Rich Tehrani : Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com
Rich Tehrani
CEO

Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com

| Communications and Technology Blog - Latest news in IP communications, telecom, VoIP, call center & CRM space

June 2006

You are browsing the archive for June 2006.

Warren Buffet's E-mail Address

June 29, 2006

I wrote about Warren Buffet writing a nice letter to TMCnet's Tracey Schelmetic a while back. He was very complimentary. Anyway, I had forgotten about the letter until I received a few e-mails asking for Mr. Buffet's e-mail address.

I believe people are Googling my blog entries in the hopes of being able to get in touch with him.

So I would like to let the world know that Warren used snail mail when he wrote TMC and he sent no e-mail address.
Posted in Personal
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,
Comments

Voice Peering Forum

June 29, 2006

I am here today at the Voice Peering Forum at Chelsea Piers. It was a pretty muggy commute but thankfully there is no rain for a change. My train ride was quick, air conditioned and uneventful. I walked into the wrong pier at first and learned that the NY Police has horse stables at pier 63 and you can smell it from pretty far away. There is lots going on at the various piers this morning.

I have met with a whole bunch of my friends and colleagues so far and I am looking forward to learning about the latest in the voice peering space.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,
Comments

Net Neutrality Today

June 28, 2006


This story has all the juicy details any story could want… Corruption, money, politics, and even religion… Wait, how did that get in there. Net Neutrality has become a soap opera of sorts and the only thing missing is bad acting and sex.

Seriously, there are religious groups praying for net neutrality and MoveOn.org must feel that Hilary Clinton will have an easy time getting elected – subsequently they have the excess bandwidth to focus on making sure the Internet has a single tier.

For some reason, in my mind the debate about net neutrality has crossed the line from a geeky tech issue to a more mainstream topic with a familiar cast of characters like Moby (those of you in your thirties probably know Moby and for those younger – suffice it to say that Eminem just doesn’t like him).

I must confess it is getting tougher and tougher to keep up with all the news on the topic but this article is a good summary and will keep you up to date on what you need to know for now. My favorite part?

“When you call these Senators, tell them you are from the Christian Coalition and to support Internet Freedom, the Snowe/Dorgan Net Neutrality Bill,” she wrote. “Please be praying at 1:00 p.m.
Posted in Broadband, VoIP
Tagged: , : Related Tags:

Cisco Security Flaw

June 28, 2006

If you are using a number of wireless products made by Cisco you will likely want to read this article to be sure you do what is needed to stay secure.
Posted in Wireless
Tagged: , : Related Tags:

Vonage: It’s the Little Things

June 28, 2006

Little things like soft client support and support for phones such as these are why Vonage is a superior VoIP solution for anyone traveling. This includes virtually all cable and ILEC-based solutions. Strangely when so many people say that Vonage has a tremendous disadvantage being a single-play company in a triple-play world they don’t mention little niceties like this that distance them from your typical ILEC or cableco. And no, I am not a shareholder of the company – I am just calling it as I see it.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , : Related Tags: , ,
Comments

Training the American Wife or Husband

June 28, 2006

Perhaps there would be less divorces in the world if people started to use these techniques once reserved for use by animal trainers.

Posted in Personal
Comments

Things to do Today

June 28, 2006

Go to Home Depot
Buy Wood
Buy Nails
Buy Power Tools
Buy Staple Gun
Buy Grout and Sealants
Buy Latex Paint
Drive Home
Build Ark

Either Al Gore is right or Mother Nature is pretty mad at us. Perhaps both. It has been raining like crazy in New England and I saw some videos on the news of terrible flooding in Maryland.

Hopefully this crazy weather will let up soon.    
Posted in Personal

supercalifragilisticexpi - SIP – idocious

June 27, 2006

Here is my unedited Outlook from the July 2006 issue of SIP Magazine.   ----------  
The proliferation of contact numbers and addresses is staggering. I have tried to keep my e-mail accounts to a minimum and I still have five. I have 5 different contact phone numbers and then there are fax lines for the various locations. On top of that I have addresses for Skype and other VoIP services.
Posted in SIP
Tagged: , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

Salesforce.com and Contactual

June 27, 2006

  Here is my High Priority columns from the July 2006 issue of Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine. Enjoy. I have to write my SIP Outlook in the next few hours so my blogging may be limited.

------------

Behold The Virtual Salesforce

I can tell you from personal experience that managing a sales force is one part art and one part science. Sales managers fulfill the simultaneous roles of parent, friend, confidante, coach and counselor.
Posted in CRM, Call Center
Tagged: , , , , , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

A CNBC Morning

June 27, 2006

This morning on CNBC I woke up to talk about net neutrality and an analyst who said Google makes a good buy regardless of what happens with net neutrality. From net neutrality the program went on to Comcast customer service -- I think they might have been focusing on heavy machinery while I was in the shower -- it is tough to tell with the water running. Someone apparently videotaped a Comcast customer service representative sleeping on their couch while waiting an hour for the Comcast office to pick up the phone. This reminded me a of a Comcast customer service blog entry I made almost a year ago.
Posted in Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Google, IPTV, SIP, Science, Technology, Video, VoIP
Tagged: , , , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

Intel Transaction

June 27, 2006

I am trying to find out if Intel’s Communications division AKA Dialogic will be part of the $600 million dollar Intel transaction involving Marvell. As you recall, I gently broke the news back in May. EE Times did an in-depth story subsequently that put much of this in perspective.     Here is Greg Galitzine's response:   no way. not for 600 mil.
Posted in Technology
Tagged: , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

More on NSA

June 26, 2006

Here is more on the NSA showing how much of the agencies’ resources were being used for surveillance. None of it is surprising to me. Where do you think billions of dollars each year goes? After all, how many $900 toilet seats does one agency really require?

