VoIP competition heats up
Internode has dropped the high call charges for its NodePhone voice over IP service, offering 18c untimed calls to any landline with no monthly fee.
VoIP providers have generally been offering the choice of cheap untimed call rates with a monthly fee, or more expensive, timed call rates with no monthly fee. Internode fell into the latter category, however the new pricing creates a good new middle ground between these price structures.
Internode's no-monthly-fee VoIP service is only available to Internode broadband customers. People with other ISPs have to pay $10 per month to get an account.
There are very few VoIP providers with this sort of "middle ground" pricing for post-paid (monthly billed) services, and it's not always easy to track down the best deals. One example is GOTalk, which has a 15c untimed national call rate with no monthly fee.
However, of greater concern for most people is the cost of calling mobiles. Landline telcos like Optus and Telstra charge 37c to 43c per minute for landline-to-mobile calls (with some capped deals available if you call mobiles on specific networks), so the 29-30c per minute charge levied by most major VoIP providers is an improvement. However, it's still significantly higher than national or international call rates.
A mid-2004 ACCC ruling forced all mobile networks to drop their wholesale rates for incoming calls ("call termination access services") to 21c per minute. This will drop to 12 cents by the end of next year under the ruling. The gap between 21c a minute and the 29-30c a minute being charged by most VoIP networks shows that this is where they are making their money — Internode included.
There are some rare exceptions: PennyTel charges 20c a minute while Tri-Tel charges 22c a minute to mobiles.
Using a VoIP adaptor like the Sipura SPA-3000, it's possible to set up "dial plans" which will send national calls to one provider and mobile calls to a cheaper alternative provider.
Although writing Dial Plan strings is complex, a number of people have started working on tools to automate the process. There are also good guides in Whirlpool's forums on how to do it.
