Follow Up to my Blog Post

So to answer the question: what social and economic forces shape the telecommunication infrastructures, lets look at Skype again. Economically, since Skype makes use of telecommunication systems that are already in place, Skype makes use of existing technology and therefore they can provide their service much cheaper than traditional phone systems. Skype will beat competitors international rates just about every time, because it has lower overhead and thus can pass that savings on to the user. Social, people want convergence. We see this and know this is true because of products like the Apply iPhone. People want devices and software that can do "All-in-One" features. Skype meets this demand by offering many features that it customers can take advantage of. The network infrastructures that provide Skype the ability to work will keep up with the demands of users as more and more products seek to be on the web and as Moore's Law continues to play out. People have push for more bandwidth and the infrastructures have grown accordingly, look at 3G and 4G technologies and how far they have come along since the smartphone was invented not that long ago.

One of the questions that was asked that I left thinking about was internet regulation and how that might affect Skype. I don't for see any major regulation affecting Skype, even though it is a heavy bandwidth application, it uses no more resources up than what Netflix's might use as it streams movies or to its customers. I don't believe that Skype is a Monopoly, nor will their be any regulation against it, like I mentioned tonight there are several other companies that can provide their services just as well and I don't think Skype will get themselves in that situation. Also, Skype gets around alot of possible regulation as the government does not consider them as true VoIP service provider, since they can not provide 911 emergency calling.

All in all, I thought my presentation went very well tonight and I enjoyed learning about Skype and hopefully teaching others of its many benefits.

-Jeremy Carter

What social and economic forces shape communication infrastructure?

Skype is a revolutionary modern technology that is at the forefront of shaping telecommunications. We see people and businesses need for a more connected society. A society where cost truly matters to business and corporations. Global Markets are here more than ever. People need to be able to communicate and collaborate easily and cheaply with people on the other side of the plant. Economically, businesses that choose not to stay ahead of the curve will be swallowed up. Too many new businesses are out there ready to fill old businesses shoes. Communication Infrastructure is shaped around these needs and wants. The technology has come so far from where it began that it integrates into almost every aspect of our lives. The networks that power these data-intensive digital signals and software have to increase in capacity to meet the demands of its users. Skype is the future if the telecommunications industry. IP based telecommunication systems provide a lot of features that users really like. Convergence is King! People want easy of use and flexibility of applications to meet their everyday needs all within a single application. Skype not only empowers people, but also empowers business to make a smarter choice about how they communicate. In these economic trying times, Skype provide cheap alternative to expensive telephone networks. The Skype system is smart in the fact that it is based on a peer-2-peer type networking system. Little overhead is placed on Skype’s infrastructure; they simply just establish a connection and are done. I will ask the class what are some disadvantages to the using Skype. I believe that with every technology comes a downside. A Few ways that I can see Skype being and issue are: 1) Bandwidths needs for a company to have lots of users using the application at once 2) Constant connectedness with work phones being forwarded to cell phones. And. 3) People placing personal calls at work more because they are on Skype with their friends as well as co-workers.

- Jeremy Carter