Residental Telephony Revolutionized

It’s not uncommon to find most articles and features about the entire convergence market to be focused on the business environment. However, there has been a slow but steady revolution as convergence-like technologies such as VoIP, IP-PBXs, IP trunking, etc. are introduced into the residential markets. Vonage was probably defined as the market pioneer in bringing carrier-grade VoIP service to the masses. Since then, technologies have been pushed to the residential market more and more. This trend will likely continue, and for good reason. Yes, I still have a landline. What purpose does it serve? It’s simply ready for me to dial 911 as a guaranteed route to my local PSAP. For all of my other calls, I personally utilize three different providers that are purely IP based. Will we still have landlines 5 years from now? It’s likely, but the big telcos will ultimately know why their utilization will drop significantly over time. Long-distance providers will also see a large drop in residential customers. What was once a “neat” and rare technology to have a home PBX is now becoming a reality. With cost effective trunking services, and low cost ATAs and IP telephones, the technology is ready for the mainstream residential market, now.