Posted in VoIP
Tagged: : Related Tags: ,
Comments

What’s Hot Today?

June 26, 2006

Here are some hot stories from today:

Microsoft to Solidify Unified Communications Strategy
DVD duel: High-definition showdown
NETGEAR Launches 200 Mbps Powerline Solution for High ...
LAPTOP BOOM -- This one is pretty short though -- This one is pretty short though
Posted in Technology, Video
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags: ,

Tom Keating Humor

June 26, 2006

Pretty funny post by Tom Keating. In case you are wondering, yes, absolutely – With Tom in the office -- every day is a party at TMC.

Posted in Broadband, VoIP, Wireless

Drowsy Chaperone

June 26, 2006

I had a chance to see this show this past weekend on Broadway. The show was good – I don’t think it was great. I was bored for part of the show actually. I did laugh a lot though and there were some great performers.
Posted in Personal
Tagged: , : Related Tags: , ,

Katrina Help

June 26, 2006

There is a new call center set up to help those Louisiana residents affected by Katrina. This article summarizes all the ways people can get help.

Louisiana residents seeking to restore lives upset by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita can now call 1-877-LA-Rebuilds (1-877-527-3284). This toll free number, like the LouisianaRebuilds.info web portal connects Louisiana residents displaced by hurricanes and floods to reliable information about rebuilding efforts and available resources.

Call center operators are available 24 hours a day and can respond in several languages, including English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and several Chinese dialects.
Posted in Call Center

Of Wine, Pastries and Satellite Imagery

June 25, 2006

France: Home of fine wine, great food and now -- satellite imagery second to none. Or second to Google, depending on your perspective.

The French are no fans of Google -- they see it as a way of further losing control over their culture. This may be why this announcement makes sure to inform us that this new website has more detail of the French territory than Google Earth.
At the moment I can't verify this fact because if you go to this new portal you get the following message:

Vous êtes incroyablement nombreux à vous connecter au Géoportail, portail des territoires et des citoyens depuis sa mise en ligne.
Posted in Technology

Spit Guard

June 25, 2006

I am sorry. This is probably a stupid title but it hit me as soon as I read about the Verizon announcement that they will be protecting enterprise VoIP systems. SPIT by the way is short for spam over Internet telephony and is a problem that hasn’t really happened in any meaningful way. At least not to my knowledge. Not yet anyway.   When it does happen, expect 50 voicemails on your IP phone for cheap Viagra prescriptions.

"Security is the [number one] concern customers express about VoIP," said Verizon Business' vice president of product management Nancy Gofus in a statement."

Here is a recent interview with Nancy Gofus by the way.
Posted in VoIP

Jon Arnold

June 25, 2006

Take a look at the new Jon Arnold website. Jon has been a well-respected analyst in the IP communications space since his Frost and Sullivan days. This is the same Jon Arnold by the way that TMC has teamed up to launch a series of web summits.
Posted in VoIP

Vonage Article Worth Reading

June 23, 2006

Bloomberg has an article on Vonage worth reading. It slams Citron and Vonage’s growth prospects. Ouch.

Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , : Related Tags: , , ,
Comments

Don’t Block My Voice

June 23, 2006

I received this letter from Consumer’s Union. It seems like a worthy cause. I get lost of e-mails from Consumers Union on a variety of different causes. I don’t always agree with their causes but if the following is true, it is very scary.

----

Tell Congress--don't block my email!

You elected them! They represent you!  Yet some lawmakers don't want to hear from you anymore and have set up technology to block your messages! They say your messages are spam.

Last month, Congressional offices began to adopt new software that blocks the delivery of email their constituents send from a wide range of nonprofit organization websites.

Posted in Personal
Comments

New Zealand VoIP

June 23, 2006

Good Morning.

It is great to watch the press in other parts of the world wake up to the realities of life -- such as the ability of ISPs in New Zealand to block VoIP traffic.

Here is an excerpt:

New Zealand has no laws prohibiting ISPs from blocking or slowing down sites, and there's no evidence they are or aren't because currently there's no way of telling. To maintain the integrity of the internet, we suggest regulations be introduced to ensure the neutrality of ISPs.

Perhaps the scariest point is that there is no way of telling if VoIP traffic is being degraded intentionally. This is something TMCnet's Pat Barnard has been writing about for many months.
Posted in VoIP
Comments

VoIP Sizzles Expands

June 22, 2006

I will be at least one of these events as a keynote speaker continuing to evangelize the IP communications market to resellers worldwide. Resellers are making great profits in this space and without a healthy reseller market we can’t have a healthy IP communications market. I will be keynoting some of the future ABP Technology VoIP Sizzles events in 2006.

