Telecom Watch

IT EXPO Keynote: Vonexus President Jerry Fleming

2005-10-26T01:57:16-05:00

Jerry Fleming, president of IP PBX vendor Vonexus Inc., said Tuesday during his keynote speech at IT EXPO in Los Angeles that there are six reasons why businesses should migrate to VoIP solutions.

Vonexus offers an IP PBX that is pre-integrated for Microsoft applications, which, according to Fleming, addresses all six considerations. According to Fleming, Vonexus’ Enterprise Interaction Center addresses the following six considerations:

• Lower telecommunications costs: Businesses can save between 30 and 40 percent on their telephony bills through broadband connectivity versus a traditional PSTN service.

• Simplify Management and Administration: Before VoIP, Fleming said, networks were comprised of many "proprietary boxes" for voice and data networks that limited a business’ ability to integrate new applications. VoIP, on the other hand, is software, not hardware, based and, therefore, is easier to deploy and integrate new services.

•Reduced infrastructure costs: Voice and data networks are converged onto a single IP network, thus significantly reducing infrastructure costs that are associated with a traditional PBX-based network.

•Better communications: VoIP, and Vonexus’ EIC specifically, can improve a business’ communications by providing flexibility and preventing proprietary lock-ins by deploying voice as a desktop application.

•Improved employee production: A company can offer a suite of rich applications that improves the efficiency of employees, including drag and drop conferencing and on-demand recording.

•Improved employee access: IP telephony enables remote employees to connect with the company’s phone system from anywhere, thus making them available to make and receive calls as if they are in the office.

"Businesses finally have a choice," Fleming said.

Related Entries

IT EXPO Keynote: Siemens Communications Thomas Zimmerman

2005-10-25T23:23:20-05:00

Siemens Communications President of Enterprise Systems Thomas Zimmerman Tuesday addressed the mobile enterprise during his keynote speech at IT EXPO.

According to Siemens research, 66 percent of enterprise employees will travel in 2006; 47 percent of U.S. corporations support telemarketing; and CIOs will spend 23 percent more on wireless networking.

"Enterprise is on everybody’s mind," Zimmerman said.

The major problem, however, is that there is a fragmented communications industry between cell, VPN, PSTN and WAN technologies.

The end result, according to Zimmerman, is that "[w]e are slaves to communications tools."

Zimmerman said that the solution the creation of preference-based communications that use collaborative technologies using Wi-Fi enabled devices such as PDAs, mobile phones, laptops, etc.

Siemens’ solution, LifeWorks, creates a presence enabled, preference-based, process integrated system.

To make his point, Zimmerman showed a video demo of Tim, a modern day executive Everyman, who takes advantage of such a collaborative domain.

Tim, whose wife is expecting any moment, is watching television in the morning when he receives a video phone call from a co-worker who’s freaking out over an emergency at the office.

Tim agrees to put the fire out, and gets picked up by a co-worker in a mini-van. While driving in the family truckster, Tim uses his laptop computer and HSDPA to download a critical file, set up a conference call and shares documents with members of his work team. When he makes it to the office and hooks into the company network.

What more could possibly happen to our beleaguered Tim? Yeah, his wife is short of breath and goes to the hospital. Tim takes his laptop and goes to the hospital to affectionately wait outside his wife’s room and work.

The doctor who is treating Tim’s wife uses a secure multifunctional bedside unit to show Tim’s wife his diagnosis (she’s fine). The doctor calls a nurse (because he can’t seem to open the door to talk to her directly) via voice over Wi-Fi to tell Tim that he can see his wife.

Related Entries

Panel Debates Future of IP Telephony

2005-10-25T22:08:40-05:00

A panel comprised of eight top VoIP industry leaders convened Tuesday at the IT Conference and Expo to discuss the future of IP telephony.

Not surprisingly, several panelists were hesitant to say that VoIP, at least from a business perspective, has arrived.

"We have to find a way to make it a worthwhile enterprise," said Ditech Communications Charlan Aras, adding that the industry was trying too hard to benchmark what we have with the PSTN.

Acculab’s David Duffet said that things were pretty close on the telecommunications network side. "But in terms of customers, I think that is less clear."

"As an industry, we need to move to the next question: what does [VoIP] do for me in terms of running a business?" said Sphere’s Todd Landry.

