VoIP Blog - Tehrani.com

October 19, 2007

Has anyone heard anything about this rumor? There is a small amount of buzz about it but neither company will substantiate whether it is true. I see positive reasons for such a transaction to take place and I can envision it happening for a number of reasons. The result of a NexTone/ReefPoint combination would be a stronger company with greater product depth. In addition the resulting company would become much more well-rounded and could likely have more leverage to compete in RFPs. Still, this is still in the rumor phase for now. Anyone who can add facts to this rumor are welcome to comment or write.

 

One last thought. If I had to choose, I like NexPoint better than ReefTone. ;)

October 19, 2007

If you are a fan of unified communications, Linux and “Blackberrys on crack” you should read this interview by the VoIP Authority Greg Galitzine with Fonality’s CEO Chris Lyman. No organization has a 100% monopoly and certainly a company’s thirst to find solutions that as Lyman says “work, are affordable and simple” can be quenched with solutions based on Linux as well as Microsoft. Of course a Linux/Microsoft blend could yield a best of breed solutions companies yearn for.

October 19, 2007

You may recall Motorola was a partner with Apple in developing the ROCKR phone which was supposed to be the best of Apple and Motorola technology in one sleek device. The only problem was the device was not the best of anything and subsequently didn’t sell. Oh and by the way – it wasn’t even sleek.

 

The experience taught Steve Jobs that Apple needs to develop its own phone if it wants to do the job (no pun intended) right. This is how the iPhone came to be.

 

Now, the iPhone is about to overtake Motorola’s best-selling RAZR phone.

 

This is sad because if Motorola had played its cards right it might still be an Apple partner instead of getting annihilated by the Apple onslaught.

October 19, 2007

If I told you a book distributor with a virtual monopoly in most of the US was blocking the distribution of books it found inappropriate, what would you say? What would our government do if such a practice took place? I realize today this scenario can’t happen because we have open access to information on the internet but what if it happened fifteen years ago when the internet did not exist?

 

Wouldn’t you be horrified? Would you speak out against such practices? I certainly would.

 

But today I learned Comcast is blocking some of the traffic on its broadband service, specifically slowing the uploading of files on their network via popular file sharing programs.

 

On the one hand I am 100% for Comcast using technology which reduces their network costs. At the same time I am scared we are going down what lawyers call a slippery slope. If Comcast is slowing some applications today, what will they do tomorrow?

 

Are we supposed to trust service providers to do what they want? These are some of the concerns we need to deal with as part of the net neutrality argument. The US government is divided over the issue of net neutrality and there are real reasons to keep from over-regulating service providers. The question we need to keep asking is, at what point do service providers overstep their bounds, blocking competitive services or at least slowing them in a manner which negatively affects consumers?

 

It seems to me if a service provider is going to block or slow some traffic; they need to at least disclose this information to their customers in advance. After all, having to read stories from the Associated Press is not the way to find the internet service you pay for is being purposely slowed down.

 

Most service providers have onerous service agreements customers are forced to agree with. Shouldn’t the provider too be held to a basic disclosure clause to ensure customers know exactly what they are getting in advance?

 

See also: Comcast Blocks Some Internet Traffic.

October 19, 2007

This morning I went to Wikipedia to look up the formal definition for the term ballistic. Most of us know there is a term “going ballistic” which basically means freaking out in a potentially violent manner. Wikipedia doesn’t have an entry for ballistic in the singular form but they do have the plural – ballistics - and they describe it as the science of mechanics dealing with the motion, behavior and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets and the like.

 

Notice the definition has no mention of the word hammer. It has no mention of destroying your local cable office. It has no mention of restraining orders, being a senior citizen or having triple-play services installed.

 

Yet, while reading Russell Shaw’s post on Mona Shaw, I can’t describe her activity as anything other than going ballistic in response to poor Comcast customer service. Here are the details.

October 19, 2007

Some of the interesting news of the week shows SMBs will not only be going down the road to purchasing IP communications solutions – they will also be purchasing and installing security solutions. In my research this morning I also came across a wonderful article by SIP legend Jonathan Rosenberg discussing social networking, SIP, VoIP and Web 2.0.

 

Avaya made some news as well when it announced it will be supplying IP communications solutions to Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Of course, I am sure the fact that Avaya is located in New Jersey didn’t hurt this deal one bit.

 

VoltDelta made news as well by announcing AT&T is using the company’s integrated advertising platform for its 1-800-YellowPages offering in a number of southern states. The way the system works is simple… You listen to an ad and get free directory assistance information.

 

Rounding out this article but certainly not the end of the week’s interesting news is the fact the iPhone has been opened up to third-party developers. This is big news as a flurry of developers will be launching program after program for this device. Over time this developer network will further entrench the iPhone as a device which does so much more than comparable phones.

 

This is similar to the iPod accessory market. Think about how many chargers, stereo systems, cases and other accessories exist for the iPod today. Competing players have almost no accessories by comparison. We have learned in technology that many times the success of a product depends more on an ecosystem than the strength of the product itself.

 

Here are other articles of interest I didn’t have time to comment on:

 

 

Here is a link to the latest TMCnet news in case you want more.