VoIP Peering

In a "reversal" AT&T said that it will now allow VoIP apps to run on their network using the iPhone.

Smart move. Given that they are getting increasing customer complaints about poor service and coverage for their 3G network driven by cusrtomers actually wanting to use the data service it makes sense for them to conceed the voice business to the data side of the network to keep people happy.

The truth is that voice will not create huge congestion on the data network since full duplex VoIP is 90kbps or so. This is nothing compared to the multi-meg video apps people want to run. It will allow for usurping of the traditional voice network and then therefore revenues to AT&T. This is inevitable.

Allowing for this now will help to keep customers sticky when the exclusive deal with Apple expires. The more people use the device on the AT&T network, the more their passwords are pre-programmed and their contacts database grows, etc the less likely they are to leave. If AT&T did not allow VoIP on the data network it would have only accelerated the exodus from the AT&T service.

Once we get to IPv6 End User ENUM might actually happen after all, but it won't be ENUM, it will be SRV!

I just saw an ad on TV for Vonage World. Check it out on their homepage

UNLIMITED termination for $24.99 / month to these countries - many of which include cellular!

Andorra
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahamas*
Bahrain
Belgium
Brazil
Brunei*
Bulgaria
Canada*
Chile
China*
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominican RepublicEstonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Guadeloupe
Guam*
Hong Kong*
Hungary
Iceland
India*
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Jordan
KenyaLatvia
Luxembourg
Macedonia, Republic of
Macau*
Malaysia*
Malta
Mexico
Monaco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico*
Romania
Russia
Saipan*
San Marino*Singapore*
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand*
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States*
U.S. Virgin Islands*
Venezuela
Zambia

*Calls to cellular phones included

I can think of a few people that are going to order up new lines in batches of 24 and back them in to a wholesale switch and open it up. I have seen this before within unlimited termination DS3's in LATA 132 from a couple of CLEC's - 10 years ago. They got lit up. I didn't think I would see it again. Everything is IP today, so it is even easier. No more TDM inverse muxing to deal with. I wonder if/how they will limit usage.

From their recent press release .." XConnect, a London-based provider of peering and ENUM registry services to the telecom industry, has raised $10 million in Series B funding. Crescent Point Group of Singapore was joined by return backers Accel Partners, Grazia Equity and Venrock. The company previously raised $12 million in 2007."

I just spoke with Eli Katz, XConnect CEO and founder about the news and a few other things related to the VoIP Peering business and as usual he is spot on. From the discussion we concluded that multilateral VoIP peering is the trend, focus and push from many second tier and a growing number of major providers around the world. More importantly multilateral VoIP peering has largely "happend" with the balance of the world now in need of "figuring it out". This is quite a change from years ago when we were first discussing the concept in VoIP peering conferences around the globe and being met with questions and disbelief.

To those non-believers I offer you this from Sprint

In their own words, "Only from Sprint, unlimited calls to and from any wireless phone on any network are now included in Sprint Everything Data plans at no additional charge".

That's 250 Million mobile phones in the US that are all now on-net to each other - in a consumer product. This is all driven by multi-lateral VoIP peering on the backend through the mobile carrier exchange. Sprint has multi-lateral peering established with the other mobile providers and now they have turned around and opened it up to the end users. I am sure that they will not be "the only" one for long. They have crossed a line in the sand and there is no going back.

This move makes a lot of sense from an operational cost/engineering perspective as it costs a lot less to provision and route calls to mobile end points as IP. Also, the overwhelming shift is to mobile and away from fixed-line, so this move accelerates that shift and the overall corporate savings/cost reduction. Good move Sprint!

The not so gorious reality though is that the glue that binds (what XConnect does) now goes largely unnoticed. What was once cutting edge and revolutionary is now "behind the scenes". What was just a few short years ago not believed to be possible by the masses just happend under the cover of broad daylight with major broadcast TV ads proclaiming this new "Everything" plan. Sadly no credit is given to multi-lateral VoIP peering, but it is in fact a significant portion of the "how it all happens".

Eli is content to grow his business and forge ahead in the quest to have all things VoIP operate seamlessly and at the highest rate of cost-effectiveness and he is not so concerned about the glory of it all. To that I say, Good on you! It may not be considered sexy by the mainstream media, but we know the truth!

When the broadband mobile data pipe can be used to carry skype/VoIP and it is supported by the mobile service provider it's all over for the traditional mobile voice minutes business.

O2 allows mobile VoIP use, launches new wholesale broadband offering

We have arrived.

