I didn’t meet Scott Wharton of Vidtel in person, but I just watched his face on the Vidtel DSL video telephone they were showcasing at the Plug and Play Expo last week.
Vidtel’s big challenge is becoming the world’s first DSL video telephony service. For a very cheap monthly fee (can’t remember the details, but in the range of $30-$50) you get unlimited video calls and landline calls worldwide (almost) plus the device. Moreover, the service will not be limited to a certain country only, but will be available everywhere.
During the P&P Expo they were using a Grandstream video telephone which was working really well. Unlike mobile video calls, which wide adoption is prevented by some usability issues as the difficulty to be involved in a video call while on the go as well as for privacy issues, I think video calls at home might potentially become a major trend in the future.
All that said, my only concern is about the lack of match between their potential users’ demographic and the “normal” people. Advanced users would rather choose Skype or Sightspeed (both free) over a solution like Vidtel (BTW, Asus just announced the first Skype video phone ever). On the other hand, a grandpa who wants to see how cute is becoming his new grandson is likely not willing to use a service like that because of the lack of DSL connection in their home, probably (or a router…).
Anyway, the service is now in closed beta and should be available in December through selected channel partners (undisclosed at the moment). BestBuy?
In conclusion, aside from some reasonable concerns I have, it’s definitely a great service and, at first sight, a very challenging goal. Good luck to Scott and Mariette (his wife, VP of Marketing) for this new adventure (prestigious analysts wrote about them already).
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Luca,
It was nice meeting you at PlugNPlay and thanks for the write up. We do indeed have something more up our sleeve to compete with the “VoIP” service providers that look at video as just another codec.
One comment on the prevalence of broadband connections. Of the US internet users, nearly 90% of them have broadband today (60% of US households have internet access). So most of the people will might target already have broadband (at least over 150 million people so we don’t worry about those without internet access.
And yes it makes perfect sense that some people would want to use their PC for video while others might want to use a phone. Stay tuned for more on that and stay in touch!
Scott
Our company, Wind Currents Communications, Inc. (WCCI) has been offering V2VIP™ Voice-and-Video Internet Phone service combined with the Grandstream videophone since 2007 (Does that make WCCI the first?). It's a simple plug-n-dial, pure play videophone service that offers a variety of affordable video calling plans that include unlimited, world wide video calls with VoIP capability as an option.
Currently, V2VIP™ service is used in residential and professional applications for in-network video calls; for some customers, VoIP calling is not a priority.
John Monahan
Thanks Luca for vidtel info and update and to Scott for the follow up comment. I hope the vidtel business model and company follow their current path and avoid the mess encountered by lots of people in the NY (USA) area from Windcurrents Comm..v2vip. The only good thing about Windycurrents is the Grandstream. We switched to Packet 8 after one month of pure pain with the windycurrent solution. —- Luca, please post options for the US market if possible and to Scott, keep up the good work and let the community know if you have US plans. I live in the same area as the WindyCurrents videophone company so I hope this post can remain anonymous.
Sharon
Hi! I'm Jake Bunce, the manager of Viettel ISP, and I think your post is awesome. It's hard to find quality information like this, I'm glad i found this, thanks for the valuable information.
But I have a suggestion: In my opinion the posts font and size is not the best typo for read. It is very uncomfortable.
Anyway, good work!
– I have just given it a Digg
Hi! I'm Jake Bunce, the manager of Viettel ISP, and I think your post is awesome. It's hard to find quality information like this, I'm glad i found this, thanks for the valuable information.
But I have a suggestion: In my opinion the posts font and size is not the best typo for read. It is very uncomfortable.
Anyway, good work!
– I have just given it a Digg
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