Reviewing VoipReview

By Rich Tehrani

President and Editor-in-Chief

 

In case you aren’t aware, VoipReview.org is a VoIP comparison shopping site for consumers—and soon, businesses. CEO Eric Laughlin recently answered some questions I had about the site and how he feels about the VoIP industry in general.

 

Here is the interview with Eric Laughlin.

 

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VoipReview.org was born out of personal frustration with the lack of information about VoIP providers. I wanted to subscribe to VoIP service, but couldn’t find any searchable database to find and compare all providers. Essentially, the site was launched to fill a need for objective and searchable information on VoIP providers.

 

It’s clear from the site’s success that there was indeed a big information gap to fill. We are energized by the number of daily visitors who come to find and compare VoIP providers, and the number of providers who list their calling plans on the site.

 

 

A few of the primary differences:

How do you get traffic to the site?

Web traffic results primarily from search engines and word of mouth. VoipReview.org also partners with companies like CNet.com to power their VoIP search engines.

What are the biggest advantages of VoIP for consumers?

1. Price. You can’t beat the price for local, long distance, or international calls. According to a recent survey by Consumer Reports, people who have adopted VoIP service save up to $50 each month on their phone bills.

2. More free features. Most providers offer caller ID, voice mail, call waiting, 3-way calling, and a bundle of other features as part of their flat-rate price plans.

3. Flexibility and convenience. Users can keep their existing phone numbers, and even make and receive local calls when traveling domestically or internationally. If they move, they simply plug the device into an Internet connection to get up and running.

Do you think talking about 911 issues is important for consumers?

The issue seems to be resolving with the recent regulations requiring providers to offer 911 service to all new customers. However, consumers should still be aware that they must update their 911 address with their service provider if they change locations. And, they should also be aware that if their Internet connection or power source goes down, so does their phone service.

Also, some consumers don’t understand the difference between phone line replacement and IM based services. They should be aware that you don’t get 911 with services such as Skype or Yahoo IM.

Does the site plan on focusing more on WiFi (News - Alert) telephony?

Yes. As providers offer more WiFi enabled devices, VoipReview.org will begin to provide more information about WiFi, including the capability to “Search WiFi Equipment by Provider.”

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And there you have it, some good feedback from someone in the trenches of VoIP comparisons.

 

One of the things that Eric mentioned is the convenience of VoIP services—something consumers don’t usually realize. I suppose as prices between the PSTN and VoIP narrow, perhaps convenience will be a more important driver for VoIP adoption. As Eric points out, in the future there will be only VoIP—I guess that means the site will eventually need to change name to just Review.org.

 

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Rich Tehrani is President and Group Editor in Chief at TMC. In addition he is the Chairman of the world’s best attended VoIP event, Internet Telephony Conference & Expo.