Well, this has been going on, or at least people have been trying to make it work, for some time. This is a major annoucenment of a large mobile (traditionally voice) provider essentially giving the green light to let go of the voice business and focus on the data pipe.

It is now a massive flat rate, on-net game. A race to the data bottom. The mobile "phone" will die and the mobile data device will thrive. O2 will pressure T Mobile to lose the silly surcharge for VoIP. Others will follow. They will have no choice but to compete.

This is good news for the VoIP Peering Community as people around the world will better understand the technology and economics of VoIP and become more accepting of the reality of VoIP peering.

The DealCenter marches forward as it takes on yet another major telecom industry conference. This time it is none other than the ITEXPO!

This is very cool as it makes the entire conference experience more valuable. By being able to set up one-on-one meetings with prospective buyers/sellers before you go to the conference you can justify your trip and raise the probability of a successful outting rather than just a chance meeting at a booth.

I encourage everyone attending ITEXPO to use the DealCenter as a way to meet new people and manage your time more efficiently.

These topics are on a lot of minds today and that is a great thing for all of us in this industry. I am going to be moderating/leading two sessions at the IT EXPO West 2009 in LA.

Spread the word! I hope to see everyone there!

Tuesday, September 1: 12:45 - 1:30 pm
Dark Fiber & U.S. Stimulus - How New Fiber Drives
Broadband VoIP

Over the next two to five years broadband speeds and
penetration will increase giving VoIP service providers and
equipment vendors more opportunities than ever before.
This session will connect the dots between the Broadband
Stimulus, fiber deployment and the VoIP applications that
will grow from it. The moderator will give an overview of
the current status of the ARRA BTOP. The panel will discuss
the benefits of wide-scale broadband deployment and how
that will positively impact the VoIP industry.

Tuesday, September 1: 1:45 - 2:30 pm
Fiber & Wireless Backhaul - Two Technologies
That Actually Feed Each Other

Since the invention and commercialization of both fiber and
wireless transport there has been a perception of
competition between the two. Vendors positioned their
products and services as a "one, or the other" choice. Very
recently it has become very apparent to the mainstream
buyer that fiber and wireless actually complement each
other. There is probably no better example of this than with
4G wireless deployment and backhaul needs of wireless
data from cell towers. This session will provide an overview
of the current state of wireless backhaul over fiber, the
benefits, where it is and is not happening, and why.

From Internet Telephony to Voice over Internet Protocol there was a shift. It was from voice over the public Internet to voice over the protocol itself but using a private network, or transport layer circuit rather than the public Internet. This distinction is subtle, but critically important.

Recently there has been much hype about cloud computing. The "cloud" of course is the Internet. This term has its roots in frame relay and other data protocols that preceeded the Internet. Frame Clouds were places where virtual circuits were created so as to avoid the high cost of point to point circuits. At the transport layer it made good sense and saved dollars, but lacked the dynamic features that the Internet provided. Security was sacrificed in return for usability and profit.

Today in the world of could computing there are basically depots where one can go in and out and pick up, or use any available IP application on a per-use basis. This adds to the convenience factor of the public Internet and further compounds the economoic benefits as more applications are brought online. A recent and very logical one is Voice applications.

Ifbyphone is a Cloud Telephony provider that offers in simple terms voice applications that can be accessed over the Internet. So, for a service provider looking to offer their customers voice features they need not build it on their own. They can just incorporate ifbyphone in to their own service offering and pay as they use it.

The key is the service is that it can be accessed. This is accomplished by "SIP Trunking" which is a very basic form of VoIP Peering. The interesting dimension with cloud telephony is that while it it essentially enabled by VoIP Peering it also provides for an alternate destination for the session rather than a specific endpoint for the purposes of a full-duplex call. It is possible that this is a step in the direction of an IP version of the legacy TDM Audiotext. Aside from features such as voicemail, IVR and call tracking it is possible to create information-based services that can be pay-pay-use.

Things such as press 1 for weather (sponsored by the Weather Channel), 2 for dining (sponsored by Zagats), etc could easily be SIP trunk destinations within this new VoIP cloud world. There are many, if not endless revenue generating applications that can be created.

Cloud telephony is a natural eveolution. It does not solve for the security issues related to the public Internet and any data that traverses it, but the double yellow lines on the road do not do much to keep someone from crossing the line either. Nevertheless, the roads and the Internet are essential for the dynamic nature of commerce.

For those that missed the article I am blogging about it. I can get the stats from the blog on how many views I get, but do not get the same data from the magazine articles. Not that it diminishes the value of print or anything, but the message needs to get out.

