Re: [Evolution] using skype

[Patrick O'Callaghan <poc usb ve>]

On Tue, 2009-05-26 at 01:06 +0200, Jo-Erlend Schinstad wrote:
> 2009/5/25 Simon Roberts <thorpflyer yahoo com>:
> > Thanks for the enthusiastic and detailed reply. That answers the first question, but not the second, 
> > third, and fourth:
>
> You're welcome.
>
> > 2) Whom do I pay for service that allows me to call ordinary phones, and 3) how much does it cost?
>
> Your telephony service provider. I don't know which TSP you're using,
> so I cannot tell you what their name is. I've never heard of a normal
> TSP that still doesn't support standard voip. The prices depend on the
> service provider.

I don't know of any TSP where I live that *does* provide it. Not
everyone is in the First World.

Furthermore, if my local TSP did provide VOIP they would certainly
charge me a connection fee to the destination point, even if that point
is also a VOIP user. If I avoid the TSP then I pay zero for the
VOIP<->VOIP case and only have to cover the (local) call at the other
end for the VOIP<->PSTN case. Since I don't have any experience of the
TSP option (see above) I don't know how the costs compare.

I've also seen commentary that suggests Skype performs better than Ekiga
in practice. I don't know what credence to assign to this.

BTW Skype also seems to be moving towards SIP support of some kind
(http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/03/skype-means-bus/):

        "Skype for SIP" aims to reduce the friction of migration by
        enabling its VoIP phone service to be used over standard
        equipment and PBX setups that support the Session Initiation
        Protocol (SIP), a common installation.

poc