Rich Tehrani

CEO

Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com

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

October 2006

You are browsing the archive for October 2006.

Zultys Assets Acquired

October 31, 2006

The news of the day is Telrad Connegy has purchased the Zultys assets via Pivot VoIP, Inc. Telrad will be using this acquisition to get into the IP PBX space. They are interested in the Zultys technology.

Posted in IP Communications, VoIP

Tagged: ip communications, ip pbx, pivot, telrad connegy, voip, zultys : Related Tags: telrad connegy, ultys assets, telrad, ultys, company, connegy

Comments

RSS in your IM

October 30, 2006

If you need to get up to the minute updates on your RSS feeds such as this one from Dan York (which alerted me to this story), you want to check out the RSS Robot which takes an RSS feed and connects it with Skype so you get an IM in Skype when new RSS info comes through. I already get alerted to new RSS feeds from my reader so this isn’t too useful for me. Still it could be useful to someone who is hooked on Skype and whose RSS reader doesn’t alert them to new content.

As we begin to see more and more products integrate with Skype the question becomes when we see a full-fledged office-like environment evolve around Skype. First we would need an e-mail client – perhaps this AJAX-based one from BlueTie will do.

Posted in Google, IP Communications, Skype, Technology

Tagged: bluetie, google, rss, skype, xml : Related Tags: skype, google, perhaps

Comments

Good Ideas for Vonage

October 30, 2006

PhoneBoy chimes in with some good ideas for Vonage. Anyone in Jersey listening? We had a gentlemanly disagreement on a related topic this weekend btw.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: voip, vonage : Related Tags: ideas vonage

Red Hat in Trouble

October 30, 2006

When Oracle decides to compete with you, watch out. That is the theme of this article and it states Red Hat is in real trouble now that Oracle has declared it will offer Linux support for half the going rate. I have trouble disagreeing with anything in this article which means IMHO Red hat is likely in real trouble.

Posted in Technology

Tagged: oracle, red hat : Related Tags: trouble

PayPal and HP

October 30, 2006

I have a PayPal account but I don't use it that often. I suppose I use it a few times a year as opposed to my credit cards which I use daily. Now it seems PayPal is everywhere and I can even buy HP computers with the service. Still the credit card companies with cash back and airline miles have a pretty good lock on me and keep me from switching over to the PayPal side. I suppose for people without credit cards, PayPal makes a great deal of sense. It is also a great way to transfer money from one person to another fairly seamlessly.

Posted in Technology

Tagged: hp, paypal : Related Tags: credit cards, paypal, credit

Comments

Fried Coke

October 29, 2006

Apparently Fried Coke tastes great and is more filling which is great news for those of you who were afraid of excess carbohydrates without being accompanied by loads of fat.

"It tastes great," said Sue Gooding, a spokeswoman for the State Fair of Texas where Gonzales' fried Coke made its debut this fall. "It was a huge success."

Gonzales ran two stands at the State Fair of Texas and sold up to 35,000 fried Cokes over 24 days for $4.50 each -- and won a prize for coming up with "most creative" new fair food.

Now other fairs in North Carolina and Arizona are following the trend, and other people are trying to emulate Gonzales' recipe.

Here is more on this calorically developing story. Who says you can't have your Coke and eat it to?

Posted in Personal

Tagged: fried coke, state fair of texas : Related Tags: tastes great, fried, gonzales, great

Zultys Events

October 29, 2006

There is so much happening in the Zultys saga right now. Here is an update from this past Friday. Some of this article is based on the very vibrant conversations taking place on this blog entry. The worldwide Zultys community has been communicating via this blog entry which has become the source of much news on the subject.

Here are some highlights from the above-linked article:

The accusations led Avi Weinrib, acting President and CEO of Pivot VoIP, to respond publicly on Rich Tehrani’s VoIP Blog, announcing their intentions to “continue the product development and support of the Zultys line and to enable us to maintain the strong relationship with its reseller base, should we be successful at the auction.”
In his posting, Weinrib stated:

• We will continue the product development cycle in the Silicon Valley, in our new offices in Mountain View.
• We believe strongly in the product and we already have on board the very right team to continue to support it.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: ip pbx, voip.voip, zultys : Related Tags: continue product, planning continue, product development, pivot planning, silicon valley, ultys

What the Hell.com

October 29, 2006

If you are interested in going to Hell.com or better yet owning the domain name it will cost you. Saints and sinners alike started the bidding on this domain name recently but failed to reach the $2.3 million reserve required for the URL to change hands.

Many in the blogosphere say Lucifer has been routinely threatening all bidders in an attempt to keep the price from reaching the stratosphere. Rumors abound that Google may be interested in the domain name as an extension to their Google Earth program. According to sources, Google execs think they have gone as far as they can with Google Earth and need new ways to keep the stock humming along.

In typical Google fashion the excellent Google Earth technology is to be replicated in heaven, hell and the afterlife.

After consulting with many analysts in the space -- most of whom as you might imagine have horns and tails -- I have learned that the authorities at Vegas.com are keenly aware of the auction and are sitting on the sidelines to see who picks it up.

Posted in Google, Technology

Tagged: domain name, google earth, hell.com, url, vegas.com : Related Tags: google earth, google, domain, earth, angels

Comments

Daylight Savings will Never be the Same

October 29, 2006

This is the last year daylight savings will take place in October. Hence forth it starts earlier and ends later. In an effort to save electricity the US government has passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which means a longer period of daylight savings.

Other names considered were the Saudi Prince Ferrari Reduction act, Putting a Hex on Exxon Act and my favorite, Having Fun With Iran Act.

Oh and in case you aren't aware, the oil companies in fear of having to pay a windfall profits tax have come to a compromise with Republicans and Democrats alike. In an effort to help consumers and the auto industry alike the oil companies will be giving 2 billion dollars in aggregate to households purchasing at least one Hummer in 2007.

Read about the Energy Policy Act of 2005 details here.

Posted in Science

Tagged: daylight savings, energy policy act of 2005 : Related Tags: daylight savings, energy policy, daylight, savings

UAE Bans Skype

October 29, 2006

It isn’t too surprising that Skype is being outlawed in various countries such as the United Arab Emirates. The unfortunate consequence of such actions is people used to getting 2 cent a minute calls find they are now 75 cents per minute. This is the same old story. The local phone company finds a way to block Skype and then their revenue skyrockets.

My take is the incumbent phone companies are generally in trouble around the world and they need to find new ways to generate revenue in a VoIP-dominated world.

Posted in Skype, VoIP

Tagged: etisalat, skype, uae, voip : Related Tags: skype

I Still Think Vonage is Innovating

October 29, 2006

Even though not everyone agrees, I believe Vonage is still innovating. OK weather and traffic aren’t the most interesting applications out there but they are sticky. In addition, Vonage is doing the smart thing by coming up with new services as a defense against lowering prices. It doesn’t make sense to be the lowest-priced service.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: andy abramson, at&t, phoneboy, qwest, traffic, voip, voip watch, vonage, weather : Related Tags: weather traffic, services, vonage, still, features, traffic

Comments

Google and Video Advertising

October 28, 2006

Google is already winning the war for the hearts and minds of advertising decision makers with its YouTube acquisition. In fact Volvo is looking to work more closely with Google as its next car is going to launch with only internet commercials. While Volvo has relationships with other Internet advertising companies they seem to be especially excited about Google's YouTube acquisition.

One might imagine Google will sell ads you must watch before getting to the content you are looking for but Google said it opposes these "pre-roll" Web ads, which resemble TV commercials.

From my perspective the typical Google ads generate clicks but have little or no branding impact. They are very measurable however.

Posted in Google, Video

Tagged: advertising, google, video, volvo, youtube : Related Tags: video advertising, youtube acquisition, google, advertising, video, based

EV-DO Rev. A Enables VoIP

October 27, 2006

A company called Airvana is making wireless VoIP over mobile carrier networks a reality. The challenge here is that Verizon Wireless prohibits VoIP calls on it’s EV-DO network. I haven’t read the terms of Sprint’s wireless service but I would imagine the whole notion of voice over IP using EV-DO makes service providers unhappy. Perhaps there are some applications where this is untrue and I am very interested to learn more.

Posted in Broadband, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: ev-do, sprint, verizon wireless, voip : Related Tags: wireless

Web 2.0 meets VoIP and Call Center 2.0

October 27, 2006

If I have to say what the most interesting thing happening in the call center today it is call center 2.0 which like every other concept with a 2.0 moniker means many different things depending on who you are. For this article the definition of call center 2.0 is an application or service that takes advantage of web 2.0

In this case the seamless passing of information between applications and websites (one definition of web 2.0) creates the ultimate new tool for call centers.

SKY-click is a free call center solution which leverages the Skype client and turns this software into a call center solution that scales. It includes important features demanded in a professional solution such as time management, call dispatching, managing the availability of collaborators, missed call solution, feedback management as well as music on hold.

The integration into the corporation’s Web site allows for live human assistance by voice using VoIP, chat/IM and video. SKY-click PRO is available on salesforce.com’s AppExchange and can be run on existing hardware and software environment.

In addition to SKY-click Pro, SKY-click is launching SKIPI.

Posted in CRM, Call Center, Conferencing, IP Communications, ITEXPO, Open Source, SIP, Speech Technologies, Technology, VoIP

Tagged: skipi, sky-click, skype, voip, web 2.0 : Related Tags: center solution, products services, between applications, center, products, skype

Aricent

October 26, 2006

As Zippy says quite well in this article, "Normally, when a new company makes its debut, Yours Truly will cross his fingers and wish good luck upon the company's uncertain future. That won't be necessary with Aricent, which comes out of the gate as a market leader in communications software, with 125 software products and already enjoying over $300 million in annual revenue."

I think Aricent who you may know as Hughes Software Systems or as part of Flextronics International is poised to do well. Although I haven't heard from them in a short while I know they have been active in PR and marketing during the telecom meltdown years and the reaction to the company at TMC's Internet Telephony events was favorable. I am looking forward to catching up with company execs and now seems like a great time.

Posted in Broadband, Conferencing, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: aricent, flextronics, fmc, ims, itexpo, pstn, signaling, ss7, zippy : Related Tags: communications software, aricent, communications, company, software, right

A Rainy Day as I Leave Portugal

October 26, 2006

Here is the scene as I wait for a cab. Unfortunate WiFi challenges mean I am likely in Newark as this posts. I added another scene from the airplane window - and even a few more. It's a long flight you know and there isn't much else to do.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Heading Home From Lisbon

October 26, 2006

It has been a wild week here in Lisbon at Dialogic Connections and there is so much going through my head. Will the new Dialogic be anything like the old one? Can it generate more interest in telecom? Will more companies be drawn to this market via the company's partner program?

