not think it was SunRockets fault. Customer service was friendly and tried to get me a realistic date for my number port. The cordless phone I got with my service was great. I never even noticed a different from my old telephone line.

7. ViaTalk - $199.99 per year, one year free.

   KF:ViaTalk offers a buy one year get one year free deal. Call quality and reliability was excellent. The sign-up process was painless and the VoIP adaptor arrived on-time. You can also bring your own device, which is nice if you are switching service providers, or really want a specific device.

8. Inphonex - $24.99 per month.

   MC:Inphonex is not a well known VoIP service provider, but they are excellent. $24.99 gets you unlimited US and Canada calling, but Inphonex offers 10 different service plans. Inphonex offers over 9 different pre-configure VoIP devices to use with the service. Customer service and support was average. It was tough to find a 800 number on their site, and email support was slow. Excellent service though, call quality was impressive.

9. Packet8 - $19.99 per month or $199 per year.

   RF: Packet 8’s $19.99 plan gives users unlimited calling to the US and Canada. Packet 8 service was not bad, but it was not great. Packet 8 does. however, offer a nice selection of VoIP hardware to use in conjunction with their service, so their is a device for everyone. Packet8’s customer service was excellent, especially when closing an account. No horror stories.

10. Verizon VoiceWing - $24.95 per month.

    RF: Verizon VoiceWing service did not meet my expectations. They only had one calling plan and it did not include unlimited calls to Canada. I had frequent problems with static and echo. Their customer support department was responsive, but there was nothing they could do to help. I eventually switched to Verizon DSL service, so the price dropped and made it worth keeping.

국내에서 VoIP 서비스를 제공하는 사업자를 대상으로 이런 순위를 매겨보고 싶은데..
정보 부재와 개인적인 능력 부족으로 다음 기회에...