Valiant wrote:

> If, as The Economist suggests, the technology evolves so that all
> phone subscribers (mobile and fixed) will have broadband Internet
> connectivity as standard then why use Skype? In the coming years most
> fixed line subscribers will have a wireless router installed in their
> master socket and mobile phone users will have the appropriate
> software installed on their mobile phones. All will have an IP address
> (or the equivalent) and will be able to call each other by dialling IP
> addresses (or dynamic DNS host names).

Most people will have difficulty in changing their mindset from phone
numbers to IP addresses. In addition, some IP addresses have more than
one SIP phone behind them; will people have to remember to dial a port
as well as an address? As for IPv6, that could mean dialling huge
numbers such as FEDC:AB19:12FE:0234:98EF:1178:8891:CAFF!

Mapping domain names to IP addresses may help a bit, but I think that we
will continue to use phone numbers long after all phones are VoIP and we
will continue to need phone companies to issue those numbers and provide
additional services such as call records and voicemail.

Steve.