Posted in CRM, Call Center, Conferencing, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, JITC, Open Source, SIP, Security, Speech Technologies, Technology, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: aculab, cantata, dialogic, ims, ip, ip communications, iptv, nms, pika, voip : Related Tags: service providers, dialogic, market, telecom, company, generate

Zultys Bankruptcy Ordeal

October 25, 2006

Here are the gory details of the Zultys bankruptcy. It is staggering how much controversy this whole ordeal has caused in the industry. In attendance at the hearing were Al Reis, the former EVP of operations at Zultys; Matt Ferro and Michael Yee representing Omaha, Neb.-based InPath Devices; lawyers representing Pivot, a newly created company backed by telecom equipment vendor Telrad Connegy of Israel; and lawyers representing underwriters and the creditors' committee.

It remains unclear how the auction will impact creditors and other existing obligations. Under Section 363 (f) of the Bankruptcy Code, petitioners can seek the sale of assets "free and clear of liens and encumbrances." At the time of its Chapter 11 filing on September 8, Zultys had more than $45 million of liabilities on its balance sheet and assets of only $1.8 million.

Posted in IP Communications, VoIP

Tagged: iain milnes, ip communications, reseller, var, zultys : Related Tags: ultys bankruptcy, lawyers representing, million, ultys, bankruptcy, representing

Wine Tasting and Dinner at Dialogic Connections 2006

October 25, 2006

I had some great port wines at the start of the night. Very sweet and wines I liked. Now on to the rest of the menu. I asked Tim Moynihan - former Dialogic employee and now customer as VP of Marketing at Envox what he thought of the day so far.

Tim - ever the diplomat - said he felt like we were at a wedding this evening which is fitting for the situation.

It was at this point - after some serious wine tasting - that a few wedding night jokes were made. I won't name names but you know who you are.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

Comments

Dialogic Connections Wine Tasting Dinner Video

October 25, 2006

Thanks to Microsoft for sponsoring a great dinner. Lots of fun. I am heading back home soon and had a good time in Portugal.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

Comments

Sprint EVDO Rev A

October 25, 2006

San Diego kicks off the fastest wireless broadband service in the US. Sprint's EVDO Revision A promises average download speeds of 450-800 kbps and average upload speeds of 300-400 kbps and will hit a number of other US cities soon. Here is a list of other cities who can expect blazing fast broadband wireless soon: Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Mo, Sacramento, Calif., Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Detroit, Milwaukee, Boston, Buffalo, N.Y., Hartford, Conn., Newark/Trenton, N.J., Providence, R.I., Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia.

I am especially looking forward to faster wireless broadband as it allows better mobile blogging and armies of mobile video bloggers will be coming more quickly than many realize.

For $49.99 and a 2-year contract you can get access to this network and perhaps toss your wired broadband service. More.

Posted in Broadband, Wireless

Tagged: evdo, evdo rev a, sprint : Related Tags: broadband service, fastest wireless, wireless broadband, broadband, wireless, speeds

Comments

Dialogic Connections 2006 Analysis

October 25, 2006

Perhaps the most important takeaway from the Dialogic Connections event taking place this week in Lisbon, Portugal is that Nick Jensen the President and CEO of Dialogic has a strong vision for where the company is headed. Nick states emphatically that he hates to lose and says his partners need to share this feeling. I got to meet him last night at the first company event since Eicon Networks purchased Intel's media processing assets and formed the new Dialogic.

Nick spent some time talking about industry growth around the world and the most noteworthy is the fact that Asia/Pacific is growing quite rapidly and not just in percentages but in dollars. You need to take this market seriously as they are great partners and formidable competitors he stated.

Posted in Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Conferencing, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, JITC, Open Source, SIP, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: cliff didcock, dialogic, eicon networks, ims, ip communications, jim machi, nick jensen, sip, voip : Related Tags: dialogic connections, dialogic eicon, dialogic assets, eicon networks, dialogic partners, dialogic

Comments

An Army of Mobile Bloggers

October 25, 2006

As scary as it sounds while I was mobile blogging from Dialogic Connections last night, little did I know Martyn Davies from Dialogic was taking a video of me as well which ended up on YouTube. If you want to know what the future of technology is, here you go. Armies of people becoming video and photo journalists. These people will be taking photos and videos of everything.

If this sounds stupid to you, talk to your kids. The next generation is going to be documenting the world as they live it.

Posted in IP Communications

Tagged: dialogic, ip communications, mobile blogging, moblogging, voip : Related Tags: video, google, content, mobile, realize, dialogic

Dialogic Connections First Morning

October 25, 2006

Dialogic's James Besley kicks things off this morning with enthusiasm. Talk of opportunity and the need to capitalize on it was part of the opening remarks. Besley said, "Dialogic has a very clear direction for the next 24 months and beyond." The theme of his opening remarks was partnership with the developers/VADs in the room.

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: dialogic, eicon : Related Tags: opening remarks, dialogic

Dialogic Connections

October 24, 2006

We are having a great time here in Lisbon, Portugal at Dialogic Connections. More to come.

click Play button above to play video

Comments

In Portugal at Dialogic Connections

October 24, 2006

By the time you read this I should be in Lisbon, Portugal at Dialogic Connections. This Portuguese restaurant in the Newark Airport can get you ready for the trip. I am looking forward to seeing the Dialogic team and their partners but you will be surprised to hear I haven't been to Europe in a few years and all of my devices (EVDO, phone, etc) are based on the Verizon network and will not work in Europe. I am an unhappy camper as I may be out of touch. I have a Paragon Wireless HiPi phone with me and look forward to trying it out from Lisbon. I will keep you posted (I hope).

Vonage is Still Innovating

October 24, 2006

Hats off to Vonage for innovating. First it was free weather reports for its subscribers and now free traffic reports. This is how you make a sticky service. I give Vonage lots of credit for not focusing on price alone but instead the company is differentiating itself nicely. Once subscribers are hooked on these services they will be less likely to switch. That is the key as I see it. Get subscribers hooked as rapidly as possible on as many sticky services as you can and you will avoid becoming commoditized.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: 501, accuweather, traffic, voip, vonage, weather : Related Tags: subscribers hooked, vonage, subscribers

Ecosystem 2.0

October 23, 2006

With all the talk lately of web 2.0 and whether it is a real or just an arbitrary designation we may find ourselves discussing the wrong topic. There are many who wonder about web 2.0 asking what it is and if it is worth anything more than web 1.0. Google obviously thinks YouTube is worth almost 2 billion and these guys aren’t fools. Even Steve Ballmer has public comments about the YouTube/Google deal but he is careful to question web 2.0 valuation without dismissing the websites of the 2.0 world.

But what is web 2.0?

Posted in Google, Technology

Tagged: google, innertee, web 2.0, youtube : Related Tags: ecosystems ecosystems, products services, ecosystem, google, products, ecosystems

SpamThru: P2P Anti-Virus Trojan

October 23, 2006

A state of the art p2p Trojan horse called SpamThru includes its own anti-virus software to ensure it isn’t competing with other viruses or Trojan horses. We are seeing viruses enter the age the of the ultimate selfishness where they don’t want to share or play nice with others. See the story for details on this state-of-the art Trojan.

Posted in Technology

Tagged: p2p, spamthru, trojan, virus : Related Tags: trojan

Technical Difficulties

October 23, 2006

The writer of this blog is experiencing technical difficulties due to writer's block. We will return to your regularly scheduled blogging after a few moments. Thank you for your patience.

Posted in Technology

Femtocell Definition

October 20, 2006

According to Mae Kowalke, femtocells are small cellular base stations that provide enhanced coverage at the far edge of the network. They will enable wireless providers and others perhaps to provide services such as IPTV and definitely FMC.

Perhaps most importantly femtocells will allow service providers to shore up their coverage without the need for expensive towers. T-Mobile is rolling out this technology as we speak and there seems to be lots of opportunity for this market as ABI predicts that, by 2011, annual worldwide shipments of femtocell products will reach 19 million units.

Specifically, ABI predicted that “by 2011 there will be 102 million users of femtocell products on 32 million access points worldwide.”

My take? I have predicted for while that a new technology would come out soon that is better than WiFi and not quite WiMAX.

Posted in Broadband, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, SIP, Security, Technology, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: abi, cellular, femtocell, fmc, iptv, mae kowalke, mobile, t-mobile, wi-fi, wimax : Related Tags: femtocell products, femtocell, technology, million, femtocells

Comments

Will YouTube Have Any Files Left?

October 20, 2006

A good question to ask after today’s announcement that YouTube purged 30,000 copyrighted files is if any files will be left when all the copyrighted ones have been deleted?

Posted in Google, Video

Tagged: copyright, youtube : Related Tags: files

Zultys Bankruptcy

October 20, 2006

Program Error!

Posted in IP Communications, SIP, VoIP

Skype Journal on ITEXPO

October 19, 2006

Phil Wolf over at Skype Journal proudly tells me his blog is for suits and geeks and while I may not have recalled the two in the exact order and perhaps my memory is not as photographic as I would like, that was the gist of what he told me. I get the feeling Phil has a knack for seeing trends quickly and this seems to be a skill bloggers have innately or hopefully develop over time.

One comment he has made since ITEXPO is the lack of Skype products on the show floor. He is right and I see this changing rapidly as generation Y starts to spend more money with companies.

Skype connectivity in call centers and throughout the enterprise will be essential.

I can see a world where Skype becomes the 800 number replacement. Not an 800 number replacement.

Posted in ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: gadget, itexpo, phil wolf, pika, skype, skype journal, tom keating : Related Tags: number replacement, skype journal, skype, ignoring

Net Neutrality â Who Gives a Sh&*^%$T?

October 19, 2006

Seriously people don’t care. Excuse the profanity but I can’t believe it. At the last ITEXPO I asked hundreds of people in the keynote how many people cared about net neutrality and out of somewhere around 500-700 people, 2 or 3 people raised their hands.

One would imagine anyone coming to a conference on IP communications/VoIP would know enough about the issue to have a strong opinion in favor of net neutrality.

This is not the case.

I am pretty dumbfounded. I would have guessed 20-30% would have raised their hands.

I have mentioned before that no one cared about net neutrality and my prior thoughts were based on the Alexa ranking of an associated site.

Posted in Broadband, IMS, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: alexa, broadband, ip communications, net neutrality, voip : Related Tags: raised hands, people, neutrality

VoIP Planet on ITEXPO

October 19, 2006

Here is a great write up on Internet Telephony Conference & Expo from Mark Miller over at VoIP Planet. What I like about Mark’s piece is that it is a great overview of many of the events that took place during the event.