This one-day event offers resellers a complete overview of the state of VoIP technology, customer premise equipment including several lines of IP-PBXs, IP phones, gateways as well as VoIP software applications to sell. ABP also will show software solutions for Service Providers rolling out their Voice networks and markets endpoints along with a wide range of fulfillment services.

The VoIP Sizzles event features presentations by industry experts, workshops, exhibits, technology break out sessions and a bonus training session on Professional VoIP solutions focusing on QoS, redundancy and how to build VoIP systems that are better than conventional TDM solutions.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

Optimum Online Speeds up

June 22, 2006

I have been using the new higher speed service that Cablevision offers for the past few months and the speed is amazing. Everyone should be downloading at 30 mbps and uploading at 2. My entire surfing experience has changed for the better these last few months.

I was reminded of my switch by Om’s blog post today. By the way Om, you can get this service in Connecticut too. Our traffic isn’t too bad if you are going against traffic. The LIE is always a nightmare. I was stuck on it this past weekend in fact.
Posted in Broadband
Tagged: : Related Tags:

Dragonfly

June 22, 2006

My cousin Cy Tehrani just opened a new restaurant in Stamford, CT named Dragonfly. I haven't had a chance to go inside yet but I hear good things and the outside architecture looks great.
Posted in Personal
Comments

Dog Dials 911

June 22, 2006

No, seriously – a dog dialed 911 and saved someone’s life.
Posted in VoIP

VoIP and the USF

June 22, 2006

I have been a bit silent about the USF ruling regarding VoIP providers. I gave some comments to Computer Business Review so if you are interested in seeing where I stand on this issue, please check out the article.
Posted in VoIP

isellbody

June 22, 2006

What happens when you merge the milliondollarhomepage idea with sex (or is it art)? You get isellbody.com.
Posted in Technology

AT&T's New Privacy Policy

June 22, 2006

AT&T's new policy on your phone records is surprising because they come out and tell it like it is. In this day and age one expects a company like AT&T to claim ownership over your phone call details by calling them business records. Google for example tracks all your moves online and many seem to be comfortable with that.

I for one am not so comfortable with this fact but it is a price I pay for using their service. If a better service came along and kept my records more private I may use it.

Thanks to AT&T's candor, customers can now decide whether it makes sense to use AT&T for phone calls or not.
Posted in VoIP

VoIP Developer Event

June 21, 2006

Here is a letter being sent out on the upcoming VoIP Developer show. You may not be aware of the IMS, Avaya and Ubiquity developer tracks as they are new. I hope you can make it. Also, please forward this post to any and all developers you know.

Posted in VoIP

Catching up

June 21, 2006

With all my travel lately I have been neglecting my blogging. I figured I would get right back into the swing of things with some links to interesting articles.

You hear me discuss building communities all the time. Well Electronic Arts has decided to purchase Mythic a company devoted to massively multi-player games. The trend towards community building continues to grow across industries and boundaries.

In an effort to increase internet security levels, eBay (I am a shareholder btw) and others have begun to urge Congress for better privacy laws.
Posted in Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Conferencing, IMS, IPTV, SIP, Speech Technologies, Technology, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless
Tagged: , , , , , : Related Tags:

Solid Cactus

June 19, 2006

I have to admit I am writing about this company because I like the name. Solid Cactus is now in the call center space. They have added this service to a bewildering array of marketing services they already provide. Here is the press release.

Posted in Call Center
Comments

Vonage Marketing Doesn’t Scale

June 18, 2006

TheStreet.com basically destroys Vonage in this article. One wonders if all the negative press around the company makes it a good buy. I have had many people in the industry tell me the value of this company’s stock should be zero. But with the absolute best-known brand in VoIP in the world (perhaps after Skype) I have trouble betting against them.

So many people claim that customer acquisition cost is the problem with the Vonage business model.

My argument? Hypothetically speaking -- If TMC spends five million dollars marketing at ITEXPO we may get 10,000 attendees.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,
Comments

Nortel and Huawei

June 16, 2006

Here is the latest on Nortel and Huawei and how they may work together going forward. This is after they killed a joint venture. I am still wondering why Huawei is not making a bigger splash in the US. They seem to be threatening to come to the states in a bigger way but they just don’t seem to pull the trigger.

 

 

Posted in Broadband, IMS, IPTV, SIP, Technology, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Speaking in Minneapolis

June 16, 2006

Join me next week in Minneapolis for this seminar. I am totally revamping my presentation and it will be better than ever.

Minneapolis Marriott Southwest - Salon A-D
5801 Opus Parkway
Minnetonka, Minnesota 55343 USA
Directions: Get directions from the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest.  
Agenda: 

Minneapolis, MN | Tuesday, June 20, 2006 8:00 –
8:30 am Registration & Complimentary Interactive Breakfast‌ Salon A-D 8:30 –
8:50 am Welcome and Introduction          Bob Denman, President, Avtex & Brit Vickner, Product Marketing Manager, Vonexus/ Interactive Intelligence 8:50 –
9:30 am Keynote - Industry Direction   Rich Tehrani, President of Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC®) 9:30 –
9:40 am A Look at Your Enterprise Brit Vickner, Product Marketing Manager 9:40 –
10:20 am The Effective Contact Center Tim Passios, Director, Product Marketing 10:20 –
10:30 am Break 10:30 –
11:10 am Customer Interaction Center® Live Demo Tim Passios, Director, Product Marketing 11:10 –
11:30 am Customer Testimonial – Minco                    Jim Tweedie, Minco & James Drury, Whiteforest Group 11:30 –
11:45 am Summary and Wrap-up                                 Brit Vickner, Product Marketing Manager 11:45 am – 12:30 pm Complimentary Lunch                                    Lake of Woods Ballroom  

 

 

 

Posted in Call Center

Google Happenings

June 16, 2006

Here is a great article on Google and what thy have been up to recently. It is a good summary piece. You know your company has made it when your real estate transactions become breaking news.

