N1: Skype is a VOIP provider based in Europe whose slogan is "the whole world can talk for free." VOIP providers like Skype allow two users connected to the Internet to talk for free over their computers Skype users can call from the Internet to regular phones if they pay a fee.
AMB1: Alessandro using Skype (sound of the keyboard, sound of the call, sound of the friend in Italy)
N2: Alessandro Rampietti is a graduate student from Italy in New York. He discovered Skype 6 months ago and now he uses it to call his friends in Italy every day. He says it is very easy to use Skype's software.
A1 (Alessandro): You have to go online, on their website, you open an account and I think you need a credit card if you want to call the regular phones; if you want to call a computer you just open, sign in and you just start calling other computers, just like normal messenger system.
N2: Regular phone charges are based on factors like the distance between callers and the duration of the call. By contrast VOIP providers charge a flat rate. This makes VOIP service especially attractive to businesses that constantly make international phone calls. Jose Carlos Gonzalez is a financial advisor based in New York City who has clients in Europe and Latin America. He uses a VOIP provider called Lingo to call his customers.
A2: (Jose Carlos Gonzalez) The traditional phone system I was using it was really expensive so I started looking for cheaper ways to make phone calls and I came up with Lingo…for Europe I pay a flat fee of $20 and for Latin America I pay about 4 to 5 cents per minute.
N3: VOIP providers are putting pressure on traditional phone companies to lower their prices. Bob Atkinson is a former Federal Communications Commission who helped oversee the telephone industry; he now runs a Telecommunications think tank at Columbia University. Atkinson says he expects VOIP firms to cut fees gradually.
A3: (Robert Atkinson) My guess is that that price will drop down to $10, which is a huge problem for the traditional phone industry, which is for the same kind of service is getting probably $70. Certainly have your revenue stream go down from $70 to $10…it will be a huge problem.
N4: Analysts say that traditional phone companies are moving quickly to get out of the phone business and diversify their services. Morgan Stanley Investment Banker Marcus Thadaney says that traditional phone companies are focusing on broadband, mobile and cable.
A4: …So what you have is something called "triple play," which is where by telecos? are offering mobile, fixed telephony, cable and broadband, internet access.
N5: Columbia University's Bob Atkinson says that over the next ten years we will see a tight fight between the traditional phone companies and the cable companies. This is Elena Beaumont, Columbia Radio News.