More about Cookie Cutter Operations
Just today, I had someone try and sell me on yet another VoIP provider. At almost $40 a month, for nothing more than anyone else offers, no thanks. I can get PSTN connectivity over VoIP for as cheap as $5.95 a month. That’s hard to beat.
With so many players in the game now, how do you differentiate? Given how pretty much everyone is trying to emulate the local phone company in terms of features, it’s actually pretty easy: do something different than everyone else. The fact is, few people are doing it.
One of the reasons I like Broadvox is that they own their own facilities in the markets they serve. That puts them on-par with the CLECs, whom they still “rent” telephone numbers from. That’s not a differentiator in terms of features, but it does mean they have a lot more control over end-to-end call quality, and for my phone calls, it definately shows.
BroadVoice, aside from having an ad on Voxilla with an entended middle finger on it (which is offensive for those of you unfamiliar with American hand gestures), is one of the few providers that actually encourages you to bring your own device and will provide SIP credentials on request. Given how most providers don’t want you knowing that kind of information, that’s definately a different approach.
The big reason people like VoicePulse is that they have unparalleled call filtering and call control features.
Packet 8 is actually offering Videophone service. Of course, until the price comes down to sub-$100, I don’t think most people are going to want it. But at least they offer it.
There’s needs to be greater differentiation between the carriers for sure. And it can’t just be about features.