One wonders if we are becoming too obsessed with this company. Is Google the next Brangelina? I wouldn't be surprised to see the Google execs in the supermarket tabloids in the next few months.
Posted in Google

A Brilliant Move By Vonage

June 16, 2006

I have traveling for so long that I didn’t know the reason behind the drop in Vonage’s stock price which is now around $10. According to Russell Shaw the reason seems to be the fact that Vonage is being very aggressive with customers looking to cancel. The company is offering free services and a drop in price o keep customers.

For this the stock got hammered.

Here is my question.

If so many people are focusing on Vonage’s amazingly high cost of customer acquisition, why is it bad for Vonage to spend a far less amount to keep a customer on their network?

The phone companies do the exact same thing.

This isn't a new practice.

I think it is very smart and it doesn’t seem like something worth punishing the company for. Rather they should be rewarded.
Posted in VoIP
Comments

ReefPoint

June 16, 2006

Great news for the IP communications market. ReefPoint Systems a big player in IP communications security -- focusing on FMC, IMS and UMA. The company has received $21 million in VC funding from American Capital and will soon announce a new CEO, Woody Ritchey and COO, Dennis Chateauneuf.

Ritchey worked at Cisco, Motorola, Arraycomm and AT&T. Chateauneuf worked at Sentito Networks, DTI Networks/Coppercom, Shiva, Sun and Wang labs.

Their products sit at the border of the Internet and the FMC core and provide.
Posted in Broadband, IMS, IPTV, SIP, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Heading Home

June 15, 2006

I am on the way back from Boston now and the train seems to be going through a traffic jam of sorts. We slowed from over 100 mph to about 20. It is a beautiful day and I had a great trip. I stopped in and surprised the guests at the Triple Play Symposium and got to see the team from NetCentrex and Comverse.
Posted in VoIP

Telx CBX Event News

June 14, 2006

I had a good show today and met new friends and lots of old ones from Stealth Communications, Cantata, Telecom Brazil and others. I have some things to write up based on a press conference I was in today. But I am currently nauseous traveling at mach .15 on the way to Boston. I think the salad I ate is more responsible than the train.

I love Amtrak's Acela trains and they can't be more comfortable.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags:

Massive Loans

June 14, 2006

There is still a staggering amount of money floating around Wall Street. This week I was advising a company on whether to provide a loan that was just under a billion dollars to a communications compny. In the scheme of things I suppose that isn’t so out of whack. It seems we have a bit of tech euphoria (or is it just tech reality?) once again. Consider Skype was valued at just under three billion dollars and Vonage at around two billion.

Posted in VoIP

Packet8 Hosted VoIP Patent

June 14, 2006

For its size 8x8, the company responsible for the Packet8 brand is a leader in patents. The company has been receiving patents in video and related technologies for years. In the nineties I would tour the companies offices and see walls full of patents. I would always walk away amazed.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags: , , ,

More on the IMS Party

June 13, 2006

I had a great time at our recent IMS party at Globalcomm but little did I know what great photo opps I was missing.




Here is our CEO Nadji Tehrani meeting with Intel and learning about their broad range of IMS products and services. Who said this publishing thing was all work?

Rich Tehrani in June 2006

June 13, 2006


The next few weeks will be rather busy for me. Tomorrow I will be at the Telx CBX event which focuses on VoIP peering among other topics. As you may recall I declared this the year of VoIP peering. I need to go to this conference and ensure I was right.
Posted in Call Center, VoIP

VoIP for SMB News

June 13, 2006

Here are some recent stories from the VoIP for SMB community on TMCnet. We have been seeing more and more community involvement and traffic on this site. I hope you like it and it and send us comments on other areas of interest.

Nortel to strengthen position in SME market
WorldCell provides global roaming to Verizon Dominicana
AT&T Blue Room Brings Fans Exclusive Front-Row Access
Vyyo SVP Steve Santamaria to Address Cable and Wireless Access
BellSouth Schedules Second Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call for July 24, 2006
Aktino, EMBARQ Logistics Sign Multi-Year Agreement for Aktino's
Motorola Announces Exclusive Agreement With David Beckham
Harris Corporation Awarded $50 Million in Contracts from U.S   Here is more up to date Voip news for the small business community.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags:

Oracle Buys Telephony@Work

June 13, 2006

After hearing rumors for many weeks this finally became reality. This purchase allows Oracle to get into the hosted contact center space and in addition it keeps Telephony@Work, a Siebel partner from falling into someone else’s (perhaps a competitor’s) hands.

Perhaps most importantly, Oracle will use this purchase to unify analytics, the ACD and CRM. As Oracle owns so much CRM market share this is a natural extension for them as they can now sell hosted call center solutions through all their channels (Siebel, JD Edwards, etc) as an integrated solution. There will be greater efficiencies afforded between those companies purchasing the Telephony@Work solution instead of a competitor as the integration will be greater across Oracle’s product lines.

