3 ms·
> Indeed, the only thing that remains “circuit switched” about the PSTN today is the per-minute billing model — based on telcos mutually pretending to one anoth
by jpmattia 4y ago
> Indeed, the only thing that remains “circuit switched” about the PSTN today is the per-minute billing model — based on telcos mutually pretending to one another that they're still operating a circuit switched network that justifies this kind of billing.
When was this published?
The reason I ask: I sat through biz meetings at Bell Labs in the late 90s, back when long-distance calls were still being billed on a per-minute basis, and the market price was approaching $0.05/minute. This was a big deal because the cost to bill per minute (all the tracking and back-end collection work) also worked out to about $0.05/minute, so it was clear that per-minute billing was going away by y2k.
So I'm a little amazed that per-minute billing is still viable more than two decades later.
Edit: It makes me wonder if the author is confusing "usage" billing (use measured in minutes) with "per-minute" billing (an itemized list of call times and phone number destinations.)
- mxuribe 4y ago> ..."a little amazed that per-minute billing is still viable more than two decades later." I'm not so amazed....the anser tends to be: because they can. That is, because they can charge someone, and those someones either don't know better and pay, or are not given a choice and must pay. I guess I could have just replied with something like: Because capitalism....but now i'm not sure which sounds worse/sadder for society. :-(
- colejohnson66 4y agoMost cell plans (in the US), excluding pay-as-you-go, offer unlimited call and text, optioning to charge for data instead
- __MatrixMan__ 4y agoI wonder how much bandwidth we can squeeze out of a phone call. If only there were some technology for transmitting data via sound...
- miohtama 4y agoOn 4G "mobile call" you get 8 kpbs - 64 kbps for the voice. > In fact, VoIP over 4G actually offers higher call quality than standard mobile calling. Mobile calling compresses voice to about 8 Kbps, while VoIP calls can use up to 64 Kbps with a professional provider such as IDT. Instead of the ‘tinny’ voice typical of mobile calls, clients called from VoIP on 4G will hear you clearly. https://www.idtexpress.com/blog/difference-3g-4g-voip-calls/ https://www.idtexpress.com/blog/difference-3g-4g-voip-calls/
- Karellen 4y agoInteresting idea. You'd need some kind of system to modulate the sound wave to carry the data, and then demodulate it at the other end to get the data back out. It's a long shot, but it might just work...