The days of expensive hotel phone bills are over, with the rise of more and more hotels offering broadband Internet services. With the broadband connection, users can use Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP to stay connected with their family. This is especially good news to oversea travelers. Some hotels do have a charge to access the Internet. The Residence Inn in New Haven Conneticutt has become one of the first hotels to offer free VoIP service to their customers. Adam Dubroff of TravelGlue, the company that wired the Residence Inn for VoIP, told CNN. "Until now, hotel guests have paid a premium for the convenience of the long distance service, which was appropriate when there were no cell phones and it really was a convenience." Dubroff continued, But as technology has developed, it has become an old business model and the prices charged have been rendered exorbitant. Now, because of VoIP, there is an opportunity to provide guests with a phone service for free and I think this will be the norm in the future." The Wynn in Las Vegas has taken the VoIP technology to the fullest extreme offering reservations, hotel information and more right from a touch screen VoIP phone. Plus when a user accesses the broadband Internet the Wynn offers, they can use their personal VoIP service for only the cost of the Internet access. Many VoIP providers allow users to take their service with them, wherever they travel. Skype offers a free VoIP that can be used directly with a users computer and broadband Internet connection, therefore allowing it to be accessed virtually anywhere and anytime. No additional equipment is needed, however Skype users can only call Skype customers for free. Calling regular phone numbers result in a charge. Vonage allows customers to travel with their phone adapter that plugs into their computer and broadband Internet, giving them the same Internet phone service that they receive at home. Additional charges may incur from Vonage based on the monthly plan the user currently is enrolled in. "Communication was always an issue with expats working overseas. Satellite telephones have helped me to keep in touch with my family but the per minute cost prohibited long or chatty calls," says Thomas Drown, a geologist working in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Now, I can talk to anyone in the world who has either a phone or an Internet connection. Now I can call my mom in Canada from my western Mongolia ger field office any time of the day or night for just eight cents a minute. |