There was truly a tremendous amount of activity at the show and as Jon Arnold mentioned earlier, one person couldn’t do justice to it all. Still, great job Mark. Thanks for the coverage.

Here is an excerpt:

Quintuple play?
We’ve all heard of double and triple plays in baseball, but now a VoIP organization is pitching ways to better manage and bill for the quintuple play of IP-based services, including broadband, mobile, VoIP, IPTV, and Emerging Content. The Internet Protocol Detail Record Organization (IPDR) is a consortium of service providers, software and equipment manufactures, system integrators, and billing vendors that are collaborating to facilitate the exchange of usage and control data between networking and hosting elements.

Posted in Broadband, Call Center, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, Open Source, SIP, Technology, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: internet.com, itexpo, jon arnold, jupitermedia, mark miller, tmc, voip planet : Related Tags: internet protocol, protocol detail, detail record, internet, great

NetworkWorld Coverage of ITEXPO

October 19, 2006

I just came across this article by accident on the NetworkWorld site. It talks about ITEXPO and the Cisco IP Telephony User Group meeting which took place the same week. Here are the details. BTW we closed out at about 200 exhibitors not the 3,000 mentioned in this article. Still if there is a misprint this is the right direction.

Thanks NetworkWorld and especially Phil Hochmuth.

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: itexpo, networkworld, voip : Related Tags: networkworld

Stephanie's Baby Shower

October 19, 2006

Today we celebrated Stephanie's baby shower. She got lots of great presents and there was cake and homemade brownies from Rachel. Thanks to Heather and Rachel for coordinating. Next we'll have a TMC cardio/treadmill party.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

$1.27 Billion in VoIP Support Services Revenue by 2010

October 19, 2006

A sign of a healthy market is one in which there is lots of money being made. IDC reports that the VoIP services market will be growing at a phenomenal rate. I was blown away to discover they predict VoIP equipment support services spending will reach $1.27 billion in 2010. this is a staggering number and one can imagine how much money will be spent on service and equipment based on the fact so much is being spent on the support services.

On a related note, here is an IP communications market research page that is a summary of research in the communications market.

The reason we put this page in place is to ensure we can track the reams of research news flowing across TMCnet on a regular basis.

Posted in Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, Google, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, JITC, Open Source, SIP, Science, Security, Speech Technologies, Technology, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: idc, ip communications, research, support services, voip : Related Tags: support services, communications market, market research, market, research, services

ITEXPO Highlights From Jon Arnold

October 19, 2006

Jon Arnold had a good overview of what happened at ITEXPO last week on his blog. As he points out the show content is very broad and we have done our best to go deep in the important areas.

Here is an excerpt:

----

For the Expo, I ended up speaking or moderating for 5 sessions, so that’s the better part of a day there in total. Then you have to leave time to walk the show floor, and oh – almost forgot, there’s like a few hundred speakers to see across dozens of sessions and keynotes. There must have been about 10 different tracks to follow, and guess what – they’re all interesting.

At the end of the day, I ended up dropping in for a handful of sessions, so I can’t tell you much about the content of the show other than the sessions I was involved with.

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: analyst, blog, itexpo, jon arnold, moderator, photos : Related Tags: sessions, itexpo, great

Carphone Warehouse VoIP Growth Problems

October 19, 2006

Carphone Warehouse is a major player in Europe and decided recently to get into VoIP with the purchase of Sonus equipment. All seems to be well with the announcement except for the fact that demand is so great the company has to add lots of new call center agents to keep up with it all. The details are in this video.

Posted in Conferencing, IP Communications, TMC Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: carphone warehouse, sonus, voip : Related Tags: carphone warehouse

A Visit to the Ultimate IP Communications Experience

October 18, 2006

Please enjoy my Publisher's Outlook from the November 2006 issue of Internet Telephony Magazine.

---

A Visit to the Ultimate IP Communications Experience

I just returned from Internet Telephony Conference & Expo where I was overwhelmed by all the activity over the course of the week. The show has grown over the years; from a humble event in the Hotel Del Coronado in 1999 it has become the Ultimate IP Communications Experience in the San Diego Convention Center.

One of the speakers at the show was Seamus Hourihan, Vice President of Marketing & Product Management at Acme Packet. I didn’t get a chance to speak with him for very long, but I noticed there was some noise about the Acme Packet IPO that took place during the show. Unlike the Vonage IPO that the whole world seemed to be intensely analyzing, this IPO was very quiet.

Posted in IP Communications

Tagged: acme packet, ip communications, ipo, itexpo, voip : Related Tags: communications experience, service providers, service provider, disaster preparedness, internet telephony, communications

More ITEXPO Photos from the Photographer

October 18, 2006

Here are a bunch more professional photos from the photographer and not my camera phone. This should give a good representation of the various areas of the event. It was great fun and we can't wait to do it all over again in January 2007 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Be sure to register now at www.itexpo.com and please also book your hotel room now so you aren't forced to commute to the convention center. ITEXPO sells out show hotels months in advance.

Posted in ITEXPO

Will Technology Spread Democracy Faster than War?

October 18, 2006

It seems in Iran, broadband access and satellite dishes are scaring the government. In fact the government is so scared this new technology will make citizens yearn for democracy, it has banned high-speed broadband and satellite dishes. Iraq too had a ban on satellite dishes.

Five million internet users will now be limited to 128 kbps connections making it more difficult to download foreign music, movies and other material that could be used to spread western values.

So while most of the modern world is looking to do whatever it can to connect its citizens to the Internet at the fastest rate possible, in Iran, a country second only to China in terms of how many websites it blocks, they are looking to slow the technology revolution down as much as possible.

If you put aside the political aspects of this decision for a moment you realize this action is doing irreparable harm to the people of Iran. It is obvious this government cares more about protecting its own rear and looking like a major global player than it does about its own citizens.

Unfortunately the turmoil in this country has led to brain drain for decades and so many bright, successful people worldwide can trace their ancestry to Iran. The people of Iran could be doing so much more and could be leaders in technology like Israel is today.

If the country could get a government who cares about its citizens and finds a way to combine oil wealth with entrepreneurship, we could see another golden age of Iranian development and the world would be much better off for it. More.

Posted in Broadband, Technology

Tagged: broadband, democracy, government, iran, satellite, technology : Related Tags: satellite dishes, government cares, technology, citizens, government, people

My Mobile Blogging From ITEXPO

October 18, 2006

I must admit it is very weird to click on a link and see photos of yourself mobile blogging or moblogging. Thanks to Dan York for pointing out how I was doing this from Internet Telephony Conference & Expo. And yes, Dan is right -- the broadband access at the San Diego Convention Center is pretty crappy and despite our pleadings they seem to not care.

Oh and the device I use is the UT Starcom/AudioVox/Verizon XV6700. I suggested they just call it the mobile office or something similar. The phone is amazing but I find myself -- a power user – always pushing limits of memory, etc – rebooting 1-3 times per day.

Posted in Consumer Electronics, ITEXPO, Technology, Video, Wireless

Tagged: audiovox, dan york, moblogging, ut starcom, verizon, xv6700 : Related Tags: mobile blogging, mobile

Measuring Web Traffic

October 18, 2006

BusinessWeek has a good article discussing web metrics and it seems based on this article that all methods for measuring web traffic are flawed in some way. The article mentions some of the current ways to measure web traffic are Alexa, Nielsen//NetRatings, comScore and HitWise. According to the article at least in one case, Yahoo! has seen an increase in traffic for one of its sites while one of the web measurement companies has seen a decrease. Still I believe one or two instances of inaccurate measurements does not a trend make but there are other factors in the article which are worth understanding.

For example in a Web 2.0 world it is challenging to accurately measure a web site’s reach because the concept of page views goes away.

Posted in Technology

Tagged: ajax, alexa, businessweek, comscore, hitwise, nielsen/netratings, rss, web 2.0, web traffic, xml : Related Tags: traffic, article, views, measure, widgets

Upsetting the Soup Nazi

October 17, 2006

I was leaving my car today and left my phone in the car. I hate it when that happens. As often is the case when I leave my phone in the car or house I imagine an emergency call I might miss. This time though I not only reflected on missing calls from important people I also thought what if I see something worth sharing with my blog community.

So my phone has gone from being a peer to peer device to a device allowing conversation with potentially millions of people around the world.

Posted in Technology

Tagged: little giant ladder system, moblogging, seinfeld, soup nazi : Related Tags: soups, phone

Why MVNOs Fail â The $300 Phone

October 17, 2006

Is the reason for so many MVNO failures due to the fact these companies can’t give away $300 phones? This article seems to lead one down this path.

They were wrong, said ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper during a recent “Breakfast with a Leader” meeting sponsored by the Magazine Publishers Association.

“We want to be a leader in every platform, serving fans wherever they go,” he explained. “When we first started disseminating content on mobile devices, we thought our opportunity to make more money was to own the phone company. We were right hypothetically. If we had gotten people to subscribe to our service, we would have made a lot more money. But we didn’t.”

Posted in IP Communications, Wireless

Tagged: disney, espn, mobile, mvno, sprint, virgin mobile, wireless : Related Tags:

Give me Back My Google

October 17, 2006

Remove Spam From Search Engines
If you are Googling for something but aren’t interested in seeing numerous affiliate sites focusing on purchasing products you may want to take a look at Give me Back My Google (GMBMG). The site was written by Oliver Humpage from the UK and proves fish and chips can be an extremely inspirational combination of protein and carbohydrates (I am sure the vinegar doesn’t hurt either).

Any site which is purely a comparison site, with no extra useful information gets removed from search results.
Now you can take this site as just a niche search engine companion but what if there are many others who decide to take search engine results and alter them in various ways to achieve desired results. You could have a filter that just gives you negative results – such as lawsuits and Better Business Bureau database entries. How about another filter for just good news – positive earnings, etc.
I smell a new API opportunity for Google in fact.

Posted in Google

Tagged: give me back my google, google, john battelle, search : Related Tags: search engines, search engine, search results, search, google, results

Comments

Reuters in Second Life

October 17, 2006

This is very interesting. Reuters will launch a news service in the virtual Second Life world. DiamondWare has a 3D VoIP Second Life Demo I quickly saw in February (or so) of this year and it is now ready for testing. I just haven’t had a chance to test it yet. I am certainly looking forward to it.

