Recently in voip Category

I'm in Atlanta speaking at the Microcorp One-on-One event about Trends in 2010. The three trends that I see for agents are the following: Applications, Quality of Service (QOS), and Mobile Broadband (MBB). But they are kind of inter-dependent. Ubiquious broadband leads to innovative uses and applications. Applications like on smartphones lead to a greater need for mobile broadband networks.

Mobile Broadband is growing. Smartphones are replacing cellular handsets. Social networks are moving to mobile devices so people can Facebook and Tweet. RIM's Blackberry brought us mobile email, but it is a standard on many phones now. Netbooks and data cards are presenting the US cellular companies with some fits. They like the additional revenue, but have to keep dropping billions on the network backhaul and capacity upgrades. (And another $45B+ on the upgrade to LTE/4G).

All this means that there are new uses for the mobile broadband, like the Kindle. Sprint's Wispernet allows Amazon to instantly download books, magazines, newspapers and blogs to Kindle devices. Machine-to-machine devices can utilize the cellular data network to provide connectivity for ATM machines, security cameras, and a host of other devices that need to communicate with a NOC or remote server.

All of this is a cycle of applications driving network usage. Ubiquious broadband driving more apps. It's one reason that the FCC needs to maintain open network and Net Neutrality guidelines in place.

Applications - like email, databases, office suites, CRM - are creating a demand for managed services, such as an outsourced IT department. In addition, businesses are looking at the Cloud - moving applications to a data center for redundancy, security, and availability - as a way to save money and stop worrying about the IT department. With applications being delivered in the Cloud or by way of SAAS or even Virtualization, Agents have a chance to offer more than just Internet Access or WAN circuits, like private line. Agents can sell Layer 2 to Layer 7 - pipe to apps. It's a way to get deeper into accounts. It's a way to offer a complete solution. It's a way to deliver on the label of Trusted Advisor.

Applications are driving sales. Voice and email are just the primary apps. Business critical data is also driving mobile broadband. Ubiquious broadband is allowing for innovative ways of accessing data. The problem becomes reliable access to the data. That's where Quality of Service comes in. QOS on the WAN is what is needed to access data reliably and quickly. The MPLS trigger is the Class of Service reliability and prioritization of data over the network. This is paramount for businesses running a truly converged network with video, database, VoIP, email and Internet riding the same pipes. WAN Optimization is selling due to the cost containment and the performance enhancement. Big bang for the buck.

So the agents can sell mobile broadband, applications via Virtualization or SAAS, and add QOS to the WAN to provide reliable access to these business critical data.

It's funny to watch Ma Bell fight Google, because Bell isn't used to fighting another company that also has billions of dollars - and millions of users. No CLEC was ever this big - nor cable company. And Google is kind of both -- or at least that is what Ma Bell is crying to the FCC about. 

Google has more video on YouTube than any DVR or cable company can match currently. Google Voice is the online VoIP service many people wish that an innovative telecommunications services company would have delivered years ago.  But Ma Bell isn't innovative. heck, they don't even own the Labs any more - that went out with Lucent.

PC World has some coverage of the fight. The LA Times and 399 other news sources wrote about the complaint. Many in the blogosphere think that this is just AT&T's way to deflect the FCC from pinning them to the ground and perhaps delay a Network Neutrality NOI.  

Google responded on their blog quickly. 

Note to Randall and Crazy Ivan:  Consumers just want you to be a fat pipe to the inter-webs. Not the Weight Watchers version you currently offer and over-charge for. A 10MB super-info-highway. Get out of the way! We want to choose our own content, apps, and Layer 7 providers.  You had your chance, but as always greed kept you from doing anything. Heck, you are closing the doors on CallVantage on Oct. 20. And that was such a great service. (Oops, did I just say that?) You could have givrn us Google Voice just like you could have given America fiber-to-the-home in 2000 when you promised many states you would if they would let you have a rate hike. 

Keep pouring those billions into TV and 4G. If Sprint and T-Mobile could get out of their own way, they would own your ass already.

Lots of parties last week at Channel Partners Expo. It seems like it is almost 2003 again. So back to the Delano we went with FusionTel. FusionTel wanted to make a splash by having a party at the Delano. It worked about 60 people showed up at 4:30 to have a few drinks and chat.

I got to start a conversation with their President, but we didn't get to finish it. I did get to chat with Stacy Conrad, Senior Director of Partner Sales, about agents selling their Hosted VoIP service. The latest story is about an agent who sold their service.

The vertical was Healthcare. Fusion was sold because the customer, who is based in Massachusetts, was opening a new site in California and needed the combo pack - phones and Internet service. The agent presented the customer with the concept of trying Hosted VoIP instead of buying the traditional phone service and on-premise PBX. 

The value proposition that FusionTel presents is lower up front cost (CAPEX) as well as enhanced features. But the sales trigger was likely the ability for the receptionist in Mass. to also answer calls for Cali. and transfer calls for free via extension dialing. This freed the company from needing a receptionist in CA. 

"We differentiated ourselves by our expertise, our professional on site installation, and our competitive pricing," Stacy Conrad remarked.

Just some rambling thoughts on UC as I prepare for a session at Broadsoft Connections. Comments?

A piece of news hit me that just adds to the bad taste that COMPTEL leaves in my mouth. Here's an organization that is mainly composed of CLEC's. Since MCI and AT&T were acquired by RBOC's all teeth have left the building. I can't think of a single COMPTEL FCC or court victory. The big one was supposed to be Brand-X, but that turned out to be a huge loss.

This morning a CLEC client pointed out all the benefits that he gets from NRTC Coop and I am astounded.

