Ultralab (1990-2006), the learning, technology and research centre at Anglia Polytechnic University has a rich team of people based in Chelmsford, and remotely across the United Kingdom.

Communication is therefore a challenge, and this random blog post today simply points out that Skype and iChat as technologies to communicate verbally other than the standard telephone service.

The great thing about Skype and iChat, is that they are free. iChat also allows video calls.

In the past year I’ve noticed how my iChat list has grown with new users coming on and using the system, I currently have an iChat buddy list of 76 people, and during a typical day there will be no less than five of those online at any one time.

What will become interesting is how the telecom companies will react to the services currently operating free and charged services allowing internet users to make voice calls through the net, especially it is because of the infrastructure that the telecoms companies have invested in over the years to build up the global telecoms network.

What I’ve never been able to understand is why there is not a successful telecom company who sells a wireless telephone service to homes. About ten years ‘Ionica’ offered the service, and promptly went bust. So why are the mobile networks not offering home telephone services with receiver discs for houses and wireless phone services as another rival to the wired telephone service we already have?