Posted in Technology

Tagged: 3d, diamondware, news, reuters, second life, voip : Related Tags: second

Asia SMB VoIP up 40%

October 17, 2006

According to a blog entry on the Business VoIP Blog, SMB VoIP will grow 40% in Asia. This is a staggering statistic and it seems better quality broadband would only make this percentage increase.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: business voip, hybrid ip, voip, voip blog : Related Tags:

Little Giant Ladder System

October 16, 2006

I could never figure out how the Little Giant Ladder System could be worth so much money. As far as I can tell it is just some put together in a unique way. Then again you pay more for a Ferrari than a Honda. Still the branding and sheer ad dollars being spent allow the company to charge more for this ladder.

Comments

Tim Moynihan at Envox

October 16, 2006

Tim, a veteran of Intel/Dialog has just transitioned over to Envox and we all wish him a great deal of luck. Tim was a key member of the Dialogic/Intel team and I am sure he will do great things at Envox as well.

Posted in Call Center, IP Communications, VoIP

Tagged: dialogic, envox, intel, tim moynihan : Related Tags: envox

ITEXPO Testimonial From Samsung

October 16, 2006

I was humbled by the nice comments I heard from many exhibitors about
ITEXPO last week. I had my camera out when this particular person from
Samsung started speaking and I had to capture his comments as I thought
they were a nice representation of what many other exhibitors told me as
well.

In addition, we are working harder than ever to ensure the next ITEXPO
in Miami this January 2007 is better than ever.

click Play button above to play video

Mobile Music in Asia: $9.3 Billion!

October 16, 2006

From almost nothing five years ago, the mobile music market in Asia/Pacific grew to US$3.3 billion in 2005, and will reach US$9.3 billion by 2010, reports In-Stat. The breakthrough years for mobile music in Asia/Pacific will be 2007 and 2008. Growth drivers include large markets like China and India reaching a critical mass of mobile subscribers and 3G services becoming prevalent regionwide.

"Ringtones have been the primary driver for mobile music growth in the past, but this will change as new mobile phones equipped with digital music file playback capability create a new market," says Bryan Wang, In-Stat director. "As consumer preferences change, the future growth of the mobile music industry rests on ringback tones and full music tracks."

What this tells us is for service providers, it is not always clear what the next revenue generator will be but is crucial to stay nimble so you can capitalize on emerging trends.

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Wireless

Tagged: instat, mobile music, ringtones : Related Tags: mobile music, mobile, music, growth, billion

AMD Virtual IT Experience

October 16, 2006

I am not sure what to make of this AMD Virtual IT Experience trade show that is “virtual.” Unlike some shows I have been to, this event seems more like a virtual sales pitch than a show. The exhibits in many cases are no more than self-promotional speeches and PDF documents. I suppose this is all that can be expected but the graphics are pretty cool. What I would have liked would be the ability to interactive with live people at the booths and ask questions.

There is an archived chat by the way but this is really more of an FAQ masquerading as an archived chat.

Posted in Technology

Tagged: amd, virtual trade show : Related Tags: virtual experience, virtual

Macs Do IP PBX

October 16, 2006

My daughter Priscilla – almost 3 is about to get her first computer and it seems her friends have them already. I can’t believe that at 3 you can behind in computing but apparently it is so. I suppose she is Generation Z and unlike Generation Y who can IM with 15 people at a time, Gen Zers will be able to IM with 50 people at a time while speaking with 50 more over VoIP while taking in 5 TV shows and reading a newspaper (yeah, right like Gen Zers will read newspapers).

Anyway, we are trying to figure out the best computer for her and it seems her friends have Macs so she may get one too. Thankfully, according to Andy, she can use her Mac devices as a PBX if she likes.

Posted in IP Communications, VoIP

Tagged: andy abramson, ip pbx, voip : Related Tags: computer friends

Comments

ITEXPO West 2006 is Over

October 14, 2006

The show went very well and I am on the way home. When I got to my seat I found it was located next to the door. There was no seat in front of me so I couldn't keep my laptop bag, food or magazines with me. I knew a flight attendant was going to come and take everything away and store them in the overhead compartment.

Naturally being the complainer I am I called my wife and whined.

Posted in ITEXPO

Comments

ITEXPO: Lots of Activity in the Conferences

October 13, 2006

I was happily surprised by the attendance in the security session on a Friday.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

IP Communications IPOs are back

October 13, 2006

While a single positive offering does not a trend make, the negative effects of the Vonage IPO have been felt far and wide and yesterday at ITEXPO many people in the industry told me they hope the Acme Packet IPO goes well today. As an industry this latest offering has the ability to reinforce the negativity started by Vonage or it could have the opposite effect.

Of course the business model of Acme Packet and Vonage could not be more different as Acme sells to service providers and has an A list of equipment provider partners. Still, many see the companies in the same sector.

I am getting ready to head over to Internet Telephony Conference & Expo now but so far the news on the Acme Packet IPO is good. The shares have soared 47% in their debut.

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO

Tagged: acme packet, ip communications, ipo, itexpo, voip, vonage : Related Tags: packet, offering, million, company, industry, vonage

Comments

ITEXPO: No Comment

October 13, 2006

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

Comments

ITEXPO: Top 100 Voices Party

October 13, 2006

Duane Sword and Andy Huckridge - 2 award winners and competitors sharing a drink.

ITEXPO is the Ultimate IP Communications Experience!

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Dash911 Welcoming Nadji

October 12, 2006

Having fun in San Diego. Work hard Play hard.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Radisys Reception

October 12, 2006

Having fun on the last show night! C U tomorrow.

ITEXPO is the Ultimate IP Communications Experience!

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Even More Photos

October 12, 2006

Have fun viewing these.

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Photos, Photos, Photos

October 12, 2006

Enjoy!

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Eli Bordow Speaks

October 12, 2006

The Self-Healing, Self Optimizing Call Center

Eli Borodow who was recently CEO of Telephony@Work -- now a part of Oracle -- did a great job speaking at the Call Center 2.0 Conference this morning and gave a riveting speech about how the call center of the future will be much more automated and flexible.

As you can imagine

Conference this morning and gave a riveting speech about how the call center of the future will be much more automated and flexible.As you can imagine, he touched on multi-tenancy (a core differentiator of Telephony@Work products) and went on to say that multi-tenancy is not only useful for service providers but also for many large customers who can take advantage of multi-tenancy to share infrastructure across sites and business units without sacrificing local autonomy and control over each group’s business processes.

Call Center 2.0 was the theme of this keynote, with a focus on tight integration with Oracle’s CRM offerings, unification of the disciplines of Customer Relationship Management and Customer Interaction Management, multi-tenancy and its benefits for corporate hosting (to service diverse internal business units on common infrastructure) and commercial hosting of IP contact center technology (through carrier-partners and Oracle itself), as well as the differentiated ability to adapt and change IP Contact Center ACD business processes in real-time via human inputs into Oracle’s unified Administration Manager tool (for their multi-channel ACD offerings). The goal of such adaptability is to achieve ongoing technology lifecycle renewal, increase efficiency and maximize customer satisfaction. Eli also alluded to the fact that real-time automated business process optimization is “call center 3.0” and that much of that is possible at Oracle today via Oracle’s Business Intelligence Suite, including its acquisition of Sigma Dynamics (a real-time analytics company that can enable real-time automated business process optimization for call centers on a custom basis based on a customized set of performance goals). Eli’s vision is that such technology will ultimately be packaged as a ‘productized’ and pre-integrated solution to empower ‘mass market’ mainstream call centers to get the most out of their Oracle ACD and CRM investments.

The point is we will soon see an increasing ability to automate call center optimization, with metrics that are driven by performance goals and the ability to make real-time adjustments to technology-driven business processes.

Posted in Call Center, IP Communications, ITEXPO

Tagged: call center, oracle, telephony@work.eli borodow : Related Tags: multi tenancy, center future, business processes, contact center, process optimization, center

ITEXPO: Mike Ross at the Aculab Booth

October 12, 2006

Seeing Mike at the Aculab booth is definitely photo worthy.

Blogged via wireless handheld

ITEXPO: Samsung Focus on Resellers

October 12, 2006

Samsung is hitting the ball out of the park with resellers. Hear why.

ITEXPO is the Ultimate IP Communications Experience!

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Inter-Tel Booth Doing Nicely

October 12, 2006

Nice activity at the Inter-Tel booth. This crowd hung around for quite some time while I had meetings nearby.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

IP Communications is Thriving

October 12, 2006

I haven't had a chance to snap photos but the exhibit hall is mobbed with buyers. Thanks to all of you who have chosen ITEXPO as your primary IP communications venue to attend. Photos to come.

ITEXPO is the Ultimate IP Communications Experience!

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Zig Serafin, Microsoft Keynote Photo

October 12, 2006

Nice shot of the standing room only crowd. Even more amazing as Some people had left to go to the exhibit hall before I snapped this.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Zig Serafin, Microsoft

October 12, 2006

Microsoft's Zig Serafin is doing a great job and even referenced me in his keynote - he talked about how 10 years ago we couldn't have envisioned real-time video and photo communications with a web-based community via current devices. He is right on. Great job Zig!

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Lucent Techologies, Stan Holcomb

October 12, 2006

Stan just kicked off his keynote and the crowd is growing in size. Standing room only now. Hope to see you here soon. Great keynotes today... Oracle, AT&T, Lucent, Microsoft and others.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Eric Shepcaro, AT&T Speaks

October 12, 2006

Eric played a great video showing a globally distributed hot dog vendor using technology to manage his business. It was really well-done. Eric did a great job addressing the standing room only keynote at ITEXPO.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Sphere Demo XML/RSS

October 12, 2006

Sphere enables RSS/XML feeds on phones with the aid of a web server built into the phone server. Stop by the booth to see more and experience VoIP 2.0

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: The Beauty of San Diego

October 12, 2006

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

Concord Fax Integrations

October 12, 2006

I just had a chance to sit down here at ITEXPO with Ralph Musgrove who as you may know was instrumental in bringing PC-based faxing to the world via his work at Delrina over ten years ago. More recently he was at Venali and now he works for Concord Fax Integrations where the company has built a SIP based T.38 fax network that is used to host fax services for carriers. So a carrier based on SIP can work with the company to supply their customers with quality fax services without needing to build out their own fax technology. This is an easy for a for a service provider to generate incremental revenue without any CAPEX investment.

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO

Tagged: concord fax integrations, fax, ip communications, itexpo : Related Tags: based, company

ITEXPO: The Beauty of San Diego

October 12, 2006

Blogged via wireless handheld

Andy Abramson's Dinner

October 12, 2006

Last night here at TMC's Internet Telephony Conference & Expo I had dinner with Andy Abramson and a group of the movers and shakers in IP communications. I was invited to a similar dinner at TMC's VoIP Developer (now called Communications Developer).

