Greg Galitzine's VoIP Authority Blog: IP Communications Archives

Verizon Exec: No More Copper by 2016

January 12, 2009 2:24 PM

In an item today from Bloomberg News, via the LA Times, Verizon's Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton reportedly said at CES, that the operator plans to do away with placing voice calls over copper lines within a seven-year timeframe.

So let me get this straight... In seven years, no more copper? I have my doubts that the last Verizon call to run over twisted copper will take place by 2016.

Now, with customers switching to mobile phones exclusively, and 4G wireless technologies ramping up, and consumers abandoning traditional phone companies in favor of cable providers and so-called over the top VoIP providers, the concept of evolving beyind copper is not farfetched. Verizon too, by offering voice over its FiOS service, is hastening the migration away from copper.

I don't have a problem with the premise. It's the timing. I just happen to think it will take longer than seven years.

"We've built our business over the years with circuit-switched voice being our bread and butter . . . but increasingly, we are in the business of selling, basically, data connectivity," Stratton said.

We get it. We too saw this day coming.

In fact, we've been promoting this migration to IP since the day we launched Internet Telephony magazine in 1998, and quite possibly before, in prior issues of CTI Magazine. I'm setting a calendar reminder in Outlook for seven years from now. I'd like to check back in Janary 2016 and see how close this estimate came to coming true.

What do you think? Does seven years sound good to you? Maybe sooner? Maybe later? Let me know...

Expert Panel to Explore HD Voice at ITEXPO

January 12, 2009 11:49 AM

On the events side at TMC, we're always looking to deliver compelling content to the attendees at our shows. As many of you are no doubt aware, ITEXPO is just around the corner. The show will be taking place this February 2-4 in Miami Beach. For more information, or to register, please visit the ITEXPO event Web site.

The purpose of this post is to draw your attention to a very special session that we are offering to ITEXPO conference attendees.

On Tuesday, February 3^rd, from Noon to 1:00 P.M. Conference Luncheon attendees will be treated to a panel discussion entitled: "HD -- What's the noise and are we ready?"

We've heard a lot over the last six months about high-definition voice solutions and about the possibility for IP Communications solutions that leverage wideband codecs to exceed the fidelity and clarity of the PSTN. Microsoft Office Communicator and Skype have seeded the market with examples of applications that allow users to experience this new fidelity.

We've invited a cross section of industry leaders to a special panel discussion to discuss this topic and find out if we indeed are ready for HD.

The session moderator is Rich Tehrani - President and Group Editor-in-Chief of TMC, and panelists include:

· Alan Percy, Director of Market Development, AudioCodes

· Tim Yankey, Director of Product, Marketing, Voice Communications Solutions, Polycom

· Debbie Greenstreet, Director of Service Provider Marketing, Texas Instruments

This promises to be a very interesting session, so make plans now to attend.

Click on the following link for more information on the show or to register to attend the sessions.

Praise for LTE, WiMAX' Bad Week

January 9, 2009 11:06 AM

Market researcher ABI Research has released a new study that points to continued enthusiasm for LTE deployment.

Coming on the heels of a turbulent week for WiMAX (see: Intel's $950 million investment write-down and Nokia ceasing production of its only WiMAX device) it's a positive sign indeed for this 4G technology.

Now before we get carried away with the premature burial of WiMAX, it's important to note that Clearwire did light up a new city this week (Portland, OR) and has plans to start service in up to nine other cities in 2009. Let's wait before we get out the shovels.

Still ABI's report Long Term Evolution (LTE) draws attention to the fact that Verizon, (possibly sensing some blood in the water?) has reportedly moved up their LTE deployment plans by a year, from 2010 to 2009.

ABI notes that globally, 18 operators have announced LTE rollout plans.

Writing in the recent report, ABI Research senior analyst Nadine Manjaro said,

ABI Research believes that NTT will also deploy LTE in Japan in 2009. We forecast that by 2013 operators will spend over $8.6 billion on LTE base station infrastructure alone. For operators that have already deployed 3G networks, LTE will be a key CAPEX driver over the next five years.

Manjaro also notes that LTE application development could be a major driver of investment as operators explore which services to deploy.

