At 08:58 PM 8/11/96 -0700, you wrote:

At 14:08 8/11/96, John Young wrote:

...

8-10-96. WaPo:

"Phone Service Via the Internet May Slash Rates."

Labs of Advanced Technology has developed a way for people to make long-distance calls over the Internet using only their telephones, at about half the price of ordinary toll calls. Customers would merely call a central number, then dial their long-distance numbers. The call is carried on the Internet, then put back onto the local phone system at its destination. The company plans to charge 5 to 8 cents per minute for all domestic U.S. calls, which represents a 50 to 75 percent discount off most domestic long-distance rates.

I am glad to see some movement in this area. I designed a similar system for a previous employer of mine. But the real choke point is the local loop. As of this day, the local telos still have a de facto monopoly in the local markets. The new competitors (the same old Phone Company) that we will see in the near future seem to show no desire to deliver the really

The real issue concerns the $0.03 per minute access fee that LD companies pay the local loop for voice communications. Seems there is difference between data bits and voice bits. VON has sparked this debate and the ISP's may end up paying the RBOCs the access fee. The way around that as well is through point to point wiring (and of course wireless systems). PairGain Technology is manufacturing a product that provides 384Kbps data and voice over a single pair of copper. Many RBOCs will sell you a LAD circuit which is point-to-point, unloaded, and unswitched. They go by different names : telegraph circuits, alarm circuits, Local Area Data Circuit. Ask a security company what kind of circuit they install. Your mileage may vary. --j