So the news item was about VON. "will host a CTO Summit at which leading competitive service providers will develop a road map for creating a nationwide IP-based peering fabric that will bypass the legacy PSTN and support advanced services such as HD voice.....Committed to attending so far are Alteva, Telesphere, Simple Signal, Callis Communications, ISN Telcom, Broadcore, Global IP Solutions and Consolidated Technologies" as well as Broadsoft and Polycom, vendors for most of those attending.

This isn't really ground breaking because there are IP Peers like Arbinet and Stealth's VPF. But it's the first time that the ITSP's decided to start their own. And I have to wonder why COMPTEL wasn't behind this a couple of years ago. COMPTEL needs to start thinking of ways to add value to its membership, instead of just ways to make it really expensive to network with each other.

SUTUS sells an Office-in-the-box solution for small business. For 25 and under employees, the Sutus Business Central 200 is a file server, email server, router, wireless access point, and phone system. The BC200 has gotten an upgrade. 

• New User Interface: enhanced Flex technology supports seamless installation, management and use of the Business Central 200, onsite and/or remotely.
• Enhanced Desktop Install Tools: enables the set-up of desktops, VPN clients and mail clients in a matter of minutes.
• Enhanced Network Interoperability: the appliance now can seamlessly co-exist within a customer's legacy local area networks; including active directory, hosted exchange, and existing internet routers.
• VoIP Interoperability: ITSP partners added to the VoIP interop menu now include Bandwidth.com, Airespring, Excel and XO Communications.

It's the telephony upgrade that caught my eye: Call park / retrieve and directed pick-up. Older key systems use call park and most Hosted PBX systems cannot emulate that feature. (Aastra has a PBX that can). Other features include:

• Overhead and handset paging
• Open / closed call flows
• Enhanced directory
• Ability to manage Polycom handsets through user interface

SUTUS is distributed by ScanSource and NETX.

Per an FCC Announcement (below) Telesphere has bought Unity Business Network. I knew that they were in talks and I thought after Telesphere's $15M in funding that they would buy UBN up. This was kind of easy since both are Broadsoft based. Ah, finally some consolidation in the VOIP Provider space.

Released: 08/25/2009. DOMESTIC SECTION 214 APPLICATION FILED FOR THE ACQUISITION OF ASSETS OF UNITY BUSINESS NETWORKS L.L.C. BY TELEPSHERE NETWORKS LTD. (DA No. 09-1875). (Dkt No 09-150 ) STREAMLINED PLEADING CYCLE ESTABLISHED. Comments Due: 09/08/2009. Reply Comments Due: 09/15/2009. WCB . Contact: Tracey Wilson-Parker at (202) 418-1394 or Jodie May at (202) 418-0913.
 
"The FCC is asked to assign Unity BN's domestic interstate common carrier transmission lines to Telesphere. Unity BN, an Arizona limited liability company, is authorized as a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) in Colorado and Minnesota and also provides inter-state Voice over Internet Protocol and data services in Colorado, Minnesota, and Oregon. Telesphere, a Washington state corporation, provides interstate services throughout the U.S. .... Pursuant to the terms of the proposed transaction, Telesphere Access, LLC, an Arizona limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Telesphere, will acquire Unity BN's CLEC assets. Telepshere will acquire substantially all of Unity BN's other assets, including any domestic section 214 authority."

Alex Doyle at Broadsoft pointed out a blog post from his company: Why is UC like a Gym Membership.  The analogy is really about PBX systems - hosted versus on-premise. A gym is the hosted scenario and a Bowflex would be the on-premise version. It's the best analogy I have seen used to date. I hope you are going to ITEXPO and Broadsoft Connections, because smart folks will be at both places simplifying things for you.

I will be moderating a developer panel at IT EXPO WEST on Developing Profitable Web 2.0 Solutions. The panleists are from Ifbyphone, Voxeo and Intelepeer.

This is a Dev panel so we will be talking about The Styles or Ways to go about Developing Apps, including How To Create an App using the API. We will basically keep to the core of the description: "Attendees will learn how Web 2.0 allows organizations to gracefully migrate expensive legacy telephony to a lower cost software model without disrupting existing operations."

Join us on Thursday, 09/03/09at 9:30 AM

I look at the new IP Phones and wonder: Are they morphing into a cell phone?

I like cordless handsets, mainly because I walk when I am talking. It helps me think and it sounds better for the caller. And I use a corded headset.

So when I look at the newest DECT phones like Aastra 600D series, Cisco WIP310, and others, they are so small, lightweight and are starting to resemble a cell phone. Right? A perfect example is the UniData Wi-Fi phones. These look just like a cell handset and come with video capabilities and cameras. No other handset has that yet.

Broadsoft extended Web 2.0 services to the mobile device. So has Mitel. Blackberry wants to mobilize your PBX - to make your cell phone an extension on the office PBX system. So does Mitel. So does Broadsoft. Oh, and so do the cell carriers because they want you to spend those minutes.

It looks like only difference between your IP phone and your cell phone will be signaling technology (Wi-Fi, CDMA, GSM, DECT). When we get a phone with half those chips in there, will the desktop phone become obsolete? Are we really that mobile? I sit at my desk at least 40 hours per week when I am in town. I can't see getting rid of my cell phone even with those home phone systems that jack into your cell phone. For me the call quality on the cell is inferior to either my VoIP line (most times) and my POTS line.

I think that battery life will always save the desktop phone. I wish it could do more: like updates and texts or IM or something. After all the desktop IP phone by Polycom or Aastra (the ones I am familiar with) are mini-computers. Broadsoft and Aastra have XML marketplaces for apps for them, but I have not heard (or seen) anyone taking advantage yet. (Anyone?)

As more minutes move away from the PSTN to VoIP Networks and Cellular systems, what happens to the PSTN? Where's the Tipping Point when the telcos can't or won't maintain it anymore?