Now I should start out this post by saying I had heard of Andy's legendary dinners before I joined one. Andy is a wine connoisseur. I am not.

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: andy abramson, ip communications, itexpo, voip : Related Tags: movers shakers, dinner, communications

ITEXPO: PacStar 5500 Deployable IP communications solution

October 11, 2006

Check out the PacStar 5500 deployable IP communications solution at ITEXPO. Powered by Sphere CSE.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Pam Shapiro Smiling at the Cantata Booth

October 11, 2006

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Catching up with Good Friends

October 11, 2006

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: ABP and Adtran

October 11, 2006

ABP and Adtran have a buzz going on in their booth.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: VPF

October 11, 2006

Shrihari Pandit and Jinci Liu from the VPF.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: GlobalTouch Telecom Booth

October 11, 2006

Just a random booth to give you some show flavor. More to come.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Norman Stout from Inter-Tel

October 11, 2006

Norman Stout from Inter-Tel is doing a nice job. His keynote is interactive and engaging.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO Kicks Off

October 11, 2006

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Mark Spencer Larger than Life

October 11, 2006

Mark Spencer from Asterisk is larger than life at ITEXPO.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Mark Spencer from Asterisk Speaks

October 11, 2006

Mark is doing a great job speaking about how companies are building their businesses around Asterisk. He mentioned how you can empower you channel allowing them to get things done for you. This has allowed Digium/Asterisk to compete with PBX vendors that are 100 years old.

There is more but shouldn't you be here by now? :-)

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

VoIP Ad Scolding

October 11, 2006

Great news for those of us waiting for VoIP to go mainstream. Take a look at this. Apparently VoIP is getting so popular a competing VoIP vendor just got in trouble for running a misleading ad in the UK. BT objected to the ad and the gory details are in this article. It is tough to believe people make a living figuring out whether the minutia of advertising passes muster. Apparently in England you can have vinegar with your chips but no grains of salt with your ads.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: advertising, bt, voip : Related Tags:

Skype Plug-ins

October 11, 2006

Tom has a blog entry discussing news from ITEXPO this week and the announcement about Skype 3.0 beta having plug-in support was very exciting to me. Sure it won't have the same sort of plug-in support of say Firefox but it will allow you to have a tab with the some of the best third party add-ons on the market. Nice feature -- smart move for Skype.

Posted in ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: itexpo, skype, tom keating, voip : Related Tags: skype

AudioCodes Allows IP Communications Developers to Explore New Worlds

October 11, 2006

When designing telecom applications you have to be part clairvoyant. The reason of course is you need to try to figure out what coders you need to support your customer. It is tough to know sometimes who your customer will be before you start down the road of designing system.

The telecom world is rife with coding standards such as G.711, G.726, iLBC, GSM-FR, GSM-EFR, AMR and many others. So imagine designing the killer application for the wired world of telecom only to have a mobile service provider come knocking on your door with a huge order you just can't fulfill.

Posted in Broadband, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: audiocodes, ditech networks, ims, transcoding, voice peering, voip, voip peering : Related Tags: universal translator, communications developers, developers explore, audiocodes internet, internet telephony, blade

ITEXPO: Bruce Nash of Ixia

October 11, 2006

Bruce was speaking at lunch on day2 to to a packed room!

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: VoIP Security Session

October 11, 2006

I spied this standing room only session with Seamus Hourihan of Acme Packet. This while IMS EXPO keynotes and over half a dozen sessions were in progress! ITEXPO is really the Ultimate IP Communications Experience.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO: Scott Petrack Speaks

October 11, 2006

Scott has been in VoIP since 1991 - not a typo he was working at IBM Research at the time. He joked now that in 1996 when he joined VocalTec he thought all the Interesting applications had been discovered. He had a great collaboration centric talk.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

Talk About the Ultimate IP Communications Experience

October 11, 2006

As I sit here at ITEXPO in a session I am moderating titled how to make money selling VoIP with a number of resellers from around the world there is an IMS EXPO keynote session kicking off while conference sessions take place nearby.

There is also a SIP trunking session taking place down the hall.

In short it is unfathomable how much is going on at ITEXPO and the content offering is probably 80-90% greater than any prior show. Thankfully conference and show registration is way up as well so it is apparent that this market is growing very nicely.

I have heard talk of other events that have peaked and this sort of talk scares someone like me who is in the event business. My take is events where people come to learn -- events that are truly worthwhile will grow as long as they fulfill a need in the marketplace.

That is as long as new technologies continue to grow and certainly areas like triple-play and IMS are crucial money-makers for service providers and neither is scheduled to slow at any time in the future.

The excitement at this event continues on and I can't wait for the exhibit hall to open later today. I have had numerous comments about how big the hall has become and this is thanks to all of you who are participating in this event.

Posted in IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, VoIP

Tagged: ip communications, itexpo, reseller, voip : Related Tags: session, events, event

ITEXPO: Tony Rybcynski of Nortel Speaks

October 11, 2006

Tony is a frequent columnist at TMC and is one of the most knowledgeable people I know in IP communications. He also made the Top 100 Voices of IP Communications in this Month's Internet Telephony Magazine. He is doing a great job. Mobility is one of the themes he is focusing on. This is a recurring keynote theme.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO Chris Gravett Keynote: Aculab

October 11, 2006

Here is a photo of Chris speaking as we'll as a test to see if photo blogging bugs have ben fixed.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in ITEXPO

Aculab's Chris Gravett Speaks at ITEXPO

October 11, 2006

Chris kicked off the keynotes this morning to a packed house of conferees 40% of whom cam from outside the US. Conferees played the how far did you fly here from game with the moderator yours truly. Norway was the winner followed by Germany and the UK.

So far the show is going amazingly well. Thanks for being here!

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: aculab, chris gravett, itexpo : Related Tags:

Ditech Networks Reception at ITEXPO

October 10, 2006

We are having a great time. Wish you were here.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in IMS, ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: ditech networks, itexpo : Related Tags:

Brian Metherell speaks at ITEXPO

October 10, 2006

Brian Metherell the VP and General Manager of Toshiba American Information Systems spoke at ITEXPO today and I caught him highlighting his recent dealer survey. Mobility seems to be a key driver of purchasing according to this survey. Thankfully cost savings is part of the move to voip but customers are realling highlighting productivity increases as a larger reason for VoIP adoption.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO, SIP, VoIP

Tagged: brian metherell, itexpo, toshiba : Related Tags: brian metherell

Chalan Aras from Ditech Networks Speaks

October 10, 2006

Chalan spoke today about how Starbucks and Harley Davidson have created an experience out of commodity products. Hey said this during a charismatic keynote at ITEXPO.Chalan mentioned Virgin Mobile is doing the same with mobile technology. Other points he made are IMS is the promise of bringing any service to any device and voice is still the killer app.

The question Chalan posed is how do we find out if customers are satisfied?

Posted in IMS, IP Communications, ITEXPO

Tagged: chalan aras, ditech networks, harley davidson, ims, starbucks, virgin mobile : Related Tags: chalan

ECA Enterprise Market Report

October 10, 2006

Check out this vital resource and better yet buy a copy at www.encomm.org.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: allan sulkin, eca, max schroeder, voip : Related Tags:

Paragon Wireless hipi-2200

October 10, 2006

I had a chance to see the Paragon Wireless hipi-2200 at ITEXPO - it does WiFi and GSM built in and has a standby battery life of 3 days with WiFi turned on! It is quad band with Windows Mobile.The company has VoIP built in the hardware not a soft client. They work with service providers and OEM customers. I am looking forward to a demo tomorrow in the exhibit hall.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in ITEXPO, SIP, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: dual mode, fmc, hipi-2200, itexpo, microsoft, paragon wireless, smarphone, voip, windows mobile : Related Tags: paragon wireless, wireless

Comments

Leveraging Open Source Software for VoIP Development

October 10, 2006

Here is Gordon Ledger with Iperia educating the ITEXPO audience on open source IP communications development here in San Diego.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO, Open Source, VoIP

Tagged: iperia, itexpo, open source, voip : Related Tags:

TMC University Kicks Off

October 10, 2006

Here is a look at the start of TMC University 101 at ITEXPO in San Diego. Tomorrow TMC U 201 kicks off. The conferences are looking great.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: acd, certification, ip communications, ip pbx, itexpo, pbx, tmc university, training : Related Tags:

ITEXPO Has Started: Bryan Martin is Speaking

October 10, 2006

Bryan Martin the Charman & CEO of 8x8/Packet8 has kicked off his keynote at Internet Telephony Conference & Expo and started talking a bit about VoIP history. He also said Packet8 has added 200 jobs and IP communications is helping the Bay area economy.

Furthermore VoIP quality is rating higher than the PSTN according to Level3 research.

Another interesting point is VoIP customers are very loyal to VoIP as well as the company they are customer of. Bryan is doing a great job. You definitely want to be here in San Diego this week.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: 8x8, bryan martin, itexpo, packet8, voip : Related Tags: bryan martin, bryan

RadioHandi in VentureBeat Auction

October 10, 2006

There is a great deal of money out here looking for good deals. Private Equity funds, public companies, private companies – they all seem eager for deals and the latest deal in tech is the Google YouTube deal valued at $1.65 billion in Google stock.

In this world of web 2.0 mashups and communities it is probably not surprising to you that some are looking for a way to build a community site allowing the venture community access to the latest tech deals.

Today, Matt Marshall at VentureBeat is launching a new marketplace for emerging technology deals and radiohandi is the first company to go on the block. If you remember I wrote about radiohandi a while back – the site is the ultimate showcase in community building technology.

Posted in IP Communications, Technology

Tagged: auction, radiohandi, venturebeat : Related Tags: deals, community, radiohandi, companies

Partnering and Metcalfeâs Law

October 9, 2006

You may have had a chance to read my article a while back about Metcalfe’s Law and peering. The article mentions the power of any network increases as a square of the number of nodes on the network.

While this is plainly understood for networks consisting of many fax machines and peering of all sorts it may not be understood in the world of partnering. It seems the more vendors I speak with lately the more partnering I hear about.

This sentiment was reinforced when I saw the news from ITEXPO this week about NetLogic who provides business class VoIP and data partnering with Switchvox a developer of Asterisk-based IP PBX systems. Together the companies will develop next generation VoIP products and services.

And when you think about it the partnership makes sense as one company provides service and the other hardware.

