In the war between telcos and independents, the ultimate trump card is innovative features, not price competitiveness. Consumers place a premium on things that bring value. Hence great, quick-moving startups like GrandCentral, TalkPlus, and–yes–Skype. CallVantage (and the other phoneline replacements) may be pricing its way right into the toilet, but as far as I know, they still don’t offer:
- A softphone
- Interoperability via SIP gateway dialing
- An API for software add-ons
- In-person installation support
- Bring-your-own-broadband
- Bring-your-own-SIP
- SIP multi-ring
- Presence
- Video
I would pay more for these features–wouldn’t you?