As many sit and wait for the BTOP, A.K.A. US Broadband Stimulus a perfect opportunity passes by - every passing TDM minute. There is no longer an excuse. Whether you are a carrier, or enterprise Voice Over Internet Protocol is it!

From the article:

The truth is that VoIP works and that if your business does not switch to it you are certain to continue spending too much. In today's economy that may mean the difference between staying in business and not. For those fearful about security, know this: you are not trading the PSTN for the Internet. You are exchanging TDM for IP. From that simple reality comes 90 percent of the savings.

The upcoming IT Expo West in LA, CA September 1-3 will undoubtedly be stacked with several valuable sessions as always. I will be covering a couple of known subjects around a timely phenomenon - The Broadband Stimulus. The focus will be on the Broadband Stimulus and how it will potentially impact broadband VoIP deployment and use as well as investment in fiber and wireless technologies and their inevitable union.

I hope to see you there!

9/1/2009, 12:45-1:30pm
Track: Service Provider
"Dark Fiber & U.S. Stimulus - How New Fiber Drives Broadband VoIP" (SP-04)
Over the next two to five years broadband speeds and penetration will increase giving VoIP service providers and equipment vendors more opportunities than ever before. This session will connect the dots between the Broadband Stimulus, fiber deployment and the VoIP applications that will grow from it. The moderator will give an overview of the current status of the ARRA BTOP. The panel will discuss the benefits of wide-scale broadband deployment and how that will positively impact the VoIP industry.

9/1/2009, 1:45-2:30pm
Track: Service Provider
"Fiber & Wireless Backhaul - Two Technologies That Actually Feed Each Other" (SP-05)
Since the invention and commercialization of both fiber and wireless transport there has been a perception of competition between the two. Vendors positioned their products and services as a "one, or the other" choice. Very recently it has become very apparent to the mainstream buyer that fiber and wireless actually complement each other. There is probably no better example of this than with 4G wireless deployment and backhaul needs of wireless data from cell towers. This session will provide an overview of the current state of wireless backhaul over fiber, the benefits, where it is and is not happening, and why.

Do not even think for one second that VoIP Peering, or any of its various dimensions, are napping - and XConnect is the proof. In their latest announcement XConnect has laid down the VoIP Peering Law. For a quick recap here are the highlights...

1. The Global Alliance Community Web portal - a site containing the tools for finding peering partners based on their location, business type and service features supported, and creating and controlling all aspects of their peering policy on a peer-by-peer basis. The portal also offers access to real-time traffic statistics, market intelligence, forums, member messaging and networking tools.

2. Free Alliance - an option that allows service providers to exchange voice and multimedia traffic settlement-free, thereby extending the benefits of on-net calling to millions of IP end users worldwide.

3. Alliance In and Out

In - an option for Global Alliance members to earn revenue by receiving inbound traffic from the PSTN into their networks, based on XConnect's ENUM registry.

Out - an option that enables Global Alliance members to terminate their outbound traffic via XConnect, based on a standard, per-minute billing model.

4. Web 2.0 and Voice over Instant Messaging (VoIM) Peering - an option for service providers to extend subscribers' free-call reach by peering with IM communities, such as Google Talk™.

These are all killer apps for VoIP Peering. I myself am partial to the Free Alliance. Not that I have anything against making money, or companies that do, but it shows that there is a model for making making money by giving something away for "free". Ha! For those that do not "get it" - give away the razor and sell the blades.

Not only is there a huge future in VoIP Peering - the future IS VoIP Peering. Everyone, including call center businesses and every company that uses a call center for sales, support, etc - which is a lot - needs to understand the 4 points above. Every one of them can help reduce costs and increase revenues and bottom line margins.

Rock On XConnect and VoIP Peering! Soon it will be a given and everyone will get it.

I recently had the chance to chat with Doug Ranalli, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of NetNumber, the world's leading provider of converged, next-generation, portability-corrected ENUM, SIP, SS7/C7 and SIGTRAN addressing and routing technology to the global communications industry about their recent annoucement with XConnect.

Although we had a very stimulating conversation that included perspectives on the US Broadband Stimulus which is sure to ultimately help VoIP deployment and adoption in many ways Doug's quote from the release basically sums up the value of the XConnect relationship and how it will stimulate VoIP Peering...

"Fixed-line carriers and mobile operators that have deployed the NetNumber TITAN server can now query the XConnect registry via SIP and ENUM methodologies to identify routing details for millions of telephone numbers operated by service providers globally," said Douglas Ranalli, NetNumber's founder and chief strategy officer. "Future Carrier-ENUM and number-portability implementations will depend on the smooth integration of routing data from multiple registry providers, and this certification moves us in that direction."

