Video users saying hello IP, goodbye ISDN

摘要

Consider the difference between an all-you-can-eat buffet and a restaurant with an a la carte menu. That's what companies see when comparing the cost of IP-based videoconferencing services with traditional ISDN offerings. ISPs charge a flat monthly fee for IP videoconferencing, and companies can use the service as much as they want. In contrast, customers pay by the minute for ISDN, which can be very expensive, especially overseas. The cost savings of IP videoconferencing — along with better resolution and easier call setup — are encouraging more companies to switch from ISDN to IP ISPs say that pricing for IP video services can be anywhere from 30% to 50% less than for ISDN, depending on network configurations and locations of sites. "We're saving 40% on our monthly bill, just for video," says Loc Nguyen, manager of IS infrastructure at National Semiconductor, a Santa Clara, Calif., chip manufacturer that migrated 15 videoconferencing sites in the U.S. from ISDN to IP this year."We're running 30 to 50 videoconferences a week within the U.S.... Most of our calls are from headquarters out to the branch offices."