Ooma aims to fuse land and VoIP calling; could be insecure
By Triston McIntyre
Though many have called for the complete abandonment of the classic landline telephone system with alternatives like Vonage or Skype, Ooma looks to take it to a whole new level: get the benefits of both landlines and VoIP calling for a one time cost of $399.
Though many customers are adopting the VoIP style of calls with services like Vonage, there are disadvantages; monthly service fees reduce costs, but don’t eliminate the nagging bills.
Conversely there are advantages to landlines; quick and easy access to emergency numbers and a tried and true, hard to disrupt system that has been established for a significantly longer stretch than the up and coming VoIP system.
Ooma aims to offer the best of both worlds: the security of a landline for emergency calls and backup in case of downed internet service, and a one time fee that promises unlimited local, long distance, and otherwise phone calls for as long as you like.
How does it work? You pay a one-time fee to purchase the Ooma “hub,” which resembles a small answering machine, plug in a phone and internet and telephone wires, and get to calling.
Ooma will allow you to retain your original home number, and will provide a virtual second line for remote answering or allowing calls to go to voicemail, a feature also included with the Ooma hub.
By choosing Ooma you can reduce your monthly phone service needs to emergency rates, and you won’t have to worry about any funky workarounds to contact the police, or alert your friends to a number change.
Sounds great, right? Here’s how it really works: the Ooma hub functions like a gateway to P2P traffic, allowing users to pass their phone calls through your hub onto their calling destination without interfering with your calling abilities.
However, P2P systems are notorious for being unsafe and susceptible to malicious attacks. Though Ooma claims each “hub” will allow a safe way for users to utilize the machine while others simply pass through, there is no proven evidence that the Ooma hub is safeguarded against ill-intentioned hooligans who might aim to eavesdrop on your personal calls.
Though there is a “beta” process being executed where only invited testers can partake in the new Ooma network, expect to see the device on the market sometime after the summer; however, answers will be needed in regards to the security functionality in the device before consumers sign the $399 check to a machine that could open up their private lives like a can of sardines.
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on Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 at 5:49 pm
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August 2nd, 2007
OOMA sounds too good to be true. It is not true. It is based on claims to be doing things that are impossible, like preventing someone from listening in on your call when it goes through their hub and their phone line.
Also, the claim that someone else using your phone line does not prevent you from using it. There can only be one active call on a regular phone line at one time.
Sorry, OOM is based on a series of lies (or, worse yet, they aren’t technically “lies” because the OOMA folks don’t even know they are wrong).