Oracle’s customers will now be able to better optimize business processes though integrated software solutions allowing corporations to share data more effectively.
Financial details were not disclosed in the press release but sources tell me a significant amount of money changed hands.

This was a good move for Oracle.
Posted in CRM, Call Center
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: ,

Channel Arbitrage

June 12, 2006

There is just so much money floating around the market that I am devoting more and more time to VCs and other financial people looking for confirmation of their investment ideas as well as advice on how to put together complicated deals. Some of the ideas floating around are how to combine some of the older more established companies with some of the newer and more exciting technologies. So you leverage an established channel with a hot new technology.

Channel building takes years and this is a good strategy to play as it is something like arbitrage in the channel building space.
Posted in VoIP

Hillary Clinton and Michelle Tehrani

June 12, 2006

A friend of my sister’s sent over this picture of my sister Michelle Tehrani and Hillary Clinton. Senator Clinton and Michelle were at a function together in the city. The picture is about a year old and I thought it was kind of cool to blog about.  
Posted in Personal
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: , , , ,

Enterprise IMS

June 12, 2006

I have been speaking with a number of major service providers worldwide and am now convinced that IMS will see unbelievable adoption rates in enterprise environments. IP multimedia subsystem solutions will be the primary way calls are transferred between corporate phone systems and wireless networks. IMO there is a tremendous amount of revenue to be generated in lucrative niche.

Expect the number of IMS apps to grow as enterprise customers discover all that can be done with this framework. Expect service providers to be salivating at all the new ways to make money in the enterprise space as plain old phone service gets commoditized to a greater and greater degree.

If you want to keep up with it all, be sure to subscribe to TMC’s IMS Magazine immediately to stay up to date on all that is happening.
Posted in IMS
Tagged: , : Related Tags: , ,

Allworx Gets Funded

June 12, 2006

VoIP funding is alive and kicking as evidenced by the latest 2 million dollar transaction allowing inSciTek Microsystems to get funding for its AllWorx VoIP product line.

“InSciTek’s Allworx product line brings the benefits of VoIP to small businesses,” said Jennifer Tegan, partner, Cayuga Venture Fund, in a press release. “Because of Allworx, small companies have access to an affordable yet sophisticated communications system in a turnkey package that provides greater flexibility and workplace efficiencies. Cayuga Venture Fund is proud to support InSciTek so that more small businesses can gain access to its suite of award-winning communications products and services.”

“Cayuga Venture Fund’s investment demonstrates confidence in our strategy for continued growth,” said George Daddis, InSciTek President and CEO. “This investment enables us to develop a new generation of Allworx products - building on our current portfolio, which already offers the broadest feature set and the lowest installed cost of any VoIP solution for small businesses.”

Other firms which have previously provided funding include Enhanced Capital Partners, High Peaks Venture Partners.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

Moore’s Law

June 12, 2006

Good news from Intel for fans of Moore’s Law -- Researchers have found a way to cut chip power consumption by 35 percent.

Using tri-gate transistors is the key.

"Compared to carbon nanotubes, it is far easier to build," said Mike Mayberry, director of components research and vice president of Intel's Technology and Manufacturing Group. "The problem with carbon nanotubes is that no one knows how to put them in a particular spot except by moving them one at a time. Even our smallest chips have millions of transistors, so that is an insurmountable challenge, he continued."

A tri-gate transistor is a component in the standard CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) design, but acts as a better "traffic cop" to control the flow of electrons, surrounding each wire on three sides instead of just one.
Posted in Technology
Tagged: , , , , : Related Tags:

Skype/eBay Integration

June 12, 2006

It seems like some of that community building between eBay users and Skype technology is coming to an auction near you.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags:

VoIP e911 Forum

June 10, 2006

VoIP e911 is one of those issues that seems to linger on and on. It is a complicated issue and that in part has to do with the PSAPs that are described as a bunch of fiefdoms who really don't answer to anyone.

Couple that with the fact that technology is moving so quickly that they are struggling to keep up with the ever-changing world of IP communications. All the while the FCC is mandating that they work with VoIP providers making life difficult for the VoIP providers and the PSAPs.

Worse, many times, the iLECS are the gateways to the PSAPS and last I checked the iLECs aren't huge fans of Vonage and others.

These factors along with many others are why TMCnet has partnered with Dash 911 to bring you a VoIP e911 forum of substance. Please use this forum as a resource to help answer your questions about how emergency services can coexist with VoIP.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,
Comments

Court Upholds VoIP Wiretapping

June 10, 2006

Yesterday the U.S appeals court upheld FCC rules making it easier for police and other law enforcement officials to monitor VoIP calls. Civil liberties groups said VoIP calls should be exempt from wiretapping as they are information services.

It would obviously put this country at risk if VoIP providers did not have to comply with CALEA or the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. This is a good decision regardless of the nuances of the information versus telecommunications service argument.

