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Greg Galitzine

Powell Out; VoIP Industry Reacts (Part 3)

January 21, 2005

It's being widely reported today that FCC Chairman Michael Powell will step down from his post.

As promised, here is yet another comment from an industry thought leader regarding this news.

William Wilhelm, partner in the legal firm Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman, LLP and Regulation Watch columnist for Internet Telephony magazine weighed in regarding the Chairman's departure from the FCC:

"Most VoIP providers will be quite sad to see the Chairman leave. It was under his leadership that the FCC issued its unanimous Vonage Order as well as the other key decisions.

Powell Out; VoIP Industry Reacts (Part 2)

January 21, 2005

FCC Chairman Michael Powell is set to announce that he will step down from his post today.

As promised, I will continue to publish comments from industry thought leaders regarding this news.

Here's what Neal Shact, CEO of CommuniTech had to say regarding Powell's resignation.

"Chairman Powell has been a shining beacon of government restraint and has been very supportive of the government nurturing a young VoIP industry that challenges the status quo.

Who Will Replace Michael Powell?

January 21, 2005

In 2004, Michael Powell emerged as the leading voice in government against the regulation of IP telephony. With the news that he may be stepping down today, you can bet that the pundits will begin prognosticating as to who will replace the outgoing Chairman.

Of the many names already being bandied about as a possible replacement for Powell, several stick out as legitimate possibilities. While too early to call, as far as I can see it, one name that jumps off the page is that of former chairman of the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) Rebecca Klein.

Powell Out; VoIP Industry Reacts (Part 1)

January 21, 2005

This morning's report from The Wall Street Journal, that FCC Chairman Michael Powell was set to step down from his post today, set off a flurry of activity throughout the blogosphere (here) (here) and the online community.

As a service to my readers, I plan to publish observations from the leading voices in our industry as they respond to my call for commentary.

First up, Michael Khalilian, chairman and president of the International Packet Communications Consoritum, a leading VoIP forum, checks in with his thoughts:

“Chairman Powell leaves behind a positive legacy. As a proponent of competition, Michael Powell’s FCC rulings were encouraging for both ILECs and CLECs. Perhaps most important was Chairman Powell’s initiatives to ‘leave VoIP alone’ allowing service providers to focus on deploying the technology and allowing it to mature rather than get bogged down focusing on the regulatory issues at hand.

Endavo Tackles Last Mile

January 20, 2005

I received this news earlier today, and having just put the wraps on our February issue I thought I’d share. You see, the February issue features a cover story on Triple Play. And so, with that in mind, I offer today’s news from Endavo.

Endavo, a digital services aggregator, enables small IP-service providers (voice, data, video) to diversify their offerings to their clients by plugging into the Endavo EcoSystem. Not only does the EcoSystem provide the technology for Endavo partners to add those services, but it also handles billing and account management.

Comcast VoIP: Looking Beyond Price

January 11, 2005

In an article for TMCnet.com yesterday, our own Johanne Torres reported on Comcast’s announcement that the company will launch an Internet telephony service by the end of this year. According to Johanne, Comcast is targeting residential customers with what seems to be the priciest of all VoIP-enabled calling service plans.

It’s interesting to me that VoIP remains extremely price-sensitive. Or rather that people remain very sensitive to VoIP's pricing.

Please Help Victims of Asian Tsunamis

December 28, 2004

Om is right. A year without tragedy would indeed be a wonderful gift.

We should all take a few moments out of our lives and pay attention to those less fortunate who have suffered immensely in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and the tsunamis it spawned.

One of my colleagues at TMC has family in Sri Lanka.

IM, VoIP Companies Ripe For Merging?

December 9, 2004

ABI Research issued a “wake-up call” to a number of industry players this morning, suggesting that a merger or acquisition pairing an IM company and a VoIP company might result in a huge revenue opportunity.

According to Vamsi Sistla, director of broadband and residential entertainment technologies at ABI Research, “Millions of people use the big IM services. Some use their voice capabilities. But the experience is pretty horrible.

Cisco, IBM Lead VoIP Study; Avaya, Siemens, SBC Tie For Third

December 7, 2004


The Yankee Group today released results of a study that show IP telephony solution providers need to focus on the basic features that make IP telephony work in corporate environments. The Yankee Group IP Telephony YankeeBrandMonitor indicated that attributes such as stability, reliability, and quality outweighed "future" benefits, such as technology leader and innovator.

Cisco Systems and IBM ranked number one and number two, respectively, in the study for deployment preference in the next two years.

Buyers rated vendors on a seven-point scale, where 1 indicated definitely will not implement and 7 indicated definitely will implement.

In-Stat/MDR Report Finds VoIP Growth In U.S. Businesses

December 7, 2004

According to a just released report from In-Stat/MDR, titled Business VoIP: An End-User’s Perspective, 2004, VoIP has made great strides among U.S. businesses as the percentage of companies using the technology grew from 3% to 12% over the past 12 months.

The research firm found that much higher rates of penetration are found within the larger business segments, forecasting that middle market VoIP penetration will be at 34% by year’s end, and at 43% in the large business segment.

The report examines current and future deployment plans for VoIP, covering such diverse topics as type of deployment (IP PBX or IP Centrex), service provider selection criteria, and vendor and service provider preferences.

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