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Julius Genachowski Makes Brilliant Move at FCC in Hiring Henning Schulzrinne as CTO

December 29, 2011

Earlier this month, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the appointment of Henning Schulzrinne as Chief Technology Officer – a major move forward for the FCC and the US communications regulatory environment. This move was made in-part because the FCC has had to keep up with fairly rapid changes in the communications and networking worlds. Telephony was once a circuit-switched service provided by a handful of large telecommunications companies and a number of regional players.

It was relatively easy to understand and regulate. But when VoIP and other forms of IP communications came on the scene, the world became less defined.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Broadband, FCC, HD Voice, IMS, IP Communications, ITEXPO, SIP, Skype, Smart Grid, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Vonage, Wireless

Exciting New ITEXPO Keynote, Michael Tribolet with magicJack VocalTec

August 31, 2011

Two months back I told you that IP communications veteran Michael Tribolet, someone involved in the founding and growth of the VoIP space joined magicJack Vocaltec and would be at ITEXPO West in Austin Texas, September 13-15, 2011.

I have great news to share and that is that Michael will be keynoting at the show at 8:45 am on Sept 13. He kicks off what is perhaps the best keynote line-up ITEXPO has ever seen - he will be followed up by representatives from Cisco, IBM, DHL, Ethernet inventor Bob Metcalfe and many more.

I have known Tribolet for about a decade if not longer and he worked at some of the most influential game-changing companies in his career. For example, he Vice President of Operations at Dialpad - a VoIP leader in the nineties allowing tens of millions of global callers the ability to call into the US for free.

He then went to Vonage America and became President and watched the company change the face of VoIP - causing the cable companies to realize IP was their future as well. The ensuing competition between Vonage and the cablecos is still fascinating to watch.

Now at magicJack Vocaltec, Tribolet is once again at one of the game-changing IP communications companies and no doubt has fascinating insight on where the communications business has been and will be going.

Posted in Broadband, IP Communications, ITEXPO, SIP, Technology, VoIP, Vonage

LNP Still a Problem After 7 Years

August 4, 2011

Years back I had problems with number porting to a VoIP provider and now - seven years later the problem still exists as evidenced by TMC's Tom Keating who recently tried to and couldn't port his number to a VoIP carrier.

Interestingly I recently got to know an LNP specialist at a SIP trunking provider who was telling me about LNP horror stories. Certain carriers in rural areas just didn't have to port. I couldn't get anyone from the provider to go on record so I never wrote about the situation.

Here is my article from 2004 complaining about LNP, one from Tom Keating in 2006 and here is Tom's latest story about the trouble he just had with a number port.

Posted in Broadband, IP Communications, Networking, SIP, Technology, VoIP, Vonage

PSTN Death is Near

July 7, 2011

I vividly remember driving my car in 1999 – two years after the company where I am CEO, TMC decided to launch Internet Telephony Magazine and thinking VoIP was going to change the way communications works and eventually kill the PSTN. It seemed to me that within five years most of the world would make the transition as the cost disparity at the time was quite large between the PSTN and VoIP connections. Moreover, there were a myriad of free calling services using VoIP such as Dialpad which were ad supported, putting even more pressure on traditional telecom networks.

Within a few years the dotcom and telecom bubbles burst (we collectively said goodbye (details) to Dialpad and its competitors) and the cost for using the PSTN dropped substantially in order to better compete with IP communications alternatives. So my internal projections which I am not sure I ever wrote about before turned out to be too optimistic.

The period between 2001-2004 could easily be referred to us the nuclear winter of VoIP – well communications in general is more like it – not to mention tech.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Broadband, Cisco, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Google, IP Communications, Networking, Nortel, Optical, SIP, Satellite, Skype, Smart Grid, Super WiFi, Technology, Verizon, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless

Important HD Voice Research Report Available

April 7, 2011

You probably know I have been a huge proponent of HD voice as to me it’s an inevitable outcome of transitioning away from the PSTN to IP-based networks which allow us to upgrade CODECs without having to downshift our conversations to technology which was invented many decades ago. When I was a kid, television was an 11 inch black-and-white screen which seemed to always have Walter Cronkite on it and changing the channels was a manual and rotary process.

Yet, the incredible tech advancements we have seen in the television space haven’t yet fully materialized in the world of telephony. Sure, I can have high-quality conversations if a call stays on IP networks and there is no need for transcoding or jumping onto the public switched telephone network. But for most calls we all make, this technology advancement is unheard – so the problem is solved but not in a way which really helps on most of our calls.

My thoughts and a panel of experts from ITEXPO East 2009 Miami on the future of HD voice

The good news is the opportunity to improve the quality of all phone calls will only grow over time as equipment is replaced, IP communications becomes more widely embraced and peering of VoIP networks becomes the norm, not the exception.

That’s why I am thrilled to announce that TMC – the company where I am CEO has partnered with HD Voice News to publish the first comprehensive report on the market and opportunity for HD voice technology and services.

I recently had a chance to look at the report and give the author, Doug Mohney my opinions.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, Call Center, Cisco, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Gadget, HD Voice, IP Communications, ITEXPO, Microsoft, SIP, Skype, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Vonage, Wireless, Yahoo

Electronic Warfare is the Future. Are You Ready?

