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No EVDO VoIP

In case you missed it, Fred Goldstein's article on network neutrality makes the point that LECs aren't thrilled with much of the Internet freedom we all enjoy and love to lock you into using their services. I never noticed that the EVDO terms of service (TOS) have onerous restrictions. For example Verizon's TOS state the following:

Unlimited NationalAccess/BroadbandAccess:
Subject to VZAccess Acceptable Use Policy, available on www.verizonwireless.com. NationalAccess and BroadbandAccess data sessions may be used with wireless devices for the following purposes: (i) Internet browsing; (ii) email; and (iii) intranet access (including access to corporate intranets, email and individual productivity applications like customer relationship management, sales force and field service automation). Unlimited NationalAccess/BroadbandAccess services cannot be used (1) for uploading, downloading or streaming of movies, music or games, (2) with server devices or with host computer applications, including, but not limited to, Web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, Voice over IP (VoIP), automated machine-to-machine connections, or peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, or (3) as a substitute or backup for private lines or dedicated data connections. NationalAccess/BroadbandAccess is for individual use only and is not for resale. We reserve right to limit throughput or amount of data transferred, deny or terminate service, without notice, to anyone we believe is using NationalAccess or BroadbandAccess in any manner prohibited above or whose usage adversely impacts our network or service levels. Verizon Wireless reserves the right to protect its network from harm, which may impact legitimate data flows. We also reserve the right to terminate service upon expiration of Customer Agreement term.

Pretty scary stuff. I for one am not a fan of having a service provider telling me what I can and cannot do. Furthermore, I don't want them telling me when I can do it, why I can do it, etc. Frankly I am surprised that this hasn't caused an uproar on the web. Is anyone other than Fred and me concerned about such terms of service?

I touched on these topics today in a network neutrality post as well.

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Chimp/Human Link

Scientists are clamoring to have Chimpanzees reclassified in the human Family. For those of you who have forgotten how to classify animals, my high school biology teacher had this word association gem to share with the class:

King
Phillip
Came
Over
For
Grape
Soda

This of course stands for:

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

If I am off here it is only because I learned this stuff over 20 years ago and am on multiple deadlines and don't want to get sucked into a 30-minute Wikipedia time-wasting session.

Getting back to the story, some countries are looking to confer rights on chimpanzees and other primates. For some reason this story makes me think of the early days of The Planet of The Apes.

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Zillow

There was an article in the USA Today about Zillow, a site that has millions of homes listed with their appraisals and full home details. According to the article the site ranges from inaccurate to near perfect depending on location. I tried a few houses in Connecticut and in both cases the site was off. In one case it was within 10% and the other case by at least 50%. Also the number of bedrooms was off for one of the houses I checked. This was mentioned as a problem in the article as well.

In addition to a detailed database you can see the listings from a satellite making this service really interesting. I can already see a cool VoIP tie-in as you could see the satellite image of the person that is calling you. Imagine satellite photo Caller-ID.

The site is in the test stage according to the USA Today.

I have to give the site lots of credit for undertaking such a massive endeavor. Although Zillow is not perfect it can perhaps over time save people trips to city hall which in my experience is worth a huge sum.

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Network Neutrality

Recently there have been many articles in major newspapers and trade magazines proclaiming we need network neutrality. This means that ISPs should be made to carry all types of content such as, video broadcasts, streaming radio and VoIP and should not be allowed to charge content providers for guaranteed quality of service to their customers. One has to wonder however if network neutrality is the wrong topic to be discussing.

Indeed some are beginning to ask such questions. Why? Well, as fewer and fewer companies control access to the Internet, they are free to come up with new and interesting ways to ensure they can profit but at the expense of consumers and innovation. So we should be asking instead why we have only two choices for broadband in this country.

As always, I am 100% for companies making profit but in an effort to be fair, I also want consumers to have choice and freedom to use the applications they want, when they want. I also believe content providers should not be held hostage by broadband providers who sell similar services to them.

When analyzing the current state of broadband in America, does it make sense for broadband providers to advertise how fast their networks are and then kick users off for taking advantage of the speed? As surprising as it may sound, at least one wireless operator tells you in their terms of service that they have the right to terminate your service if you use VoIP, share photos or use excessive bandwidth on their wireless network.

Cable companies too have similar policies and will limit upstream bandwidth or terminate your service if you upload what they deem to be in their judgment excessive.

One wonders how anyone can think we have true broadband competition when broadband providers -- wireless or wired -- can pen terms of service that are draconian and consumers have no choice but to use these services.

Of course it is the right of every company to make a buck but is it not the responsibility of regulators to ensure that consumers have adequate choice? Without choice -- and two choices a free market does not make -- we have a lack of choice. A lack of choice of course leads to companies acting in ways that inhibit growth and inhibit the ability of the consumer to have ever-better broadband access.

Fred Goldstein, the Principal of Ionary Consulting and an expert on the matter is wary of having the government force ISPs to carry all traffic -- the principal behind network neutrality. He feels this could lead to people such as spammers taking advantage of ISPs or worse, an Internet that is unusable. As Goldstein so eloquently argues:

But the answer isn't to regulate the "Internet" per se: Not everything is the "Internet." It's to restore choice. It's vital to guarantee that local connectivity, raw bandwidth, remains available on the wholesale market, so that consumers have a choice of ISP. If there's a real choice of ISPs, then the free market will sort out the details. It's the telco-cable duopoly that makes the faux-Internet such a possibility. Here and there, a wireless ISP or cable overbuilder might offer a third choice, but shy of wholesale connectivity, there'll be no free market for information. What good is freedom of the press when a few wealthy publishers control all avenues of delivery?

And that is what the entire argument should be about. Choice. We have a lack of choice in broadband access and in virtually every case that there is limited choice, consumers lose.

This issue is of major significance because inexpensive and high speed broadband access can determine which nation's economy will win as globalization continues to make physical borders disappear.

We are all aware that oil prices and the war on terror are major issues that the US has to grapple with. At the same time if we care about our future, we need to ensure this country has the best broadband access available anywhere. That means we need the fastest access at the lowest price. We need policies that drive us towards this goal as quickly as possible and in addition, the Universal Service Fund should find a new source for its revenue and should be focused on ensuring every individual in the US has blazing fast and unrestricted Internet access at the lowest prices in the world.

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Solomon's VoIP World

I found a new VoIP blog that is worth sharing: Solomon's VoIP World. Topics range from enterprise to consumer and I am about to add it to my blogroll and RSS reader.

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The Search

I recently finished reading The Search, How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture, a book by John Battle. I have to say that reading this book helped me recall the history of search, the history of many of the dotcoms in the past and it further helped me recall all the missing dotcom pieces I either forgot or just never knew.

For example, do you remember that AltaVista was Google before there was a Google? This search engine had a clean interface and focused on returning the best results rapidly. The Search details how DEC botched making this search engine a success. Apparently corporate politics and just a lack of understanding of the search business is what did this early innovator in. To be fair, there were no maps to search engine success at the time and I am sure no one at DEC knew that one day AltaVista could become the next Google.

This search engine did eventually sell to CMGI for 2.3 billion dollars of what soon became worthless stock. Overture finally purchased the search engine for $140 million and Overture was later sold to Yahoo.

But there is more to this book than just history; Battelle has brilliantly described not only the past of search but the future as well. How will Google's ads integrate with TV? How will search look in the future? How will vertical search engines come into play and are these engines more accurate than Google itself?

In summary, the book is fascinating as it takes you through a tour of the past, present and future of search. The writing flows smoothly and you never get bored. If you are interested in search, this book is definitely the Bible of the search market and worth a read.

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