As an example, Manjaro looks to Sprint and Verizon and their plans to provide third-party access to their GPS data.

The resulting new applications will tie mobility and presence aspects together to create more compelling services than in the past. This is significant because it represents the beginning of a new generation of application development which will leverage the vast amounts of data in operators' networks.

Carriers looking to deploy 4G technology face the same financial difficulties as the rest of us. However one cannot lose sight of the fact that on the other side of this financial mess, one might imagine a new period of growth. Companies that make investments in technology today might not see an immediate return however, they should take solace that the evolution to broadband wireless is going to happen sooner or later.

To learn more about the opportunities in the emerging 4G space, consider the 4GWE Conference, which is taking place in Miami Beach this February 2-4.

The show will feature keynotes from Intel and Qualcomm as well as over 50 speakers from companies such as Fujitsu, Google, Dialogic, IBM, SkyTerra and others.

The conference promises to deliver an unmatched educational experience. 4GWE Attendees will learn:

· How the history and evolution of the cellular network will in part determine the evolution to 4G

· The major differences between the competing technologies of WiMAX and LTE

· The killer applications for both the consumer and business customer

· How 4G will effect social networking applications

· How 4G will significantly change content distribution

· Where venture money will be spent

· What mobile devices will be developed to support 4G

Take a look at the event Web site for more information.

Goin' Mobile With Skype

January 9, 2009 8:44 AM

Out in the woods

Or in the city

It's all the same to me

When I'm drivin' free, the world's my home...

When I'm mobile...

Ok, I admit it. Sometimes I can't help myself. I reach for the most clichéd classic rock lyrics when writing about IP Communications. It happens. But then again, there's absolutely nothing wrong with The Who.

The whole mobility theme is brought on by this week's news from Skype, whereby the company announced a deal with Boingo Wireless, announced the release of a lite version of Skype, a 'thin' client for Skype that can be downloaded on Android-powered devices, (as well as more than 100 other Java-enabled mobile phones), and announced the availability of Skype 1.0 Beta for Intel-based Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) based on Intel's Atom processor and Moblin-based Linux OS.

(Catch Tom's take on the Skype Lite Java client.)

One of the key takeaways from all this is that for the first time, Skype is available to mobile users in the U.S. Previously operators were loath to allow Skype on their mobile devices for fear of losing precious minutes to the free VoIP service.

But in the never ending quest to make their service sticker and their devices more popular, operators and manufacturers are looking for new and innovative ways to attract new users. And, with Skype's growing popularity (currently more than 370 million registered users globally), this presents an opportunity too rich to pass up.

It also marks the first availability for Android devices; users can download the beta in the Android Market. Skype says the thin client is also available for over 100 popular Java-enabled phones from the likes of LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

Our Growing Family

January 8, 2009 4:11 PM

Sometimes we get so busy we don't notice the great things that occur right under our noses.

In the past few months we've welcomed several new voices to the TMC blogosphere, and we continue to expand our roster of industry experts who go out of their way to share their expertise with our audience. You simply can't find such a great lineup of IP Communications related bloggers and columnists anywhere.

Among our constellation of writers, there's one I wanted to draw your attention to today. Tsahi Levent-Levi is a Product Manager at RADVISION and he writes the Talking Video blog at TMCnet.

Check it out. You won't be sorry.

In today's entry, he addresses the video calling market and where he sees this market gaining traction.

And keep an eye on TMCnet, for we have new bloggers and columnists appearing every week.

And lastly, if you want to be a star in the firmament of TMCnet bloggers or columnists, let me know. I'd be happy to welcome you to our growing family.

OrecX Taps Sangoma's Wanpipe Driver

December 31, 2008 8:36 AM

OrecX, a provider of low-cost open source VoIP call recording, announced a new option for low-cost TDM and call recording, and said they would be using Sangoma Technologies' new Wanpipe driver that supports RTP tapping.

Bruce Kaskey, CEO of OrecX, offered the following in a statement:

Overall, Sangoma's RTP tapping solution gives more choice for situations where TDM and VoIP are blended. The Wanpipe driver with the RTP tap mode enabled converts a TDM signal to VoIP seamlessly for scalable recording.