Also see the InfoWorld and WSJ articles on the topic.
Posted in VoIP

Congress on e911

June 9, 2006

Congress has decided to get very involved in the world of e911 and VoIP. Tom Keating has great perspective on this and explains what is happening in detail.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags:

Vonage Sold Short

June 9, 2006

Take a look at how short sellers have hurt Vonage’s stock. Very painful. A good quarter of positive growth should get the short sellers out of this offering and force them to buy back shares.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: ,

Mind Over Matter

June 9, 2006

One day it will be possible to control computers with your brainwaves without the need for speech, keyboard or stylus. This article describes some of the advancements being made allowing brain waves to control a computer in such a fashion that many with strokes and other debilitating conditions can communicate effectively.

The technology does not allow rapid conversation yet but it seems that it will get better and better over time. Certainly the military will be interested in this technology as well. Perhaps their interest will speed up adoption of such technology.
Posted in Technology
Tagged: , , : Related Tags:

Globalcomm Digest

June 8, 2006

Tom has the best Globalcomm digest I have seen. He has links to lots of other sources as well. Lots of news broke at the show but exhibitors said there was no press there. I did get to write a story about Lucent after a press conference they had on the first day.
Posted in IMS
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: , , ,

Stories of Interest

June 8, 2006



Here are recent stories of interest. My favorite has to be Survey: IPods More Popular Than Beer followed by QUALCOMM's VoIP news and of course how often do I get to talk about JFK. The VoiceGenie news is old but the deal is closed and Google's spreadsheet news is analyzed in some detail.

---

Texas to Install Border Web Cameras
Tandberg Television Helps Japan's On Demand TV Upgrade its Networks to MPEG 4
TECH BRIEFS: AOL security, Ad subbing tech, `Wii' defense, Hurricane phones, Chancellor vidcast
Cincom Synchrony Included in ScionASP's Hosting Services
JFK Papers, Photos to Be Put on Internet
Directing Traffic to Your Website: You Built It, But Will They Come?
Rivermine Launches Software Powered TEM Services Suite
Intel's Viiv Expanding beyond Entertainment
TIA Presses U.S. Government for Federal Funding for Basic Telecommunications Research
China: Internet Cos.
Posted in CRM, Call Center, Conferencing, Google, IMS, IPTV, Open Source, SIP, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless
Tagged: , , , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

George Ou on Net Neutrality

June 8, 2006

George does a great job explaining his views on net neutrality.

his views on net neutrality.The amount of political rhetoric coming from the Net neutrality crowd is at a fever pitch. From MoveOn.org to SaveTheInternet.com practicing their brand of scare the public to a self-interest driven "do-no-evil" Google, the consistent message we're getting is this:

Internet Telco providers will control what you see on the net
There will be a two tiered Internet

Google or other websites might respond at a snails pace or work at all

Voice over IP telephony providers will be shut out

What's needed is an intelligent and balanced debate on this topic, but the issue as represented by many in the media has been largely one sided. Instead of seeing this as a battle of large corporations between companies like Google and AT&T, we are suppose to believe that it is just the "evil" Telco companies and the "evil" politicians they paid off opposing Net neutrality against the people. If we are suppose to start with this premise, then we may as well not even have a debate since we've demonized any and all opposition to begin with

Continued.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: ,

Apple's Creative Lawsuit

June 8, 2006

Apple is using its brains on this one. They are counter suing Creative Labs for the lawsuit creative brought against them. In fact they are countersuing twice. Apple has virtually unlimited money and they have to do whatever it takes to protect the cash cow.

In the 8-page complaint, the iPod maker said "Creative has caused Apple substantial damage and irreparable injury by its infringement" and that it "will continue to suffer damage and irreparable injury" unless a court steps in.

The company is seeking cash damages "adequate to compensate for Creative's infringement" and a court order banning further patent infringements.

Apple's first counter-suit was filed last month in a district court in Wisconsin and charged Creative with infringing on four of its patents.
Posted in Consumer Electronics
Tagged: , : Related Tags: , , , ,

VoIP Security Breach

June 8, 2006

Ouch – A man stole (link fixed) (AP Story) thousands of calls from VoIP providers.   At least 15 Internet phone companies were victimized, with one suffering as much as $300,000 in lost fees, prosecutors said.

Pena allegedly was able to secretly route 500,000 calls through a Newark-based provider identified in the complaint as "N.T.P.," which appears to be Net2Phone. Messages seeking comment from the company, and its corporate parent, IDT Corp., were not immediately returned Wednesday.   Pena operated two telecommunications companies, Fortes Telecom Inc. and Miami Tech & Consulting Inc., according to federal prosecutors. The companies, acting as wholesalers, sold more than 10 million minutes of Internet telephone service for as little as 0.4 cents a minute.   Pena was charged with wire fraud, which carries up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and computer hacking, which carries up to five years and a $250,000 fine.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags: , ,
Comments

I Didn't Get Your Message

June 7, 2006

Two people I know told me today that they are meeting more and more people that just delete e-mail and voicemail. The theory goes if it is important they will just call again or e-mail again, etc.

These are generally people in management positions.

One of my discussions focused on how we will communicate in the future if people don't read or listen to messages.

It is common knowledge that e-mail marketing is less effective than at any time in the past. Perhaps this is why -- coupled with spam filters, etc.

One wonders how we will communicate in the future.
Posted in VoIP

These VoIP People Are Everywhere

June 7, 2006

I am in the Dallas airport (DFW) and ran into a friend from Nuera who I have known for years. Small world. He said he read my blog entry about Globalcomm and told me that others agreed with my sentiments. Too bad -- I was hoping it would have picked up after I left.