Responding to a question regarding what will drive the demand for VoIP, the panelists were again in agreement that the industry must move away from marketing cheap phone calls.

For example, Quintum’s Chuck Rutledge said that telling a dentist was less likely to see the real benefits of VoIP if he is just told that he can save 10 percent on his phone bill. Rutledge added that if the same dentist is told that he can have a system for a 24 hour, seven days a week patient schedule that will book him 10 more appointments per month, then that is "something to get behind."

A member of the audience asked the hot potato question of what the VoIP industry would look like if "Google took over the Internet."

Panelists were cautious in responding, with several stating that they respect Google, but that IP telephony would suffer if any one company took control of Internet access.

One panelist, however, was optimistic.

"Having Google involved with VoIP is . . . exciting," said Raymond Pennotti. "The competitive environment is substantially more open. I do think companies that own 80 percent of anything can be an impediment."

MCI’s Chris Kimm noted that Google’s alleged takeover of the Internet reminded him of the predictions several years ago that that Netscape would control the Web after its IPO.

The most entertaining answer came from Duffet, who commented that "you can make a lot of friends very quickly" if Google combines it "I Feel Lucky" button with a voice application.

Related Entries

TalkSwitch Unveils Training Seminar Series

2005-10-25T18:12:13-05:00

TalkSwitch, a manufacturer of telephone systems for small and multi- location businesses, said Tuesday that it is offering training seminar series designed to boost the revenues of the company’s resellers.

The series, dubbed TalkSwitch-On- Tour, will consist of full-day seminars featuring, among other things, the following:

- Product demonstrations;

- Overviews of the small business market, including tips on how to sell into it;

An introduction to the new TalkSwitch &You channel partner program and a variety of networking opportunities.

"Our reseller partners are tremendously valuable to us," said Tim Welch, Vice President of Sales, TalkSwitch, in a statement. "The TalkSwitch-On-Tour series is a way for us to say thank you to those resellers. It gives us the chance to meet existing and prospective resellers face to face, present them with new sales and marketing tools, and to share ideas and strategies about ways to increase their revenues by selling even more TalkSwitch product."

Tour dates include Ottawa on Nov. 10, Detroit on Nov. 15, New York on November 17, Los Angeles on December 6; and Oakland on Dec. 8.

For more information, log on to http://www.talkswitch.com/ .

Related Entries

IT EXPO Keynote: Niklas Zennstrom:

2005-10-25T17:46:06-05:00

Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom said Tuesday in his keynote presentation at the IT EXPO in Los Angeles that Skype remains committed to revolutionize how people communicate through the Internet.

"What can be more natural than voice?" Zennstrom asked rhetorically. "Talking on the Internet should be simplest and most natural thing in the world."

Skype, he said, is the only major internet company focused 100 percent on voice communications. Nevertheless, he said that the latest launches by several heavy-hitting web portals have kept the Luxembourg-based company on its toes.

"The latest launches of MSN, AOL and Yahoo! make us focus even more," Zennstrom added, noting that voice is its only focus. "[It] is what we think of day and night."

It is this focus that has led to Skype’s growth.

As broadband becomes more ubiquitous most calls will migrate to the Internet using free software on the edge of the Internet that removes barriers to more natural forms of communications.

Indeed, consider the following facts and stats provided by Zennstrom:

•Skype has grown to 61 million registered users. "It’s actually more than that," Zennstrom said.

•That number is growing at 170,000 new registrations per day. "The E-Bay acquisition took us to a whole new level."

•Skype is present in every country in the world.

•Skype’s ecosystem is thriving with more than 200 plus hardware partners, 1,000 developers, 10,000 affiliates, 200 hardware devices that Skype certifies, and 150 Skype enabled applications

"We cannot do everything, [so the company’s sole] focus is on communications," Zennstrom said.

There is also a Digital Goods Marketplace, from which users can purchase ringtones, etc.

Zennstrom also discussed the launch of Skype Groups, noting that 30 percent of Skype users are businesses and 20 percent of its users use Skype for their primary business’ voice communications.

According to Zennstrom, businesses beta testing Skype Groups are drawn to Skype for the following reasons:

•Free Skype calls

•Knowing when colleagues are on line

•Free conference calls

•Mobility of call forwarding

•Setting up water cooler multi-chats.

The payment options for Skype Groups are through PayPal, bank transfers or by credit card.

