Skype over EVDO? Not really
I've mentioned a time or two in the past that I use Skype on my Treo 700w. I've had occasional good luck with voice conversations, but most often, the Treo is simply a Skype IM client.
Today I got to listen on the other end of an EVDO conversation as friend and colleague Phoneboy tried out his new EVDO card. We set the stage thinking it would be interesting to record a conversation about the quality and podcast it. Wrong!! Frankly, the results were pretty dismal overall. I recorded the very beginning, but the quality was so bad I shut the recorder off. You can here just how bad here.
Dameon seemed to be getting reasonable network performance based on his Speakeasy tests.
Seemed to be is the operative phrase here. What we found was that network latency was quite high, the voice quality was pretty awful, and in general, Skype over EVDO just doesn't work. Like my Treo, it'll work for IM, but not for voice conversation.
I would have expected better success if Skypes FAQ entry is accurate.
How much bandwidth does Skype use while I'm in a call?I think there are two factors possibly in play affecting our quality. First, I think the numbers shown in the SKype FAQ are a nice fantasy. They don't match any reality I've seen in Skype testing. But I haven't been thorough or done comprehensive lab testing, so I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, but I remain skeptical.Skype automatically selects the best codec depending on the connection between yourself and the person you are calling. On average, Skype uses between 3-16 kilobytes/sec depending on bandwidth available for other party, network conditions in between, callers CPU performance, etc.
The other factor is that VoIP services do violate the TOS in the Verizon EVDO EULA. I know they monitor for streaming media traffic and throttle user throughput based on usage (Confirmed via internal Verizon Wireless sources). it wouldn't surprise me if they've got a mechanism in place to detect Skype traffic and throttle session throughput when they find it running, although I have had some Skype calls that were quite good on my Treo. But when I've had good calls, my network performance was significantly better than Dameon's was today for both upstream and downstream traffic.
My observation with Dameon was that it was reminiscent of Skype via dial-up on a long local loop about 5 years ago. My advice - don't bother.
Technorati Tags: Skype, EVDO, Skype over EVDP, Phoneboy
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Turns out I learned while doing a project involving mobile services this fall (nothing to do with Skype or VoIP) that it is widely known in the mobile telco industry that any VoIP on 2G networks has long latencies (8 seconds at best). When you find this is known in, say, the general contracting industry, you know it's a generic problem. Also ties in with Niklas' commenting in an interview earlier this fall that Skype has had problems with Skype on mobile networks. In fact they only recommend using Skype Mobile (for Windows) for voice communications on 3G networks. I happen to know of another VoIP service where they only eliminate the latency issue when they go to 3G networks.
Posted by: Jim Courtney | November 18, 2006 8:56 PM
Thanks Jim. I do remember reading about some real latency problems with VoIP on 2G networks, but to be honest, I've done some testing and I've never seen anything like 8 second latency. There are issues, but 8 seconds is more latency than an Iridum phone bouncing off geosynch satellite.
I remember Niklas' comments, and I've seen a lot in the past, but nothing lately. OTOH, I've used Skype on the Treo700w with really good results when I'm in a strong signal zone. It just degrades quickly.
I'm not sure what to think about 2G vs. 3G for VoIP, but I think the carriers, and VoIP vendors mostly don't know and are just spouting crap to avoide providing anything of substance. Maybe I'm just feeling cranky this evening.
Posted by: Ken Camp | November 18, 2006 10:37 PM
I tested skype's PocketPC version over a EVDO network with my new HTC Touch yesterday and had very dismal results as well. I agree that it is not worth it. Too bad.
Posted by: Scott | December 26, 2007 11:39 AM