I got to meet some old friends in the Interactive Intelligence session today so that was great.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags: , ,

These VoIP People Are Everywhere

June 7, 2006

I am in the Dallas airport (DFW) and ran into someone from Nuera who I have known for years. Small world. He said he read my blog entry about Globalcomm and others agreed with my sentiments. Too bad -- I was hoping it would have picked up after I left.

I also got to meet some old friends in the Interactive Intelligence session today so that was great.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags:

My Exhausting Day

June 7, 2006

It has been an exhausting day. I was at Globalcomm early this morning and the booth traffic seemed a bit better. Many exhibitors were still complaining but one in the back right told me they have great qualified leads coming to their booth. This particular company increased their pre-show marketing and that seems to have been a factor in their increase.

I lucked out in terms of travel.
Posted in Call Center

Globalcomm Day 1

June 6, 2006

Today was kind of a weird trade show day as Globalcomm was very empty compared to past Supercomm events. The TMC booth hardly saw a soul and exhibitors were fuming. I witnessed exhibits with massive amounts of empty space.

Others complained that the hall had too many vendors. Yet another complaint was that there was no press -- what am I invisible? True I have been trying to diet lately.

The company that did best today was Cisco as their booth was in front of the entrance.
Posted in IMS, ITEXPO, SIP, VoIP
Tagged: , , , , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,
Comments

Tough Times For Microsoft

June 6, 2006

What on Earth do you do when the most popular search engine in the world starts to give away the software you charge for? Google -- as has been rumored for years -- has released a web-based competitor to Excel.

How does Microsoft counter this? Suggestions are to counter with a better web-based solution that interfaces more seamlessly with other windows applications.

The winner in this war is the consumer as Microsoft has had an Office monopoly for many years and it is time for them to have to work really hard to keep their customers. If Microsoft was to develop a truly enhanced Office suite they could even charge more than they do now. The problem is that they have let it languish forever and it is time to get us excited about new technologies that make us more productive. So, Microsoft, how will you respond?
Posted in Google
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags:

Hashemian is Wrong

June 5, 2006

Years ago Robert Hashemian, who currently employs the position of Webmaster at TMCnet wrote an article "Fax is Dead." This of course didn't sit well with Maury Kaufman who at the time made his living as a fax analyst. Maury sent TMC a scalding letter which we ran titled Hashemian is Wrong which we ran in one of TMC's publications -- I just can' recall which.

Well whether Hashemian was right or wrong is debatable but a number of years after Hashemian wrote his articles Kaufman gave up being a fax analyst. So when Maury jumped ship I figured Hashemian was right.

But you know what, after meeting with MultiTech Systems this morning and Paul Kraska in particular I learned that the company thinks fax is alive. I thought -- wait till I tell Robert.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

Dear Blog Readers

June 5, 2006

Hi there. It is Rich here. I have some good news and some not so good. The bad news first.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , : Related Tags: ,

Global IP Sound Interview

June 5, 2006

Global IP Sound Interview

Here is an unedited preview of a future Executive Suite.

----

Somewhere around the year 2001 I became familiar with a company called Global IP Sound. I can't remember the exact date but I do remember what I first thought when I saw the company's application allowing truly amazing VoIP voice quality on a wireless-enabled PDA.

After I saw this demo I realized how big the WiFi Telephony space would become. What I didn't realize though is how GIPS would become a company that is famous for allowing other companies to rapidly build VoIP products and services of their own.

Think of the company as an engine manufacturer across the VoIP industry. Much the same way that Porsche engines show up in a line of Porsche cars as well as airplanes, the GIPs voice engine powers software as well as hardware.

One of the most recent applications of their technology is a futuristic speakerphone from a company called LifeSize.

Among the company's client list is the world's best known VoIP name, Skype.

Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,
Comments

The Value of Magazines

June 4, 2006

I was just reading BusinessWeek and came across a column by Maria Bartiromo and started to think. For those of you who don't know, Maria is the host of CNBC's Closing Bell. She seems very knowledgeable in her position but on TV she seems to never get a chance to get out her intimate knowledge of markets. Her experience -- or at least a good part of it is bottled up.
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags: , , ,

Net2Phone Sues Skype/eBay

June 4, 2006

Anyone who has been in this business long enough knows that before Skype ever existed, Net2Phone was selling VoIP service. The company was one of the first to be part of the Internet Telephony shows. I remember being in their offices in the nineties and them telling me that by not advertising that they were using the Internet to transmit calls, sales actually increased. Now it seems the opposite is true -- VoIP is more chic than the PSTN -- even to the average consumer.

Net2Phone is one of the true VoIP pioneers along with VocalTec and Natural Microsystems.
Posted in Rates Technology, VoIP
Tagged: , , , , : Related Tags: , ,
Comments

GlobalComm

June 3, 2006

See Globalcomm Digest for latest on Globalcomm

I am heading to Globalcomm tomorrow and wish I was flying on Jet Blue as they have recently won (AP, Reuters) the rights to provide WiFi in-flight. It is likely early to take advantage of the in-flight wireless broadband but I just can't wait for it to get started.

