Attn ISPs

[bwana]

Do any of you publish Skype numbers on your websites as a method of contacting you?

It makes perfect sence afaik as you're pretty much spread around the country.

Perhaps if you did someone could create a directory as a sticky in this section? Maybe it should only be editable by mods to keep it simple.

[stoke]

Gewd point bwana. Skype - whatz that ? Lol - imagine contacting teklom via skype - (SNOballz chance in ell).

[asmith]

Skype sadly uses a proprietary protocol and they just happen to have had good marketing to make them look so good. Its great for private users but I don't see business using it for a variety of reasons. The most widely used published protocol/standard is SIP and that can interoperate with many IP Telephones and things like the Asterisk Open Source PABX. There is also a great project that could easily overtake Skype called Gizmo. (Gizmo does interoperate with SIP) Its interesting to note that both the Skype and Gizmo rate for calling South Africa is approx 50c/min. So it is cheaper to call between CT and JHB via these services than via Telkom.

http://www.gizmoproject.com/

http://www.asterisk.org/

[bwana]

Skype sadly uses a proprietary protocol and they just happen to have had good marketing to make them look so good. Its great for private users but I don't see business using it for a variety of reasons. The most widely used published protocol/standard is SIP and that can interoperate with many IP Telephones and things like the Asterisk Open Source PABX. There is also a great project that could easily overtake Skype called Gizmo. (Gizmo does interoperate with SIP) Its interesting to note that both the Skype and Gizmo rate for calling South Africa is approx 50c/min. So it is cheaper to call between CT and JHB via these services than via Telkom.

http://www.gizmoproject.com/

http://www.asterisk.org/
Excellent point. Why not use both?

[DFantom]

Excellent point. Why not use both?
With Gizmo, since the API is open you could intergrate it into Asterix. Only problem there is no Linux version of Gizmo at this point. Only due out August.

[WickedWeasel]

I must state the following, and please understand they are only my views.

Voip is the future, however with skype, no QOS can be achived, they are not willing to work with SA, and I have spoken to many ppl who have tried to get local server here, why dont you use th new sip phones like d>fantom mentions, you can then use my voip service or any one else's.

http://www.voicenet.co.za is my company, we have peered with FWD, and plan on further peering, if SKYPE dont do that they then are creating a monopoly under the pretence that its a free SKYPe to SKYPE service, why dont they then open the source, or peer with other, because they are scared the will lose market share, Monoply Behaviour.

Sorry about the spelling its late ! lol :)

[DFantom]

I have spoken to many ppl who have tried to get local server here
Local server for what exactly? I understood Skype to be P2P, so there are very few main servers run on if any. I would guess those would be P2P Supernodes rather than servers run by Skype.

[WickedWeasel]

While it is P2P,

It still requires a registration server, and when you use a skype out minute your traffic has to go to the skype sever first.

[Celemasiko]

Do any of you publish Skype numbers on your websites as a method of contacting you?

It makes perfect sence afaik as you're pretty much spread around the country.

Perhaps if you did someone could create a directory as a sticky in this section? Maybe it should only be editable by mods to keep it simple.

The only problem is , that spammers has detected skype as well and when you stay online all the time, you receive a lot of rubbish calls. Otherwise its an excellent idea.

[DFantom]

It still requires a registration server, and when you use a skype out minute your traffic has to go to the skype sever first.
Fair enough, but isn't the registration is for logon/logoff so that is minor amounts of data (so no gain from having that here) and in regards to skype out I wasn't thinking of that, I was thinking of skype to skype calls. So is this local server that people want just for skype out?

[WickedWeasel]

here it is,

if your behind nat, you need a stun server, which is located overseas, otheriwse you get one way voice, so all ppl on adsl go overseas first. for the stun all the time,

if the server was here local would stary local, but with telkom looking at the local cap, I am not quite sure what the market is going to do !

[ScrnScrm]

Local server for what exactly? I understood Skype to be P2P, so there are very few main servers run on if any. I would guess those would be P2P Supernodes rather than servers run by Skype.

At the moment, calls to SA numbers break out over cheap VOIP circuits in the USA. A local server would mean a peering link directly into the SA Telco switches and much better local voice quality!