How do you expect VoIP to impact cable and telephone networks (both are regulated infrastructure industries) ?

After reading the Introduction to How VoIP Works by Robert Valdes I was greatly informed about this current technological advancement in using the internet to make phone calls for free.  I feel that this would definitely hurt both cable and telephone companies because they would not be needed as much in our everyday lives.  Having the telephone through the internet would cut out some of the cable and telephone companies business, especially when it free of charge through an alternative method.  This will lead to a more competitive environment and for the landline based companies to remain in business they would have to either significanlty lower their prices or enhance their services in such a way that it appealed more to their audience.  Lower prices and better service is what people want and I think that is what is happening through this new voice over internet.  Although I do think it will impact these companies, not everyone is going to want to only have internet phone conversations.  Some people find it more pleasing and comfortable to have access to an actual telephone.  Some even like the sound quality of a landline; something that they are used to. 

Furthermore, the article states that there are disadvantages to VoIP.  What happens when there is an emergency and you need to call 911 immediately on the spot?  ”There’s no way to associate a geographic location with an IP address. So if the caller can’t tell the 911 operator where he is located, then there’s no way to know which call center to route the emergency call to and which EMS should respond”(Valdes 1).  This would be my main concern, I do understand that many people have regular cell phones now and could use this to make an emergency call; however, there will always be a minority of individuals in society that are not technologically advanced and choose not to be and enjoy living the old way through a landline telephone and that is it.  With cell phones and the internet combined, the individual making calls will still be charged a monthly service fee.  Although it will be beneficial to have a less expensive way to communicate across paths (long distance), I do believe that the reliability of making phone calls through the internet will not measure up to the oldschool landline telephone.

 Questions:

Do you think eventually it will get to a point where we only have cell phones and the  internet to make phone conversations?

What about sound quality?  Will the sound quality be the same if we are going through an Ip address on the internet?