Recently in Verizon Category

I started my day today with a cup of coffee and this article from Carl Ford about some areas of discussion at the upcoming 4GWE show in about two weeks in Los Angeles, California. White space, backhaul and machine to machine communications are just some of the areas he touches on and will be covered at the event. It should make for a crucial educational and networking experience and Carl and I look forward to seeing you at the show.

This is a critical time for resellers and agents as the economy is slow and this puts margin pressure on virtually everyone. Moreover access to credit is more challenging today than ever. This puts VARs and integrators in a precarious position as they look to finance deals they have sold.

Every cloud has a silver lining as they say and the precious metal lining resellers need to be intimately familiar with is IP communications as this market is still vibrant with opportunity. Yes, companies are still investing in technology and VoIP and video systems are doing well as they save money and increase productivity.

Video solutions such as telepresence - and even "personal" models in the sub-$10k range are enjoying growth as they save companies travel costs.

For over a decade I have worked with thought leaders in the communications market to educate the channel on how to make money in communications. In the nineties the opportunity was CTI but today it is IP communications. I cannot oversell how much money is being made by resellers in the open-source telephony markets, IP video and SIP trunking. There is a historic opportunity in tech and telecom and it is being quickly discovered by many. The best way to stay ahead of the curve is to come to my Making Money in IP Communications session at ITEXPO in Los Angeles, California in two weeks, Wednesday, September 2, 9:30-11:00 AM.

Be there or miss out  .

As many of you know I carried two devices, a Verizon-based HTC XV6800 and an iPhone. I felt I needed both as the HTC phone was great for making calls and had a keyboard which was handy for long e-mails and blog entries. Cut-and-paste was also something the XV6800 and virtually all devices besides the iPhone had and on more than one occasion this feature was critical in getting a business deal done quickly.

But now that the iPhone has a landscape keyboard and can handle cut-and-paste, I let my two-year Verizon contract lapse and use my iPhone as a phone. The downside of course is I am using my iPhone as a phone. The voice quality has challenges for sure and my calls get cut off in Connecticut fairly often.

But the good news is TechCrunch says AT&T is making a conscious effort to improve its service and in my opinion it has its work cut out for it. My hope is they move rapidly and continue the improvements because Verizon Wireless is so far ahead. At some point if Verizon gets a killer device, perhaps even the iPhone or some other Apple gadget, AT&T Mobility will be in some serious trouble if its network isn't up to snuff.

One of the reasons I can't wait for the 4G Wireless Evolution event in a few weeks in Los Angeles is because I am fascinated by what is ahead in this space. They say you can never be too rich or thin and I would add you can never have enough bandwidth. The (r)evolution to 4G will be very exciting for carriers, device manufacturers, developers and most of all the businesses and consumers consuming massive amounts of content over these ever-faster wireless pipes.

And this my dear readers will make the world a happy place.

As a follow-up to the ITEXPO interviews I posted links to last week, here are the latest responses from the industry. Of particular interest are answers from Doug Mohney who explains how he got into the business by being employee number 11 or 12 at DIGEX. I also found the responses from Eli Katz of XConnect enlightening... If you are interested in peering or IP communications you want to give them a read.

There is so much great information here and I suggest you click all the interviews and read them - these are some of the true thought-leaders in our spaces and they have a wealth of useful information to share. I hope to meet you as well as all the speakers and exhibitors very soon at the show. We are officially 13 days away.

Be sure to register now if you haven't already.

I keep talking with company representatives who tell me they are on Twitter but don't know why. Perhaps their feelings have to do with the limited number of followers many companies have - often less than 50. At the opposite end of the spectrum with 7,100 followers is Oracle who has hundreds of thousands of customers and is arguably one of the largest software/hardware companies around.

Perhaps the biggest concern for people relying on Twitter as a marketing vehicle is the research which shows how many tweets are absolutely useless. By that I mean falling into the "I am eating a sandwich" category. According to Pear Analytics 40.55% of tweets fall into this category.

Personally I have found some use in Twitter and like anything else, the quality of the tweets you read are in direct correlation to how well you pick who to follow. This is just like the quality of news being directly related to the type of sites you visit or newspapers you purchase.

Hi All, it has been a whirlwind here at TMC today as we get ready for ITEXPO in just two weeks! -- perhaps the most important place you need to be this fall. The show will feature some of the most important content in all of IP Communications. For example we may have one of the best keynoters we have ever had - Sir Terry Matthews - and this from a company which has hosted other famous keynoters such as Ron Insana, Carly Fiorina, Al Gore, Tom Ridge, Michael Powell and many others.