I am also super-excited about the IMS party TMC is hosting with the IMS Forum. Thanks to Siemens as the party sponsor. It takes place Monday night and it is a can't miss event.

Posted in IMS
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: ,

Market Strategy and Analytics Partners

June 3, 2006

You may recall David Yedwab as that articulate analyst that has spoken at past TMC events. Perhaps you have read some of his work. I recently was in touch with him and he told me he sis starting his own consulting business with Paul Robinson called Market Strategy and Analytics Partners, LLC. David said, "Our focus will be on marketing and sales strategy, business plan and case development across the converging infotainment industry."

I asked for details and this is what David sent:

Market Strategy and Analytics Partners' mission is to improve its clients - equipment and software providers, service providers and information intense enterprises - success by focusing on differentiating their offers and operationalizing that differentiation into executable and quantifiable success.

Talk about fitting lots of meaning into a few words.
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

Get Human

June 3, 2006

I recently came across a very funny video clip that teaches callers how to get right to a live operator. It takes tips from a website called gethuman.com and you'll learn tips like mumbling, hitting zero repeatedly and other tips and tricks that may make your life as a customer a bit easier.
Posted in CRM, Call Center
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags:
Comments

Wireless Spectrum

June 2, 2006

Here are the details on the wireless spectrum auction held by the FCC. Some of the winners are JetBlue – yes the airline and AirCell who supplies private jets with wireless broadband equipment at the moment.

Read JetBlue snags license for air-to-ground wireless service for more details.

Posted in Wireless
Tagged: , , , : Related Tags: , ,
Comments

Covergence

June 2, 2006

I just received word that Covergence has received $15 million dollars in series C funding. I recently met with them and remain impressed with their approach to VoIP and SIP. I anticipate a flurry of activity at TMC’s IP Communications Business Summit (August 8-9, 2006 in Santa Clara, California) and expect it to be the world’s best location for the venture and analyst community to meet up with the hottest companies in IP communications.   I almost forgot – Robins Consulting Group is a strategic partner in this summit and we are looking forward to it being an industry first!

Here is a summary of the news:

-- Series C Funding round led by new investor Globespan Capital Partners and existing investors Highland Capital Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners
-- Covergence will also be adding Globespan's Andy Goldfarb, exec. managing director and co-founder, to its Board of Directors
-- Round will be used to fuel new sales & marketing opportunities, refine channel sales strategy, and expand further into international markets
-- Covergence's total funding to date (incl.
Posted in SIP, VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: , , , ,

The USF Wants You!

June 2, 2006

At this point it is beyond ludicrous to have VoIP providers pay into the USF. VoIP is just an application. It makes much more sense to have broadband providers pay into the USF. I have mentioned this before and feel I must keep mentioning it until someone listens.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: , , , ,
Comments

Bluetooth Review

June 2, 2006

I guess bluetooth is now mainstream as Consumer Reports has begun testing these devices. It is pretty amazing to see technology go from leading edge to mainstream. I saw the same thing happen with call centers and VoIP. Here is an ABC News video on the Consumers Reports article.
Posted in Consumer Electronics
Tagged: , , : Related Tags: , ,
Comments

Yellow Stone Cell Phones

June 2, 2006

I have always wanted to go to Yellowstone National Park but haven’t had the chance. It seems that by the time I get there, I will be able to use my cell phone anywhere in the park. Or perhaps not if the anti-cell phone groups have their way.

Here is a story about the controversy over using cell phones in public parks. Does the safety afforded by cell phones make up for the fact that the noise they emit will be annoying to park goers? That is the question that will soon be answered.

My guess is that Yellowstone will allow more cell phone towers in the park.
Posted in Wireless
Tagged: , : Related Tags: , , ,
Comments

Reseller Webinar

June 1, 2006

I just noticed a mention of this webinar on Tom’s blog. It seems like a great webinar for the reseller community. One of those can’t miss events.

---

How Reseller CEOs Should Collect, Monitor and Interpret Performance Data to Make Better Decisions

Here's an abbreviated snippet of the webinar description:

Are you comfortable with the knowledge you have about your reseller business? You’d be the rare leader if you had an accurate and complete handle on all sales, finance, cash flow, profitability, service and resource utilization issues. But to succeed as an IP solutions provider, these are precisely the measurements you need-in easy-to-read and interpret spreadsheets that track your business performance on your PC monitor.
Posted in VoIP
Tagged: , : Related Tags: , , , , ,

Google Story

June 1, 2006

Money/CNN have a great story about Google and their plans for the future. It will be very exciting to see the company get into the TV and magazine markets as the article details. The article also mentions competition from eBay and Yahoo! What intrigues me about this relationship is that eBay has access to so much purchasing data and Yahoo! has so may personal details about it’s customers. If these databases could be leveraged to aid both companies it would allow both eBay and Yahoo! to provide more targeted information and ads to customers.

But there is no guarantee that this relationship will enable Yahoo! to gain search market share.
Posted in Google
Tagged: , , , , : Related Tags: , , , ,

3g 4g apple asterisk at&t att broadband call center cisco communications conference consumer electronics crm expo facebook fcc gadget google ims ip communications iphone ipod itexpo microsoft Microsoft open source sip skype social networking technology tmc tmcnet unified communications verizon video voip vonage wifi wireless yahoo

Featured Events