VoIP opens up new opportunities

The Gazette brings us this piece featuring the Tutors Without Limits program:

New and better Internet telephone technology has helped mathematics teacher Anita Grovilkar make an extra $10 to $25 an hour after school, tutoring K-12 students in the United States without leaving her home in Ahmedabad, India.

Her extra earnings may not have been possible last year, say telecommunications experts, who see the technology improvements fueling a worldwide explosion in Internet phone use.

Although voice over Internet protocol has been available for years, VoIP is now catching on small and large businesses alike, as voice quality and reliability improve.

And following close on the heels of these VoIP improvements comes the next big thing: a video version called telepresence, which proponents say will transform video conferencing for business.

Grovilkar and several thousand other Indian and Pakistani teachers recently signed up with Tutors Without Limits of Potomac. Founder Glynn Willett said that without improved VoIP quality that occurred just this summer, his service would not have been possible on such a scale. Willett offers tutoring services to students all over the globe now, using eBay’s Skype VoIP system.

The article continues to describe how VoIP and telepresence will replace traditional phones and dedicated video conference lines, with prices steadily dropping into the forseeable future.

Here's hoping the Tutors Without Limits program will be a success and become a catalyst for more innovative thinking.

Categories: VoIP, Skype, VoIP Service, Video, Presence