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: ip communications, itexpo.voip peering, partnering : Related Tags: partnering

Visiting FaxBack at ITEXPO

October 9, 2006

I got this editorial pitch today for ITEXPO. You know I notice so many companies calling the show incorrectly IP Telephony Conference & Expo instead of Internet Telephony Conference & Expo – actually IP Telephony is a more inclusive term than Internet Telephony. The reason we chose Internet telephony for the name of the magazine and the show was at the time Internet was the pervasive term and IP was unknown. After the bubble burst many people predicted the death of all publications with the term internet in their titles.

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO

Tagged: internet fax, ip communications, ip telephony, itexpo : Related Tags: internet telephony, telephony conference, faxback booth, internet, telephony, faxback

ITEXPO Marriott Surf Limo

October 9, 2006

Here is the really cool limo the hotel sent me when I got to San Diego for ITEXPO. Check out the surf board on top. I love this city. Hope to see you all here soon!

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Posted in IP Communications, ITEXPO

Tagged: itexpo, san diego marriott, surf limo : Related Tags:

Comments

Amman Jordan the latest ITEXPO Country

October 9, 2006

Mike Genaro TMC's VP of Marketing informs me the latest new country to register for ITEXPO is an engineer from a service provider located in Amman Jordan. You probably noticed we have been tracking just how many countries ITEXPO attracts attendees from. Perhaps the best part of my job is having events where I get to see the growing TMC community live.

As you may know up to a million unique visitors come to TMCnet every month for the highest quality news and information in the communications and technology markets.

Posted in IMS, IP Communications, ITEXPO, SIP, VoIP

Tagged: ip communications, itexpo : Related Tags: decision makers, amman jordan, itexpo, countries, communications

Open Source Communications and SIP come to Amazon.com

October 9, 2006

If you have any doubt about the future of open source communications consider it shattered as Amazon.com will soon be deploying 5,000 phones connected to the Pingtel ECS platform running on Linux. The relationship between Pingtel and Amazon.com started about a year ago with an initial deployment of Pingtel’s SIPxchange Enterprise Communications Solution (ECS) at Amazon’s headquarter in Seattle. This deployment replaced a legacy PBX system.

The question is why would Amazon switch out their existing PBX and the answer is the leading e-commerce site already runs about 20,000 Red Hat Linux servers so they are what you might say is comfortable with Linux to begin with. This install will add 3 more Linux servers to the mix.

As you might imagine as voice is mission-critical to Amazon they are running these Pingtel PBXs in a redundant manner with failover built in.

Posted in Call Center, IP Communications, ITEXPO, JITC, Open Source, SIP, VoIP

Tagged: ip communications, linux, open source, pingtel, sipfoundry, voip : Related Tags: source communications, pingtel solution, internet telephony, chance speak, linux servers, amazon

Comments

FCC: AT&T Now Guards the Cheese

October 9, 2006

Many people think one of the best things the FCC ever did was to put someone associated with COMPTEL on the commission. In my conversations at every level of the telecom industry, executives tell me consistently they think the FCC and government do whatever the LECs -- or more recently AT&T wants. If you are a CLEC you have felt the pain of having the government deregulate telecommunications so you could compete only to find out less than ten years later -- surprise -- you really can't compete -- go and find another thing to keep yourself busy. Oh and the billions you invested in your business -- you can just write it off.

Posted in Broadband, Google, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, Technology, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: at&t, comptel, fcc, ilec, mcdowell : Related Tags: playing field, justice department, mcdowell commission, merger, mcdowell, government

Get the Full IP Communications Experience

October 8, 2006

I can't help but feel like a proud parent as we get ready for this week's ITEXPO. The team I work with have absolutely outdone themselves and the scope of this event is beyond my imagination. To think this show started in 1999 at the Hotel Del Coronado a stones throw from the San Diego Convention Center -- it's current home.

As you get ready to come to ITEXPO this week there is one request I would like to make of you and that is this event has more content than any previous event in TMC history and it certainly has as much education as any event I have ever been to. The goal of this blog entry is not to brag but to ensure you are spending enough time in the sessions in the conference rooms and/or on the show floor.

My request is that you plan to have enough time to absorb everything -- the exhibits -- there are more exhibits at this show than ever before -- and all the sessions.

Posted in Broadband, Call Center, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, JITC, Open Source, Rates Technology, SIP, Speech Technologies, Technology, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: fmc, ims, ip communications.itexpo, sip, voip : Related Tags: special attractions, communications experience, event, conference, itexpo, special

Blogger Hacked

October 8, 2006

Today is the day of hacks (see Skype Clone) – it seems the post late last night about Google exiting from the click to call business was hoax. Someone hacked into Blogger and impersonated Google. This is not the first time this has happened according to an email I received from Andy (related post) and Om questions whether there is a wider problem afoot with Blogger as this is not the first time this has happened. Hats off to blogger Michael Arrington from TechCrunch who was quick to postulate this post was a hack early on.

But one has to wonder why a person would derive any sort of enjoyment by spreading the word that Google is cancelling their click to call program.

Posted in Google, VoIP

Tagged: blogger, click to call, google, hacked : Related Tags: mexuar products, google, blogger, entry, mexuar

Comments

Skype Clone

October 8, 2006

Generally when software reaches one tenth the popularity level of Skype many programmers try to hack it, break it, and do other things that can make Skype user’s lives difficult and make a name for themselves. In this case though it seems hackers are looking to clone Skype. Perhaps this cloned version will allow users to not have to pay to make Skype Out calls.

This is obviously a serious matter and remember now, eBay’s resources are behind the company. I wonder what the auction giant will do to put an end to such efforts.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: china, russia, skype clone, voip : Related Tags: skype

USB comes to AA batteries

October 7, 2006

If there was ever a product that made me think "now why didn't I think of that?" it has to be the rechargeable AA batteries that use a USB port to charge. This is really cool. Now if I could only get my digital camera maker to use non-proprietary batteries I would be all set. Currently my electric razor and in-flight headphones use AAA batteries but for many of you this is exactly what the doctor -- gadget doctor anyway -- ordered.

Oh and by the way check out the new look of the Skype Gadgets blog which can be found at http://www.skype-gadgets.com/ and http://webtown.typepad.com/webtown/. I really like this design.

Posted in Consumer Electronics, VoIP

Tagged: aa, batteries, rechargeable, skype, usb, voip : Related Tags: skype gadgets, batteries

Google Click-to-Call Cancelled

October 7, 2006

There are two things I can’t stand:

1) Working on a Saturday night
2) Finding out that Google is pulling out of the click-to-call market

Seriously – is Om correct on this one? Frankly I would find it very hard to believe the company is bailing on this space. I am not sure it the news is even accurate – either is Om it seems. IMO CTC is too crucial to Google’s future – I can’t see them bailing on this project. Time will tell. I will keep my ears open next week at ITEXPO in case there is any Google gossip.

Posted in Google, ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: click to call, google, itexpo, voip : Related Tags: google

Tech Buyouts Continue

October 7, 2006

Yahoo!/Reuters has a story about why there will be many more tech acquisitions and as I have mentioned before the abundance of money in the financial markets and Sox compliance costs are making it an ideal time for smaller companies to go private -- or let a larger company deal with compliance issues. How is this for optimism?

Jim Davidson, a founding member of private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, told the Reuters Venture Capital Summit in San Francisco last week that he saw "years and years of good deals available," in the technology sector.

My take on all this is M&A activity is fantastic because the exit strategy many companies now rely on is getting acquired. Sox has made it more difficult to go public and Vonage has reinforced the fact your company should generate profit before you go public. So without the M&A option what would these smaller companies use as an exit strategy for their investors?

Posted in Technology

Tagged: m&a, technology : Related Tags: smaller companies, companies

EvokeTV has it Right

October 7, 2006

Is the future of TV watching building community around programs and having the ultimate “buddy list” as Om infers. Absolutely in my opinion. Communities will grow around all entertainment as they have done around shopping, news and everywhere else. The future of the internet is communities and the marriage of TV and this concept is a natural.

As we have learned time and time again being first doesn’t mean you win the war.

Posted in Technology

Tagged: evoketv, myspace, om malik : Related Tags: early possible, niche wanted, search market, function latter, search evoketv, search

Google and YouTube

October 7, 2006

James has some good analysis on the Google/YouTube deal and I agree with Mark Cuban on this one. To an extent anyway. The company will be sued but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a viable way to continue to turn YouTube into the defacto location on the Internet for video viewing. Google has had video initiatives for a while and I wonder if part of the reason they are considering YouTube is because their own efforts aren’t moving far enough along.

Posted in Google

Tagged: google, youtube : Related Tags: google youtube, youtube, google

Does Mobile Computing Save Time

October 7, 2006

After reading Andy’s war story and recalling past problems with mobile devices I get to wondering if we as productive as we think. Sure handheld e-mail devices such the Blackberry are great for straight text but power users often get screwed because we push the limits.

Having too many contacts, too many e-mails, too much software, opening attachments, etc just kills these units. Worse yet, the service for Blackberry Server as provided by service providers is not so great. Andy I have fewer server integration issues with my XV6700 but I have to reboot it a few times a day due to slow performance and headset sync issues.

Posted in Wireless

Tagged: blackberry, xv6700 : Related Tags: power users, mobile computing, mobile

VoIM is Voice over IM

October 7, 2006

VoIM is not an area I have written about too often but it is certainly a space I believe has tremendous opportunity for growth. Certainly this market is bigger than most realize. In fact in a recent article by Stéphane Marceau she pointed out a number of facts that may make you wonder why this area of technology hasn’t received more press.

For example:

The battle for VoIP supremacy has just begun
Microsoft enjoys a massive user base of some 185 million Instant Messaging users Yahoo! is at nearly 100 million
AOL has nearly 50 million users mainly in the .

Posted in Google, IP Communications

Tagged: voice over im, voim : Related Tags: nearly million, million, voice, article, communication

ITEXPO in San Diego Business Journal

October 7, 2006

Mike Allen does a great job with his article about Internet Telephony Conference & Expo – hopefully the first (whoops : third-- Mercator Capital was second and New Telephony was first!) of many this week about ITEXPO. I just can’t wait for the event to take place. I leave for the show soon and I am looking forward to seeing TMC’s first ever IMS Expo and Call Center 2.0 events which will be collocated this week at the San Diego Convention Center.

Here are some of the excerpts from the article:

Rich Tehrani, conference chairman, said he’s expecting about 9,000 attendees and 250 exhibitors, numbers that should make the event the largest in the industry this year.

Actually the number of exhibitors is closer to 200 than 250 but the show has grown in exhibitors very nicely from the previous events. This is most exhibitors this show has ever had!

“This event will focus on the move of communications to Internet protocol,” Tehrani added.

