If there is a single trend I have observed this week it is that VoIP is really happening. I spent a good deal of time interviewing companies exhibiting at the Internet Telephony show and they told me that the buyers at this show are more serious than ever. Many companies are selling product on the show floor.

I am further blown away by the international nature of VoIP. This week I have seen more and more service providers and enterprises coming from Africa, Asia, Latin America and everywhere else.

At the networking receptions the most frequent discussions I heard were about SIP, IMS, SOA and VoIP security. There was discussion about Skype being blocked in China as well.

If this event is any indication of how 2006 is going to shape up for the VoIP industry then we are all in great shape. I didn't see one aisle that was easy to walk down the entire show. The frenzy of buying activity was amazing to me. Now is a great time to be in VoIP.

For those of us you that made it through post-bubble VoIP, it seems we are really back. We have really accomplished what we set out to do. People believe in this technology and are deploying in huge numbers.