Femtocell Question..

[burris]

Do any of you suppose that with the proliferation of the Femtocell programs that all the majors seem to be rolling out, if there will be any incursion into the world of VOIP as we know it?

[NY Tel Guy]

Do any of you suppose that with the proliferation of the Femtocell programs that all the majors seem to be rolling out, if there will be any incursion into the world of VOIP as we know it?

Yes,
Look at how T-Mobile is marketing their service:

1. Get a cell plan for 49.95 - limited amount of minutes
2. Then you qualify for a $10.00 a month land line over the Internet

How different is that from:

1. Get an AT&T cell plan (at any level I believe) - 39.95
2. Subscribe to their CallVantage service 19.99

They are just positioning it differently but it is the same but they are all tied in with some sort of cell plan.

My "moles" inside Verizon have confirmed that they are ready to launch a "digital FiOS" service which will have all of the popular voip features (but it really is pots service over fiber, priced at market value).

So my answer is yes but with a qualifier that each offer is going to be different to suit everyone's needs.
So if you are the kind of person who does not want a land line even at 10 dollars or 19.99 - then subscribe to one of the carrier's 99 dollar unlimited plans, then you don't need voip or pots (individual decision based on personal choice and safety concerns).
Femtocells will offer a mix of better in-house coverage with "quasi-landlines", providing you have high speed internet access.

[RockyBB]

femtocells will be very damaging to retention of VOIP accounts. the devices attach to broadband and allow unlimited minutes while using the device. families will particularly like that multiple handsets can use it at the same time. all family members will have their personal cell phone number as their all-day-long number with personal voice mail and no eavesdropping. as soon as cell providers can port in home phone numbers with an auto attendant to map to existing cell phone numbers, then POTS landlines and consumer VOIP will start to see mass cancellations.

[NY Tel Guy]

femtocells will be very damaging to retention of VOIP accounts. the devices attach to broadband and allow unlimited minutes while using the device. families will particularly like that multiple handsets can use it at the same time. all family members will have their personal cell phone number as their all-day-long number with personal voice mail and no eavesdropping. as soon as cell providers can port in home phone numbers with an auto attendant to map to existing cell phone numbers, then POTS landlines and consumer VOIP will start to see mass cancellations.

Agreed, the mass cancellations combined with the end of society as we know it as illustrated at the END of this video will spell disaster for all of us. Watch the whole thing. Pretty funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzO1mCAVyMw