The details can be found in this news item.

Ultimately, as Kaskey explained, the solution enables customers to tap TDM and or VoIP using their existing Sangoma equipment.

OrecX will also be participating at the upcoming Digium|Asterisk World, which is being collocated with ITEXPO in Miami Beach this February. The company's co-Founder and CTO, Bruno Haas will be speaking in the presentation theater during the event.

For a complete list of sponsors and exhibitors, please visit the Digium|Asterisk World site.

5LINX Picks Up Kancharla's Wholesale Services Group

December 19, 2008 1:45 PM

5LINX Enterprises, Inc., is acquiring the Wholesale Services Group, of Kancharla Corporation, which including Business, Residential, E911, DID Services and the A-Z Origination/Termination services. These offerings will be immediately available through GLOBALINX, 5LINX's wholly owned subsidiary.

Kancharla will continue to offer the standalone and branded versions of its LeftSeat Billing/OSS software solution.

Mike Machonkin, GLOBALINX Vice President of Sales & Marketing is excited about the deal and believes that it will be good for customers and channel partners alike.

"With the acquisition of Kancharla's wholesale services, GLOBALINX is further demonstrating our commitment to provide our GLOBALINX Customers, Agents and Resellers with the most robust portfolio of products and services available on the market today," Machonkin said.

Alcatel-Lucent to Trim Workforce, Tighten R&D Focus

December 12, 2008 8:23 AM

Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen spoke to media and analysts at a press conference today, announcing the company's strategic plan for 2009 and beyond. To read a full description of the company's plans, please read this article.

The company will undergo a strategic reduction in workforce, eliminating approximately 1,000 management positions and lowering the number of contractor headcount by approximately 5,000.

Plans call for reducing the company's break-even point by 1 Billion Euros a year in 2009 and 2010.

Company officials also spoke of a renewed focus on research and development activities, targeting four key segments (Optical, IP, broadband and Applications enablement).

DataViz to Develop Android Apps in 2009

December 11, 2008 5:03 PM

DataViz is well known in the industry for its Office compatibility and productivity solutions that enable users to access their office documents on mobile platforms such as Palm OS, Symbian OS, BlackBerry, Java, Linux, Windows Mobile, Windows and Macintosh.

Their solutions include mobile Office suite, Documents To Go, and wireless Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync client, RoadSync.

Well, now we hear that they will be developing Documents To Go and RoadSync for Android in 2009.

No word yet on exactly what features will be supported with Android. If you wish to be notified on availability, news updates or provide feedback please the company has set up the following URL: www.dataviz.com/android

Report: US Broadband Operators Spent $4.1 Billion on P2P in 2007

December 10, 2008 8:46 AM

Next time you visit one of those "click here to steal this copyrighted work" download sites you should know that you're not just taking food from the tables of entertainment industry workers, you're also stiffing carriers with quite a tab.

Apparently, carriers spent over $4 BILLION dollars as a result of consumers' use of peer to peer (P2P) networking, and according to research just released by MultiMedia Intelligence, that massive number is DOWN slightly down from the $4.2 billion spent in 2006.

On top of the capital expenditure (CAPEX), carriers also dropped about $700 million in operational expenses (OPEX) as a result of P2P networking.

Rick Sizemore of MultiMedia Intelligence said, "Our research uniquely quantifies the impact that P2P has on broadband operators. Since the majority of P2P traffic is unlicensed content, our research demonstrates that piracy costs are not only impacting content owners, but broadband providers as well."

According to the release announcing the findings:

· The value of unlicensed (in some cases known as pirated) music trafficked on P2P networks in 2007 was US$69 billion.

· Not all P2P content is unlicensed. The growth rate for licensed content files distributed over P2P networks is much higher than unlicensed, although it is fair to note that we are starting from a much smaller base.

· P2P Internet traffic, despite having grown at a torrid pace for years, will grow almost 400% over the next 5 years. Growing from a level of 1.6 petabytes of Internet traffic per month in 2007 to almost 8 petabytes per month by 2012.

TMCnet columnist Gary Kim offers more insight on the matter.

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