Interestingly, Zennstrom noted that 50 percent of companies have less than 10 employees; 63 percent of companies are conducting business abroad; 70 percent use a dedicated headset and 30 percent have Skype number on their business cards.

What would a presentation from Zennstrom be without mentioning the Skype-eBay deal? Specifically, Zennstrom reiterated the reasons why the acquisition was sound.

"It goes back to the objective to becoming the world’s largest on-line communications company," he said. "[With eBay, Skype can] integrate with big companies to reach more users, and create ecosystems faster. We had opportunities to speak with several other companies. There are a lot of common philosophies between eBay and Skype.

The end result is that Skype will be a "stronger and faster company."

"I’m committed to stay for many years," Zennstrom said.

Plans on using e-bay reach more users.

The presentation then shifted to a Q&A period, during which Zennstrom said that he sees AOL, MSN and Yahoo!, all of which have bigger user bases, as Skype’s greatest on-line communications competitor.

"None of them are communications companies, they are on-line portals," Zennstrom noted.

Responding to a question regarding how he is dealing with port blocking, Zennstrom responded that, while port blocking is a problem, "what we found out in competitive markets is that companies that block broadband services are telling consumers to go somewhere else."

"Skype is not parasitic," Zennstrom said.

Related Entries

FiberNet Launches Peering Solution

2005-10-24T15:59:30-05:00

Here at IT EXPO in Los Angeles there is more than a little a chatter regarding VoIP peering. One of the more interesting aspects of peering is how different companies are defining it.

One of other major issue’s to be discussed at IT EXPO’s VoIP Peering Summit this week on Los Angeles is how larger carriers can profit from peering. Indeed, companies such as InfiniRoute and Arbinet offer services and solutions that they say provide carrier class VoIP solutions from which carriers can make money.

Complex interconnection services provider FiberNet Telecom Group, Inc. threw its hat into ring by announcing Monday that it has launched a carrier-class VoIP peering solution and ENUM service.

The company said that with its solution, dubbed Phonomenum, enables telcos, cable operators and VoIP service providers to establish peering connections and exchange VoIP traffic.

"We definitely see the rapid growth of voice services, particularly internationally," FiberNet CEO Jon DeLuca told TMCnet.

DeLuca said that the industry has missed the point of VoIP by having calls passed on to the PSTN either to connect the call between two VoIP subscribers or for the call to be terminated.

Phonomenum, which will utilize FiberNet's network infrastructure to interconnect over 650 service providers, allows the interoperation of IP and the PSTN for termination of VoIP traffic, DeLuca added.

DeLuca noted, however, that his company was still exploring options for its business model for the new service.

"There is a financial element to this," DeLuca said. "There is a cost associated to this; [FiberNet] can’t do it for free.

Related Entries

Nuvio asks FCC for E911 Stay

2005-10-24T14:44:15-05:00

One of the biggest issues facing the VoIP industry is the Federal Communication Commission’s E-911 order. Several sessions at the IT EXPO in Los Angeles will focus on the issue, including an Oct. 26 roundtable discussion of the legal ramifications of the order.

Here’s one topic that is sure to be mentioned at least in passing: Nuvio Corp. asked the FCC Monday to delay enforcing its E-911 Nov. 28 deadline for interconnected VoIP providers.

Nuvio said that it has requested that the FCC stay a portion of its order until a nationwide solution is available to service providers.

According to Nuvio, the company said that it filed a court action with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to prevent the FCC from enforcing its order requiring that all VoIP service providers connected to the PSTN must provide E-911 services to their customers.

"No service provider is going to be able to provide a nationwide solution for nomadic VoIP users, and this order is inconsistent with the Commission’s past decisions regarding implementation of E911 capabilities by other service providers, such as wireless," said Nuvio CEO Jason Talley.

Related Entries

Comments (1) | Tag with del.icio.us

Related Tags: service providers, nuvio, Nuvio, order, providers, service

Sphere, Broadcom Partner

2005-10-24T13:36:01-05:00

And so the news from INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and Expo in Los Angeles begins. I will be on site throughout the entire event to provide coverage of new product launches, Keynote Speakers and as many of the sessions as I can.

Sphere Communications said Monday that has partnered with BroadSoft so Sphere’s Sphericall IPBX and BroadSoft’s platform BroadWorks Platform.