February 14, 2011

Stuxnet is Victory at Entebbe 2.0

The Stuxnet worm alleged to be the work of Israel and the US was designed to target and disable Iranian centrifuges by increasing their speeds to dangerous levels while reporting to operators that all was well. The latest report from the New York Times shows this worm has also hit five industrial sites in the land of Ahmadinejad.

It’s no secret most of the world does not want Iran to get nuclear weapons and the best weapon being used to deter the country’s nuclear program was sanctions and if they are working it would be tough to know it as the country are prospering greatly as the price of oil is much higher than what Iran has budgeted.

So electronic warfare is a nice and neat way to disable a portion of the country’s operations without the need to go to war, risk lives, etc.

Because of the nature of this attack some predict the Iranian nuclear program has been set back by two years, making this attack historic in its ingenuity. It is really Victory at Entebbe 2.0. As you may recall, Operation Entebbe was a daring hostage rescue mission pulled off by the Israel Defense Forces in 1976.

Cyberattacks are not new by any means but the level of sophistication and damage created by this attack make it something bad guys everywhere will be trying to emulate.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Facebook, Financial, Gadget, Google, Green, HD Voice, IP Communications, IPTV, M2M, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Nortel, Open Source, Optical, Political, SIP, SaaS, Satellite, Science, Search, Security, Skype, Smart Ecosystem, Smart Grid, Social Networking, Technology, Twitter, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless, Yahoo

Austin, Texas Selected For ITEXPO West 2011

January 27, 2011

I have some very exciting news to share regarding ITEXPO. I alluded to it a few weeks back and now it’s here. ITEXPO West 2011 will be moving to the Austin Convention Center in Austin Texas, on September 13-15, 2011. ITEXPO was launched in San Diego, CA at the Hotel Del Coronado and moved to Long Beach and eventually Los Angeles.

Posted in 4G, 4GWE, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Facebook, Fax, Financial, Gadget, Google, Green, HD Voice, IP Communications, ITEXPO, M2M, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Nortel, Open Source, SIP, Skype, Smart Ecosystem, Smart Grid, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, TMC Team, Technology, Twitter, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless, Yahoo

-50F With Wind Chill. Escape to ITEXPO in Miami

January 24, 2011

You know I would never stoop to reminding you about the weather to persuade you to attend what I believe to the be the best tech and telecom conference in the world - OK, maybe I would.

So I was driving along this morning on the way to work and noticed I couldn't feel any of my fingers. I decided to check to make sure I was wearing gloves. I was. Then I realized I couldn't feel any of my toes and yes I had shoes on.

I then looked at the temperature reading and it said one degree.

Posted in 4G, 4GWE, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Facebook, Fax, Financial, Gadget, Google, Green, HD Voice, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, M2M, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Musings, Nortel, Open Source, Optical, Patent, Personal, Podcast, Political, SIP, SaaS, Satellite, Security, Skype, Smart Ecosystem, Smart Grid, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, TMC Team, Technology, Twitter, Unified Communications, Verizon, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless, Yahoo

Sears Goes High Tech With Video Streaming

January 4, 2011

One imagines the person above represents the typical Sears customer... Will this news lure the person below?

As reported by Gary Kim on TMCnet, Sears is now launching a new streaming video service under its Alphaline brand which is expected to provide a full line of consumer electronic products.Unlike subscription based competitors you do not need any sort of long-term commitment to use the service which prices new releases frequently at $3.99 per rental while TV episodes are priced at $1.99 per rental.

Powered by Sonic's RoxioNow backend, just like Best Buy and Blockbuster, the service will be embedded in a variety of connected Blu-ray players, mobile devices and TVs.

A few thoughts come to mind… It seems television episodes are priced high when compared to movie releases. I wonder if $0.99 or $1.29 isn’t a more reasonable episode price.

Moreover, with so much competition in the space and the ability for new retailers to easily come to the market via the use of Sonic's RoxioNow backend, we can expect there to be a race to zero in content distribution. Obviously content providers will always have some pricing power so we can’t get to zero unless sponsorships and/or ads make up the cost.

Speaking of racing to zero, Tom Keating just reported on his TMCnet blog that Axvoice is pursuing this race with its unlimited VoIP service for just $99 per year.

Posted in Broadband, Consumer Electronics, Financial, Gadget, IP Communications, IPTV, Technology, Video, Vonage

Skype, FCC, IBM and Tech News Before New Year's

December 30, 2010

While the week before Christmas and New Year’s is typically slow with regards to news, the huge blizzard which hit the northeast really started things off with a bang. A foot-and-a-half of snow hit the area around TMC headquarters in Norwalk, CT with drifts totaling a few feet in height. Airports were backed up and some streets took days to plow well.

Skype has been busy

Ironically, at a time when so many really needed to communicate virtually, one of the main vehicles for VoIP and video wasn’t working right. In fact, Skype really stole the show in terms of news having a major outage, then fixing the outage and finishing off the week by releasing iPhone-friendly video conferencing.

The FCC too has been busy

The FCC too has been busy pushing out Net Neutrality guidelines (public response) as well as publishing a few important papers.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, HD Voice, IP Communications, ITEXPO, SIP, Skype, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, Technology, Twitter, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Vonage, Wireless

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