‘ARE YOU THERE?’ENCOURAGING USERS TO MOVE FROM PEER-TO-PEER TO VOICE OVER BROADBAND

摘要

Peer-to-peer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offers a no or low cost alternative to Australian fixed-linentelephony with added advantages for its users such as video calls and increased social presence. Mostncurrent users of VoIP use a peer-to-peer based system such as Skype because it is ISP independent, offersnvoice and video calls, and is easy to use and install. More sophisticated services are possible if usersnmoved from a peer-to-peer model to a voice over broadband service (VoBB). This paper draws on a seriesnof interviews with Australian families and their experiences with Skype. It hypothesises on future servicesnfor families if they can be encouraged to move from a peer-to-peer model to voice over broadband connec-ntions.