SIP Trunking enables enterprises to converge their voice and data onto one common IP platform.

Enterprises that utilize the will invariably lower costs by not having to purchase media gateways to connect IP voice services to the PSTN.

With this news, it is pretty clear that we are moving closer to a peering world.

Related Entries

Mega Mergers on FCC's Agenda Next Week

2005-10-24T09:53:34-05:00

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote on two proposed telecommunications mega mergers on Oct. 28, according to an agenda published by the FCC on Friday.

The proposed multi-billion dollar mergers, one between SBC Communications Inc. and AT&T Corp., the second involving Verizon Communications Inc. with�MCI, Inc., has come under�fire from numorous organizations and companies, who claim that�the mergers will significantly reduce competition and�effectively create a telecom duopoly.

Qwest was unsuccessful in its efforts to acquire MCI, losing in a bidding war with Verizon, even though Verizon's bid was significantly lower.

Proponents state that competition will not be significantly reduced and that the mergers�will actually spur innovation.

Indeed, fellow RBOC Qwest and numerous CLECs, including XO Communications,�have demanded that significant conditions be placed on the mergers, should the be placed on the mergers, should they be approved.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin recently announced that he would like to approve the mergers without conditions, though that is unlikely, because the Commission i has just four members, two Republican and two Democrat appointees.

�

Related Entries

Classy

2005-10-21T14:59:07-05:00

I want to party with these guys.

Related Entries

Crafty Rat or Bad Scientists

2005-10-20T17:11:07-05:00

I don't know whether to respect the intelligence of the rat, or deem the team of scientists a bunch of losers.

Related Entries

AOL Job Cuts

2005-10-19T16:07:25-05:00

The Associate Press today reported that AOL cut 700 jobs.� AOL said that it was due to declining subscriber base, and had nothing to do with making itself more attractive to potential buyers such as Yahoo! or Microsoft.

Sure.

Related Entries

NBA.com Fantasy Guru

2005-10-19T15:46:32-05:00

Here's the deal: NBA.com today unveiled a comprehensive fantasy offering, which includes an "All-NBA First Team - Fantasy" Award and insight from "The Talented Mr. Roto" Matthew Berry.

NBA.com is also available in Chinese and Spanish, thereby spreading the fantasy disease of "loserdom" internationally.

Why do I call fantasy nutjobs losers?� Because I'm one of them.� I mean, look at me.�

�

I haven't had a date since the Clinton administration.� While I'm certain that they aren't entirely to blame,�fantasy sports haven't helped.

Furthermore, while I do just fine in fantasy baseball (I won the championship this year all by my lonesome), I'm having a major problem with my football teams.� (Yes, I have two.� Double secret loser for me.)� Actually, I have a major problem with my partner, Joe "The Butcher" Fabiano.� Joe is a fellow member of the TMC team; he does his job exceptionally well and he is an all-around great guy.� I know this because I also grew up with him.� It is this kind of familiarity that enables me to make the following observation: Joe The Butcher has needlessly cut more people than celluloid serial killers Mike Myers, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees combined.

His claim to fame is cutting Priest Holmes in the third week of his breakout year.� Anyway, proof is in the pudding.� The Butcher and I haven't won a game all year in either league to which we belong, even though we count LaDanian Tomlinson and Peyton Manning as players on our respective teams.

Anyway, I forgot the reason why I got on this rant.� Aw forget it, I'll just crawl back in my hole and turn my brain into tapioca as I watch a "Two and a Half Men" marathon.

Related Entries

Comments (1) | Tag with del.icio.us

Related Tags: fantasy, Butcher, haven, butcher

GTC Cell Plunge

2005-10-19T10:20:01-05:00

GTC Telecom Corp. said on Wednesday that it will launch a cellular phone service by the end of the year.�

The Costa Mesa, Calif.-based company said that pricing, service plans and handset details will be announced at a later date.

GTC currently provides various telecommunications and Internet services to residential customers in the United States.

�Offering this new service will not only allow us to increase our average revenue per customer, but it will help us appeal to new target markets,� said GTC CEO S. Paul Sandhu.

Originally known for its cut-rate long distance service, GTC recently has been expanding its presence in the local market.

Related Entries

Rocky 6?!

2005-10-17T13:41:54-05:00

I think I just threw up in my mouth.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9728209/

Related Entries