Lucas Valley Cable customers are adopting VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) at a fairly rapid rate, and we have been doing our best to make that service as reliable as possible. VoIP remains a work-in-progress, however, so please re-visit this page from time to time for updates.

VoIP PROVIDERS

The following VoIP providers are known to work on our system. If you have a positive experience with another provider, contact Support and we'll add them to the list.

• Vonage
• Sun Rocket
• Skype

Internet Telephone FAQ

1. What makes VoIP different from other Internet applications?

In the early days of VoIP, it was not considered feasible to combine VoIP and regular Internet usage due to the dramatic differences between the two formats. Developments over the past few years, however, have made the two formats compatible, however the equipment necessary to do this is very costly.

	VoIP	Other Internet Applications
Bandwidth	Small but constant	High, and in bursts
Effect of Latency	Serious. Results in "choppy" voice quality	Less severe. Slows down transactions.

Latency is the result of information being held temporarily in queue as a result of other data attempting to use the same communications channel. It is particularly frequent at times of high traffic.

2. What Internet plan do I need if I want to start using VoIP?

VoIP should work on all of our Internet Plans except the 484/256Kbps Basic Plan. VoIP users should be aware, however, that the simultaneous use of VoIP and regular computer usage from all computers in a household may create problems. Therefore, when a computer on a user's home network suddenly sends or receives a burst of data while while a VoIP call is in progress, the modem speed caps may cause VoIP conversation to be interrupted by drop-outs. To minimize this, one may need to either moderate computer use while VoIP calls are in process or order a plan with a higher speed cap.

3. What VoIP services work best on the Lucas Valley network?

VoIP comes from a number of competing developers, and remains poorly regulated by international standards at this time. For this reason not all VoIP protocols are recognized as such by our equipment. If one attempts to use a VoIP protocol that we do not recognize, it will be handled like any other Internet traffic and may well suffer severe problems with latency. At the present time most VoIP protocols that use RTP, SIP, or Skype are recognized. This list may grow as updates are announced by our vendors. If you are not sure whether a VoIP service will work on our network, it would be well to proceed with caution.

4. How do I set up my VoIP bandwidth?

Our equipment is optimized for 90 Kbps VoIP bandwidth per call. If your VoIP provider allows you to log in to a web site and specify bandwidth, we recommend setting the bandwidth that is closest to that level. If you attempt to use higher bandwidth, you may experience choppy voice quality at certain times of the day. If your router has an Upstream Voice QoS setting, it should be set to the upstream bandwidth cap on your plan (e.g., the Family Plan is 968/384 Kbps, so you would set the Upstream Voice QoS to 384 Kbps). If you are not sure what your upstream cap is, check the Internet Products page. This enables your router to cap non-voice data at a low enough point as to keep the combined data and voice below the cable modem's speed cap.

5. Which kind of VoIP system is best for me?

There appear to be two main directions that one might take on VoIP:

• Some systems require a special router, use regular telephone instruments, and allow calls to and from any telephone. These tend to have a fixed monthly charge depending on the maximum number of minutes used per month. Vonage is an example this kind of service.
• Peer-to-peer systems feature "free" voice communications, but require the users at both ends to be at their computer. Rather then using standard telephone instruments, they utilize the computer's speaker and a microphone or a special headset or USB telephone. Charges by the minute are applied when calling regular telephones and require account set-up. Skype is an example of a peer-to-peer VoIP of system.

6. Do I have to notify Lucas Valley Cable when installing VoIP?

VoIP requires special processing that we must add to your account, so you need to notify us when VoIP is installed or removed if your VoIP service requires you to change the hardware that connects to your cable modem. That is because any such change will affect your IP address and will thus change your Quality of Service.

7. What are the limitations of VoIP?

If you use your VoIP service as a second line and keep your regular telephone, you need not be very concerned about limitations. However if you are considering doing away with your regular telephone service completely, be sure to consider some of the potential problems that you might encounter. First, not all VoIP providers include 911 emergency service, and those that do may require that you to take some additional steps to activate that service. Secondly, your VoIP line will go dead during power outages or any other situation that results in the temporary loss of your Internet connection. Finally, VoIP services may or may not adequately support FAX or the internal modems used by set-top boxes, satellite receivers, alarm systems, and other special devices that make periodic data calls.

8. What does VoIP cost?

The cost of VoIP service depends on the format that you select. Peer-to-peer (computer-to-computer) VoIP is "free," while full-featured plans with access to the regular telephone network are usually billed on a per call, per minute, or according to a monthly plan.