Web phone Hang-Ups

Webphone from
Elanza Technologies
















Internet phone service is one of the hottest tecnologies of the year. But be
careful: Because Wed-based phone plans are are largely unregulated,
some may have security or privacy gaps.

Most services offer some form of 911 service, but if you take your Web
phone on a trip or fail to register your address with your provider, dialing
911 could put you in touch with the police in the wrong city--or not at all.

Many Internet phone services won't work with home security systems.
The reason? Most systems rely on traditional telephone lines to notify
the alarm company of intruders.

Many traditional phone users--12% of customers at Verizon, for example
--sign up for caller ID-blocking, keeping all outgoing calls anonymous. But
most Web-phone companies don't offer this feature yet

A spokesperson for Vonage, a leading Web-phone provider, says the
company is working to provide more of these features. For the time being,
it seems to be advantageous to go for web-based services like AT&T's
CallVantage that has more experience with old-fashioned phones.