DirecTV testing VoIP

Alright, so by now you've probably been inundated with offers from either your local telco or cable company to sign up for one of those "triple play" pacakges bundling together phone, TV, and broadband service, right? Well, the big service providers have been pushing these bundles as a way to lockdown subscribers, and now there's a possibility that DirecTV might start offering VoIP service to its customers as a way to keep pace with the competition. DirecTV has already partnered with Verizon, Qwest, and BellSouth to offer these kinds of bundles, but CNET reports that they've launched a joint-venture with Hicks Holdings called DirecPath that is going to be test-marketing VoIP service. DirecTV is careful to say that this doesn't mean they're definitely adding VoIP to their line up, just that it's an option they're considering for future bundles.

[CJ @ Aug 31st 2006 10:39AM]

this would be good for those that cannot get Verizons FIOS living away from major cities... hopefully they wont price them self out of the market like cable companies seem to enjoy doing this days

[Junyo @ Aug 31st 2006 10:51AM]

Everything I've ever read said that satellite sucked for real time data (gaming, VoIP, anything that depends on the packets showing up in a timely manner or particular order). Wonder if this works, and if so how well.

[Steve @ Aug 31st 2006 11:05AM]

I wish these people would focus their efforts and bandwidth on getting us HD channels and, even better, HD channels that aren't compressed.

[SLiKone @ Aug 31st 2006 11:15AM]

Agreed Junyo, the latency on a sat connection is horrible, and there's not really anything you an do about it, it just takes additional time for that signal to reach the satellite and vice versa

[Matt @ Aug 31st 2006 11:48AM]

Out of curiosity,

Isn't sendding data to a satelite quite expensive or am I a few years behind?

[georgedakota @ Aug 31st 2006 11:56AM]

directv users - we have problems often with the service, lately i have to reset the cable box 1 or 2 times daily because it goes black and makes a loud sounding noise. when watching tv we have skips often in the picture and sound which last 3-20 seconds and i get sick of it because for instance last night i missed the weather forcast. anyone else have these problems, are they common?

[Staulkor @ Aug 31st 2006 12:06PM]

This will not work. I have DirecTV and everytime there is a big storm...my tv goes out until the storm passes. If there was a lightning bolt that knocked a tree over on my house and I needed to call 911, I most likely wouldnt be able to.

[JL @ Aug 31st 2006 12:41PM]

They have to drop the price with regards to satellite internet connectivity. Understanding that it is one of the few options (other than using the electrical grid) available for "broadband" internet access when comcast and verizon decide it's not cost effective to service areas (footnote, I'm not out in the "boonies" and comcast is my only real way of getting broadband since verizon can't see fit to augment their equipment so that we can get DSL, and as for FIOS, LOL we'll probably never see that since i'm just in middle-class area vs being wealthy - seems like verizon is giving them the FIOS hookup first, yeah, i know it's all business..)

Maybe WiFi/WiMax will end up being a better solution if it really ends up being widely deployed...
I'd think especially for VoIP applications..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5295092.stm

An article about the city of Norwich in the UK
free Wifi..

[Jason @ Aug 31st 2006 2:33PM]

Yeah, unless they've figured a way to decrease their latency to about 1/7th or 1/8th of what it is currently, they're just making this up for some press.

[falcompsx @ Aug 31st 2006 6:38PM]

is it just me or is voip just a really complicated way of 'fixing' what mr Bell made work nicely way back when? sure its a bit cheaper to pay for, but its not really any cheaper to operate. voice should stay analog. few problems. Why fix what isnt broken?

[M. Rod Von Hugenstein @ Sep 1st 2006 11:40PM]

I read the article, and I didn't see where it said their Voip would go over the sat connection. From the article it seems as though they would be offering internet, and other services much the same way AT&T offers bundled services from mutliple sources. Such as GSM wireless, DSL, and sat tv(through dish network).

I could be wrong, but Directv is trying to keep up with the competition, and bundling services from another vendor would make the most sense.

[k-tronix @ Sep 3rd 2006 11:38PM]

The reason communications companies bundle multiple services together appears obvious--more money from each customer. However, this reasoning does do a little deeper: The more a customer becomes embedded into your web of services, the less likely that customer is to switch services because of the hassle of switching equipment, transferring telephone numbers, going without services for a period of time, etc. These providers might be selling telephone service as a loss leader in order to maintain their share of the market. I would guess that this is what DirecTV is doing. Satellite is still a new-comer to the marketplace as a communications medium. Satellite has several drawbacks as you may have read above. DirecTV, in my estimation, would be much better served by entering the satellite phone market. It's a medium they already are familiar with. Eliminate line-based phones altogether for homes and offer an alternative to cellular telephones. Satellite phones are expensive, but it's just a matter of time before that's history.