Posted in Call Center, IMS, IP Communications, ITEXPO, VoIP

Tagged: itexpo, san diego business journal, voip : Related Tags: improvement program, storefront improvement, storefront grant, internet telephony, private investment, program

Comments

VoIP Hacks

October 7, 2006

Fellow blogger Ted Wallingford has a new book called “VoIP Hacks.” Now if you have been searching for a way to sound like one of the members of Star Wars cast while you VoIP, this book may be for you. Or better yet, you may be looking for a way to record your VoIP calls in secret. If so, again, this book just may be for you. Want to learn more about the dark side the VoIP? Of course you do. The dark side of the VoIP is very powerful. Click here to feel the power.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: hacks, voip, voip hacks : Related Tags:

Mobile Skype

October 6, 2006

The world is going mobile. It is well-known that the mobile phone market is on fire. And this phenomenon is not slowing down. This generation of users in the US are skipping landline phones altogether and in many countries it is not even possible to get landline phones.

So obviously mobile phones have a number of advantages over fixed lines.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: mobile, skype, voip : Related Tags: mobile skype, skype space, going mobile, educate advantages, fixed lines, mobile

Harry Newton Tried to Buy Dialogic

October 6, 2006

Amazing as it may sound the editor of Computer Telephony Magazine was trying to purchase Dialogic from Intel and was unsuccessful. Here is the story:

-----

There is only one reason for this abysmal performance. Intel has awful management. It remains the world's largest one product company -- namely the chip for the IBM (and now Apple) PC. Everything else it has tried has failed -- from video conferencing to telecommunications and in between.

All this is known.

Posted in IP Communications

Tagged: computer telephony, harry newton : Related Tags: computer telephony, october permalink, story directly, dialogic, intel, story

Nice Write-Up on ITEXPO

October 6, 2006

I just got the latest Mercator Capital newsletter and was delighted to see a well-written article on TMC’s upcoming Internet Telephony show. First though a plug on Mercator Capital:

Mercator Capital is a privately-held investment bank focused on mergers & acquisitions, private placements, and strategic advisory services. Mercator's IP Communications Newsletter is a monthly analysis and commentary on the major business stories impacting the convergence of voice, video, data, and wireless communications.

TMC ITExpo Preview

TMC's semi-annual Internet Telephony Conference and Expo takes place in San Diego, from October 10 – 13. As with other telecom shows in the current market, the ITExpo keeps getting larger, and this edition certainly covers the gamut for IP communications.

Posted in Broadband, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, Video, VoIP

Tagged: ip communications, itexpo, mercator capital, voip : Related Tags: service provider, mercator capital, internet telephony, communications events, service providers, itexpo

Tom Gets ValleyWag Award

October 5, 2006

I Can't Make This Stuff Up

Tom Keating gets traffic to his blog many would envy. It is staggering in fact how well his blog does. Not because his writing isn't good but because I can see how much traffic everything at TMCnet gets compared to his sole efforts. TMCnet has a staggering number of contributors as you may realize so I am in a good position to compare his efforts versus others.

Armed with this info I read with a smile the mention of Tom as a "minor gadget blogger" on the ValleyWag site.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: gadget, valleywag, voip : Related Tags: photo taken, least lethargic, whose photo, taken longest, blogger least, blogger

Comments

VoIP 2.0 Application Uncovered

October 5, 2006

Call me a sensationalist but I just learned about for60secs.com from Tom's blog and I am blown away. The site gives away phone calls of 60 seconds -- actually six minute calls at the moment. In exchange the calls are recorded and anyone can listen to them on the web. The model is ad supported.

Do I think this is a billion dollar idea?

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: for60sec, voice 2.0, voip, voip 2.0, web 2.0 : Related Tags: calls recorded, phone calls, calls, future, service, youtube

Made it to Cantata

October 5, 2006

I finally made it. Apparently Shrihari from Stealth Communications just won a prize but wasn't here to accept. Hopefully they can get it to him next week at ITEXPO.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

More train scenes

October 5, 2006

Had to use serious strategery to get this shot.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Scenes from a train

October 5, 2006

OK so this is not the most scenic video ever but I noticed great scenery on the other side of the train and I made a mad dash to the next car where there was an open window. This is what was left of the view. The train is quite a relaxing way to travel.

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video

Going to see Cantata

October 5, 2006

I am heading to Boston now to see many Cantata partners as well as the Cantata team. I am really looking forward to getting their soon. Hopefully I will have some nice scenery to video and send to my blog. So far it has been an industrial view. I am sitting on the wrong side of the train it seems but I am pretty sure some nice scenery is coming up soon.

Posted in IP Communications

Tagged: cantata : Related Tags: cantata

ITEXPO Preview on New Telephony

October 5, 2006

Here is a pre-show write-up on ITEXPO I just saw on New Telephony. Good stuff. In a pre-show meeting yesterday I was just blown away at how much content there is at this show. Certainly if you have been following the ITEXPO topic page of my blog you are keeping up with much of the activity.

Some of the areas worth noting are IMS, IPTV, triple-play, quintuple-play (by IPDR.org), VoIP peering, FMC, SIP trunking, call center 2.0, enterprise IP communications, how to make money reselling VoIP, etc.

Posted in Call Center, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, JITC, Open Source, SIP, Technology, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: fmc, ims, itexpo, peering, triple play : Related Tags: itexpo, communications

IP Communications Investments

October 5, 2006

Recently a reporter called me to ask what the best investments are today in the communications space. I thought about this question for a while and these are my thoughts. What do you think?

I hope to connect with many of you next week at ITEXPO to discuss these matters in detail.

-----

IMS

There are a number of trends that will alter the communications landscape of the future. Perhaps the most important trend is the move towards IMS.

Posted in Broadband, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, JITC, Open Source, SIP, Technology, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: cable, ims, iptv, security, sip trunking : Related Tags: service providers, applications allowing, allowing consumers, companies, communications, providers

Dabble

October 4, 2006

Interesting read on Dabble from Marc Robins. Dabble was founded with the singular mission to be the primary "search engine" of choice for videos from all over the Web. Dabble gathers video data from hundreds of hosting sites, as well as from tens of thousands of other websites, and then keeps a record of where Web-based videos are located, descriptions about the video, who made it, what it's about, how popular it is, and so on.

The question is how many Googles will there be in video? It seems everyone wants to become the Internet TV Guide. I wonder when the real TV Guide will throw their hat in the ring.

Posted in Video

Tagged: dabble : Related Tags: dabble, video

UTStarcom FMC

October 4, 2006

UTStarcom is hosting a symposium at our upcoming ITEXPO on FMC. The Symposium will be held on Thursday in the Pavilion Theater on the show floor from 11:30 – 1:00 and again on Friday 1:00 – 2:30. This session is open to service providers, carriers and the press. I have attached a description provided by UTStarcom.

-----

Service providers today face a number of customer challenges:

Cellular service coverage is still a source of consumer dissatisfaction, especially at home and in the office-two locations that account for half of all mobile phone calls.

Posted in IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, Video

Tagged: fmc, itexpo, utstarcom : Related Tags: service providers, fixed mobile, mobile convergence, cellular service, service, utstarcom

NXTComm

October 4, 2006

I just heard that USTA and TIA announced TelecomNext 2007, which was planned for Las Vegas on March 18-20, 2007, will not be taking place. Instead, the two organizations are putting on NXTComm, taking place in Chicago, June 18-21, 2007. This will replace the currently scheduled GlobalComm.

It is worth pointing out that Internet Telephony Conference & Expo remains the only event in IP communications with a growing audience of decision makers, press, analysts and most importantly exhibitors. (See latest testimonials from ITEXPO East 2007 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Posted in Broadband, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, Technology, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: itexpo, nxtcomm, supercomm, telecomnext : Related Tags: internet telephony, telephony conference, telephony, conference, internet, event

Dialogic Back After 7 Years

October 4, 2006

This Dialogic will be about IP not TDM

If you have been in the telecom business for five years or more you know the large shadow cast over the industry by Dialogic. In the mid-nineties the computer telephony/CTI market was booming and Dialogic was the largest player in the space. Their partner programs were legendary and their ecosystem of loyal partners like Parity Software, Alliance Systems, Apex Voice, Executone, Pronexus Systems, Prima and others was the largest in the industry.

Dialogic’s competitors launched ecosystems of their own and NMS, Rhetorex and Brooktrout all competed ferociously to be the biggest and best DSP resource board vendor. Popular applications at the time were international callback, IVR, ACD, application generators and virtual receptionists like Wildfire.

Posted in Broadband, Call Center, Conferencing, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, Open Source, SIP, Speech Technologies, Technology, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: dialogic, eicon, intel, nms : Related Tags: industry dialogic, server product, dialogic partners, dialogic brand, intel communications, dialogic

WiBree

October 4, 2006

I was just spending some time learning about WiBree and how it differs from bluetooth. If bluetooth is a perfect standard allowing just the right range and just the right battery life then perhaps WiBree is a better as it has the same range of ten meters but also has better battery power consumption at lower throughput rates.

Now if anyone is using bluetooth for high bandwidth applications they are likely disappointed as 3 Mbps is just not going to cut it. But it is fast enough for things like headset connections, etc. It turns out WiBree's 1 Mbps is probably good enough for many and with better battery life this standard will allow many other devices -- that didn’t make sense to bluetooth enable -- to be connected with one another.

So while many people are hinting that WiBree may be the bluetooth killer I have to wonder if this isn't a bit premature.

Posted in Wireless

Tagged: bluetooth, wibree, wireless, zigbee : Related Tags: better battery, bluetooth, wibree, better, battery, standard

Comments

Getting Ready for the Show

October 4, 2006

Here is a video of the TMC team getting ready for ITEXPO. Its crunch time!

Blogged via wireless handheld

click Play button above to play video.-noscript-blocked { -moz-outline-color: red !important; -moz-outline-style: solid !important; -moz-outline-width: 1px !important; background: white url("chrome://noscript/skin/icon32.png") no-repeat left top !important; opacity: 0.6 !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-top: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important }

Posted in VoIP

VoIP Service Provider

October 4, 2006

If you are looking for a VoIP provider or are a VoIP service provider, you should be aware of the service provider directory on TMCnet. We launched this directory a while back in an effort to ensure the world has a single place to go to when choosing their IP communications provider of choice.

There are a number of options you have when looking for a provider -- for example enterprise, SMB, consumer, etc. You can also choose a service providers by country if you like. Be sure to check the VoIP provider list and let us know how we can improve this free service and whether it meets your needs.