Here are just a few of the attractions you and your company cannot afford to miss:

• New! Sipera's UC Security Workshop
• TMC University Courses - Microsoft OCS and Network Security
• Free Reseller Solutions Day Workshop
• New! Avaya's Social Enterprise and Contact Center Workshop
• Free Keynotes: Sir Terry Matthews, ShoreTel - Aspect - Paetec - Alvarion - Clearwire - Interactive Intelligence
• Ingate's Free SIP Trunking Workshop
• 250+ Important Vendors -- Speakers, Exhibitors
• NEW! Three Collocated Conferences - 4GWE, Smart Grid and M2M Evolution
• New Jeep Giveaway

Over 70 companies founded by one person in one industry - communications/technology (to be fair he owns hotels and golf courses as well). Over the years, tens of thousands of people were hired because of the vision of Sir Terry Matthews. He is not only a legend in communications and technology he is a legend in business.

Matthews has made his money but has not stopped investing in new companies. In fact he is running at full speed (perhaps flying is a more appropriate term - his corporate jet is among the fastest built) hiring college graduates to look for new opportunities and start companies to fill the voids they uncover. The new hires get equity and are instructed to reach profitability as rapidly as possible - as little as a year in many cases.

There is virtually nothing like a meeting with this man. I called it drinking from a fire hose a few years back. The energy, the passion, and the accent - it is a mix neural sensations which excite, delight and sometimes even perplex. Especially when you start to think how he does it. Where does the energy come from? It seems limitless. And so does the knowledge - he is a true living historical encyclopedia on tech, telecom and entrepreneurship.

Sir Terry Matthews will be keynoting at ITEXPO West 2009 in Los Angeles September 2nd at 2:15 PM. To say hearing him speak is worth the trip would be an understatement. I hope to see you there.

It is with great pleasure I welcome Paula Bernier to the TMC family as our new Executive Editor in charge of NGN, Unified Communications and Internet Telephony Magazines. On my trip to Texas this week, the industry seemed very excited to have Paula on our team. Hiring Paula continues our commitment of investing in our readers, sponsors and advertisers and I hope you enjoy her writing and editing style.

Paula's background in the market aligns perfectly with her new role as she has worked with a number of magazines in our space. Her resume includes contributions at the following publications:

• Inter@ctive Week
• Telephony
• Sounding Board
• Phone+
• Xchange

In addition I am thrilled to have one of the major thought leaders in the channel partner industry on the TMC team. Over the past decades TMC has already been a primary resource for resellers and the channel - this new addition just reinforces this strength.

New TMC President Dave Rodriguez had this to say, "Paula's expertise in publishing in the communications and technology sector means she will be able to take the reins and run," He continued, "Our readers can look forward to robust and insightful editorial as they have already come to expect from our publications. I am completely confident that she will not only meet the bar but raise the standards of our editorial excellence. I welcome Paula to the TMC family."

Here are Paula's comments encapsulated in an article on TMCnet and here is a link to her articles so you can come back and check her news, opinion and educated analysis.

As you probably know I am extremely enthused about the idea of the smart grid as it is not only necessary for the next generation of power generation and consumption in the world but just as importantly because the new grid will interface using communications and networking protocols. What this means is massive, unprecedented opportunity for our industry as a smart grid is developed.

It further means telecom and datacom players who are paying attention are also salivating at the prospect.

To further educate the market on the smart grid, TMC has partnered with Intelligent Communications Partners (ICP) to put together an event in the space and a web portal which will be the leading source of information in the space.

Recently Jon Arnold who is part of ICP interviewed Marc Robins the Executive Director of the SIP Forum regarding his views on the new grid, emerging specifications and how SIP will play a role in communications. To me the potential for the communications market here is beyond staggering.

Imagine how many devices will be sold if products which work in communications also work in the electrical grid. Imagine the potential for customers to have applications which merge the best of both worlds allowing granular control over devices. Think about an enterprise able to idle devices which aren't in use - or turn off phones and computers when presence indicates the user is not nearby.

Imagine. Wonder. Be Amazed. I certainly am.

I hope to see you September 1-3 in Los Angeles for the Smart Grid Summit (press release on program) which takes place at the same time as ITEXPO in Los Angeles. See you there.

In a few short weeks one of the largest communications shows of the fall, ITEXPO will take place with 6,000-7,000 decision-makers looking to purchase products and map out a strategy for their future. Enterprises, resellers, carriers and developers will all be at the show from just under 100 countries.

This year's event has more content than any prior show (mainly via collocated conferences and summits) and I have and will continue to share the details on this blog.

But for now it makes sense to post a number of interviews I have done with people who will be at the show. Movers, shakers, thought leaders, and attendees were all invited to answer questions about the industry, the government's involvement in tech, the economy and where they think things are headed.

A more balanced and diverse group of answers there cannot be. I hope you take some time t click the links below and enjoy. See you all September 1-3 in Los Angeles at ITEXPO.