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With VoIP having matured as a communication technology, let's look at the currents status and see if it's ready for prime time and what still needs to be done. At the outset, we're plagued by definition problems. If we're talking merely about the technology being used, then VoIP is already mainstream. Many telephone companies have switched their underlying systems to make use of digital networks even though on the outside it still works like a traditional telephone. Landlines for example come bundled with cable and Internet and when one network goes down, everything fails at the same time.
But when we talk about VoIP, we're referring to it from the point of view of a user. From this angle, VoIP refers to the ability to make telephone calls without subscribing to a voice plan and just having an Internet connection. And here we have to admit, the answer is no - VoIP isn't quite ready for prime time for the following reasons.
Unsteady Wireless Data Connections
We still haven't reached a stage where wireless Internet is as reliable as a regular wireless telephone connection. We're not referring to wifi here is which as close to a wired connection as possible. Rather, 3G data connections are often flaky and have a lot of latency. 4G shows a lot of promise, but most phones are still not 4G enabled yet. But a lot of people spend most of their time in areas where wifi is free. This means they can use VoIP the majority of the time, and use something like prepaid minutes when they're out of home or office. T-Mobile's Walmart tie up offering unlimited data and 100 voice minutes seems ideally suited to this kind of situation.
Awareness
Unfortunately, the bigger problem for VoIP isn't technological. It seems most people are pretty happy shelling out $50-$70 a month for unlimited talk time and data. Why this is the case I'm not very sure. The amount isn't trivial. Of course, almost everyone has post paid plans which are part of a contract which they signed when buying a subsidized handset. A lot of people don't realize how expensive contracts actually turn out to be. An unlocked phone gives one so much more freedom at a cheaper price.
VoIP will never go fully mainstream until people start purchasing unlocked phones without a contract. That change will be slow but we're already seeing heartening signs of that happening. As folks get accustomed to owning their own phone, we'll likely see more and more individuals looking at VoIP as a permanent solution.
Bhagwad is an expert consultant on an Business Hosted VoIP Providers. He also specializes in Business Mobile VoIP Systems.