Posted in IP Communications, VoIP

Tagged: voip provider list, voip service provider : Related Tags: service provider, provider, service

Webinar News

October 3, 2006

There are a ton of things going on at TMC and one of the most exciting is our web seminar program where we educate decision-makers on some of the latest and most important topics in the world of IP communications and VoIP. One of my favorite webinars this year was actually a Web Summit on VoIP Peering with Jon Arnold. I am looking forward to catching up with Jon next week at ITEXPO. We will be working with Jon on more of these very soon.

Here is a list of web seminars I hope you get a chance to register for and attend.

Posted in Broadband, CRM, Call Center, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, JITC, SIP, Technology, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: itexpo, jon arnold, voip peering : Related Tags: register october, register, october

Tadiran and Digium Interviews

October 3, 2006

If you haven't had a chance, please take a look at some of the latest executive suite interviews. One is with Ron Bregman of Tadiran. This Israeli-based company has been in telecom for many years with a reputation for bulletproof system design.

In addition and perhaps at the opposite end of the spectrum -- as their product is free and open-source - is an interview with Mark Spencer of Digium. Digium is the company behind Asterisk and has been generating lots of buzz lately. Even though this isn't new news I did cover the interconnection between Asterisk and Skype this morning. I am looking forward to catching up with Mark Spencer at ITEXPO next week.

Posted in Broadband, Call Center, IP Communications, ITEXPO, JITC, Open Source, SIP, Technology, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: asterisk, bregman, digium, spencer, tadiran : Related Tags: digium

VoIPWorkgroup

October 3, 2006

I just came across this new site form Ben Bakhshi titled VoIP Workgroup. I like the site because it is easy to keep up with what many bloggers are doing without having to go to each of their sites. Ben calls it a VoIP blog dashboard an I agree. I am sure I will use the site often.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: blog, voip : Related Tags:

Quintuple Play

October 3, 2006

I have been noticing more and more service providers registering for ITEXPO and I believe many of them are interested in figuring out how to provide many services beyond just VoIP. That leads one naturally to providing broadband access, television, security services, wireless, etc. In short let’s call this the quintuple play. Really the name is immaterial but what is crucial is service providers need to start exploring providing whatever services make sense for their audience.

Posted in Broadband, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, Technology, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: itexpo, quintuple play : Related Tags: internet telephony, telephony conference, service providers, based services, kelly anderson, services

Mobile video blog test

October 3, 2006

This is a video of me catching Tom Keating off guard in his office. Whoops -- I almost got a social security number on here. Not good.

Blogged via wireless handheld.-noscript-blocked { -moz-outline-color: red !important; -moz-outline-style: solid !important; -moz-outline-width: 1px !important; background: white url("chrome://noscript/skin/icon32.png") no-repeat left top !important; opacity: 0.6 !important; cursor: pointer !important; margin-top: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important }

Posted in VoIP

Comments

IPTV Conference

October 3, 2006

IPTV Conference
I have been getting lots of positive feedback about TMC partnering with Fierce Markets to launch an IPTV conference next week at Internet Telephony Conference & Expo. Here are some of the topics that will be discussed at the event:

Ensuring QoS and Scalability
(IPTV2-01) Wednesday - 10/11/06, 10:15-11:30 QoS testing for IPTV has recently progressed from products in the lab to testing the end user experience and the network itself. A panel of experts debate the QoS best practices and how to best ensure the level of scalability a service provider's network requires. IPTV Billing Options Explained
(IPTV2-02) Wednesday - 10/11/06, 11:15-12:00pm IPTV is the killer app for the triple play, but service providers can't capitalize on it without a robust billing system. This panel explores billing options for service providers with a focus on the rise of IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS). The Future of the Set-Top Box
(IPTV2-03) Wednesday - 10/11/06, 1:00-2:00pm Does the STB have a future?

Posted in Broadband, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, SIP, Video

Tagged: internet telephony, ip communications, iptv conference, video, voip : Related Tags: service providers, service provider, billing options, wednesday, future, service

Call Center Wait Times

October 3, 2006

I have been reading more and more about companies who neglect customer service and get punished by losing customers and/or losing share price. Sure the two are generally related but a company like Dell has been slammed so many times for hiring Indian call center reps that it is likely their P/E multiple has been affected as well.

But it isn’t just accents or call center agents with lack of training that upset customers. Another pet peeve many customers have is long wait times. I could go on for pages actually about all the items that upset customers -- like not answering e-mail.

Posted in CRM, Call Center

Tagged: call center scheduling, crm : Related Tags: upset customers, customers, center, upset, times

Pika Introduces Skype VoIP to Asterisk

October 3, 2006

Two of the biggest trends in IP communications are Skype and Asterisk. There is just something so compelling about the free model --consumers and enterprises can't seem to get enough of either of the products these two companies offer.

But what if there was a way to bridge the Asterisk community with Skype users. What a great world that would be. Imagine allowing customers to Skype into your call center or imagine allowing remote workers to calling via Skype and stay connected to the Asterisk system where they could use IVR and speech recognition to navigate to the right mailbox or person.

My friends that day has arrived and it is courtesy of PIKA Technologies a company playing in the communications development space for over a decade.

Posted in Call Center, IP Communications, ITEXPO, Open Source, VoIP

Tagged: asterisk, pika technologies, skype, voip : Related Tags: imagine allowing, skype asterisk, skype, asterisk, company, communications

Protecting IMS/UMA and IP Communications

October 3, 2006

The advent of any technology is when unscrupulous users see if they can take advantage of it. The first computer worms, viruses and spam are a few examples of how good technology was used by those with malicious intent to damage systems or steal data or money. The PC is 25 years old and there are more malicious attacks taking place now than ever.

One trend that seems to be certain is attackers generally go after critical mass.

In other words a new operating system with 0.5% market share is not a very enticing target. As more people use the new operating system hackers start to see an opportunity to do what they do best -- hack.

So if you are following me so far and you have been reading the research indicating hundreds of millions of users will soon be on IMS networks do you see an opportunity for hackers to attack.

Posted in IMS, IP Communications, VoIP

Tagged: 3gpp, gprs, hacker, ims, isim, sim, sipera, virus : Related Tags: application level, operating system, sipera systems, attacks, sipera, hacker

Zultys Restructuring Documents

October 2, 2006

Recently I was sent the Zultys restructuring announcement as well as the Chapter 11 filing. If you aren't following it, there is a very lively debate taking place on my blog about the future of Zultys, what led to its demise and the company's future. Past employees, current employees and a number of resellers have differing views on the future of the company. Many call the discussion a soap opera and I agree.

The one thing that resonates with me is what some of the Zultys community had to say about the number of people who looked at the company's financials over the past year.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: chapter 11, ip pbx, reseller, restructuring, voip, zultys : Related Tags: ultys restructuring, ultys, future, company

Comments

In the Company of Royalty

October 2, 2006

The point at which blogging becomes mainstream is either when most of the world checks blogs frequently or perhaps it is when a princess in Thailand decides to start one. Either way it is very interesting that blogging is being embraced so many. And the funny thing is many company execs likely think they are still too important to blog. More.

Posted in Technology

Tagged: blog, princess, thailand : Related Tags: uncut diamond, buyers mandate, mentioned product, scale miners, market alluvial, diamond

Comments

Microsoft and the BBC

October 2, 2006

According to this article Microsoft is working with the BBC to redistribute the British Brodcasting Corp's content.

This coupled with the recent news about Zune and Microsoft's competition to iTunes shows how serious the Redmond-based company is taking the competition. It would seem the company with access to the most and best content will win the war. This is exactly what Sirius and XM seem to think.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Heading Home from CA

October 2, 2006

Old post stuck in e-mail to blog limbo It has been a great week. I got to meet a whole bunch of new people and some old friends out here in California. I even spent a day in San Diego home of ITEXPO in 2 weeks. I have met with so many companies lately I haven't had time to share all the news.

Posted in VoIP

Headed to the West Coast

October 2, 2006

I am off to LA today but I have scheduled a few blog posts to go live this week so check back regularly. I am flying American Airlines and I am pretty sure the parking structure hasn't been finished. As a result I am on the monorail hoping I am going in the right direction. Wish me luck.

Blogged via wireless handheld

Posted in VoIP

Police Update

October 2, 2006

Old post stuck in e-mail to blog limbo
Great news. A guy who is built like a 2-family house is now sitting next to me and breathing like some animal from Wild Discovery. I am not sure I like how this is going. If you don't hear from me in 10 minutes someone call 911 - please use the PSTN just to be safe.

At the Police Station

October 2, 2006

Old post stuck in e-mail to blog limbo I must have blogged about my wife's pink "Barbie" phone from Motorola. Well it turns out that she lost it and thankfully has insurance on it. This of course means in order to get a replacement phone we need a police report. The phone is in my name so here I am at the local police department.

Posted in VoIP

The Hosted IP Communications World of the Future

October 2, 2006

If there is one thing I have noticed more and more in the last few years it is the market wants hosted solutions. There was a time about a year or so ago when I questioned whether this was the case. Lately though I hear more and more about customers who outsource to companies like Covad, M5, Packet8, Eagle ACD, Contactual and many others. There are so many companies supplying hosted solutions to companies of all sizes I lose touch of them all.

The irony of the hosted market is the hosting companies are hosting as well.

Posted in IP Communications

Tagged: american idol, logicacmg, sms : Related Tags: service providers, hosted solutions, service provider, solutions, hosted, company

Comments

Voyager 510-USB Bluetooth headset

October 2, 2006

Thanks to Plantronics my life has gotten a lot easier as of late. I have so many wireless headsets connected to my phone it is just unreal. The headsets are connected serially making the whole contraption a bit of a mess. I just haven't had a chance to do anything with the headsets after I review them and manufacturers generally don't want them back so they just stay on my desk and the scene is like a giant headset graveyard.

Posted in VoIP

Tagged: 510, bluetooth, plantronics, usb : Related Tags: mobile phone, bluetooth adapter, phone computer, headsets connected, bluetooth headset, headset

New VoIP Services Coming

October 2, 2006

Having written about enhanced services in the telecom space for about a decade or so it is refreshing to see so many companies beginning to talk about them. You see it is obvious we are on our way to cheaper and cheaper phone rates so the more sticky services providers create the better off they are. In many cases developing enhanced services is not so difficult to do -- you just look to an idea that is working somewhere else and modify it to fit into your particular situation.

An example of this is the digg model that took elements from other websites to build a community of democratized news aggregation and dissemination. And just like that the founder of digg found himself owning the 91st most visited website in the world according to Alexa.

Posted in Google, IP Communications, VoIP

Tagged: digg, google, revos, rnk telecom, voip : Related Tags: enhanced services, services coming, phone rates, service, services, revos

Subscribe to Blog via RSS