This announcement received a decent amount of media attention from sources other than myself - which is great! It shows that the VoIP Peering movement is in fact just that - moving. From the looks of it the VoIP Peering world is moving in the right direction too.

The basic building blocks must be established first. Protocol adoption by the masses is key. The next logical step is interop between islands that speak the same language, but to date have had no direct bridges. In the IP world that is called peering. I am a big fan of multi-lateral VoIP Peering and this is a good move.

I had the chance to catch up with Shrihari Pandit CEO of Stealth Communications, owners of the Voice Peering Fabric. Aside from the usual highly stimulating conversation the short story is:

• The VPF now has over 350 (increasingly enterprise) members
• Over 56 Million active numbers in the VPF ENUM registry hitting peaks of 1 million successful calls (lookups) per day
• An annual run-rate of over 537 Billion minutes as of March 5th

There is a lot happening with the VPF, so much that Shrihari hasn't even had time to communicate it all. The progress is evident in the increasing number of members, and call volumes which seem to be accelerating even in this down economy. It looks like the enterprise IT managers might be beginning to realize the benefits of VoIP Peering now that many of them have migrated to VoIP and been running with it for a while.

Evolution takes time and requires patience, but in the end change is inevitable.

From a February 8th, 2009 Rice University News Release

"In the first real-world test of a revolutionary type of computing that thrives on random errors, scientists have created a microchip that uses 30 times less electricity while running seven times faster than today's best technology. The U.S.-Singapore team developing the new technology, dubbed PCMOS [pronounced "pee-cee-moss"], revealed its results in San Francisco TODAY at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), the premier forum for engineers and scientists working at the cutting edge of integrated-circuit design."

"...PCMOS piggybacks on the "complementary metal-oxide semiconductor" technology, or CMOS, that chipmakers already use. That means chipmakers won't have to buy new equipment to support PCMOS, or "probabilistic" CMOS. Although PCMOS runs on standard silicon, it breaks with computing's past by abandoning the set of mathematical rules -- called Boolean logic -- that have thus far been used in all digital computers. PCMOS instead uses probabilistic logic..."

As it has been long noted the only way to deal with growth is to waste more raw materials and energy trying to keep up, or improve the math. Better algorithims mean better production. We can see this in a range of things from compression (codecs) to DWDM to financial trading. Everything is possible with better math.

The driving force behind the Rice / Nanyang Technological University teams is "green" energy and reducing the IT industry's carbon footprint. I can personally attest to the need for power consumption reduction in carrier hotel, colocation and data center facilities worldwide. I'm not sure if this new logic will have an immediate, or substantial impact on that runaway power draw, but it certainly is a step in the right direction. Evolution is change and we certainly need to change they way we think to change the way we consume energy.

For more on the news check out the ISSCC and, or the Rice University National Media

There is a lot going on in the world of broadband development these days even if it is one-sided and a bit misunderstood. The US House passed the $819billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - with no Republican support at all. What does that tell us? I'm not really sure.

Out of the $819b only $6b (maybe $9b before it is over) is dedicated to broadband infrastructure development. What does that tell us?

I think that $6b can go a very long way IF IT IS SPENT PROPERLY. I think $813b can easily get wasted away if it is not.

I'll take $1b. That's more than enough to make a material difference in the lives of many in this country. It's all about knowing the right thing do to and the right way to do it.

God Bless (and save) America!

Skype IS Internet-based VoIP Peering and a very good example of it. Proving the point that multi-lateral (free) calling is preferred over the next best choice in a least-cost route Rich Tehrani just blogged about an Om Malik analysis of Skype's numbers in an eBay filing.

Two very powerful elements of multi-lateral VoIP Peering, compounding viral growth and user cost savings realized from it, were captured in this comment by Rich,

"The problem as you might imagine is Skype-to-Skype minutes are growing much faster than SkypeOut and this only makes sense when you consider broadband is spreading and computers are getting much cheaper. In fact you can potentially justify a netbook from your telephone savings of a month or less in some countries/situations."

The "problem" being referred to is that the growth of multi-lateral is a hit to Skype revenue. The benefit to the user is reflected in the ability to buy a netbook (maybe notebook computer?) with the savings. This is the way it works for huge corporations too. Multi-lateral on-net callng cuts costs and can save enough to keep jobs, buy new gear, finance the business, year-end bonuses, whatever...