Level 3 is defending itself against comments made in an advertisement placed by the United States Telecom Association.�  I received a release on the matter� this morning:

The following statement is attributable to Bill Hunt, vice president of public policy at Level 3 Communications, Inc.

"On February 23, 2005, the United States Telecom Association placed a highly misleading advertisement in Communications Daily regarding the forbearance petition Level 3 has filed with the FCC on Voice over IP. The ad accuses Level 3 of attempting to 'skip out on its bill' and avoid paying 'what it rightfully owes' when it exchanges VoIP traffic with incumbent local carriers.

So here we are. Miami. Internet Telephony Conference & EXPO. You can almost hear the orchestra tuning their instruments as the last-minute preparations are underway. I'm looking forward to the VoIP Peering Summit, which promises to be one of the more compelling tracks on offer today.

ABI Research takes a look at the burgeoning Telco TV market in their latest research report Telco TV Infrastructure & Service Integrator Opportunities.

The study examines the trends, market values, and penetration of the emerging medium of Telco TV, the infrastructure enabling it, and the main vendors in the space.

Top 3 Companies In The Space
According to analyst Michael Arden, “ICTV is number one: they have announced deployments that are significant, and they appear to have an aggressive sales force that is doing a good job. Their ICTV technology isn’t as good as the runner-up’s, but they hit all of the main requirements of a VOD system, and their product scales well to provide a cost-effective solution to any size service provider.”

nCUBE� claims the number two rating. The company has a strong record in the CATV industry and should be able to draw on past customers for future sales. It also has a proven technology, giving it a strong score on the Innovation side of the equation.

Microsoft ranks number three.

Lance Armstrong confirmed today that he would take part in this year's Tour de France.

Armstrong announced his initial 2005 racing schedule, which includes the Tour de France, next month's Paris-Nice classic, the Tour of Flanders and the Tour of Georgia in the United States.

Mar 6-13 — Paris-Nice
Apr 3 — Tour of Flanders (Belgium)
Apr 19-24 — Tour de Georgia (USA)
Jul 2-24 — Tour de France

This is exciting stuff. I’m glad Lance decided to ride in this year’s Tour, rather than put it off until 2006, when he would have had an even more difficult time defending his streak of six consecutive wins.

Michael J Thurston, Sr., is Vice President, Director of Operations at North American Communications, INC and he is a member of the Society of Telecommunications Consultants. Here’s his take on the Verizon/MCI deal:

� 

Verizon’s Acquisition of MCI

One Consultant's View

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I believe Verizon acquiring MCI will be a great step for customer service. This has nothing to do with the everyday user, but this will have a great impact in Corporate and Government agencies. For any consultant that has spent hours trying to explain to these vendors their responsibility to the demarcation point, bringing the old Bell System guys back into the business should solve this.

As regards any major news impacting our industry, I try to reach out and solicit commentary from insiders and people who make a living thinking about telecom. Mike McCue of Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants is a member of the� Society of Telecommunications Consultants. Here's what he had to say on the announced Verizon/MCI deal and its effect on VoIP:

During a recent client engagement I contacted Verizon to order some service changes.�  During that process and the discussion about contract options, I asked about Verizon's IP Centrex plans and if their current contract would allow a mid-term transition to that service.�  The customer service rep assured me that their VOIP service was not a reliable product and should be avoided.�  Further discussion of the service made clear that she did not have any experience or training on VOIP products.



Will the acquisition of MCI by Verizon impact VOIP?�  I expect the current trend to continue; profitable Telco's will offer it as a me-too product with limited availability and even more limited sales/support capability.�  Meanwhile the greenfield companies (Vonage, Packet 8, VoicePulse, etc.) will build and refine this market then be acquired in a future consolidation.

Teleo, a San Francisco-based VoIP provider, unveiled its new software and service at the DEMO@15! Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. The software targets mobile professionals and those who rely on cell phones and e-mail as primary communication vehicles.

Teleo is a personal, portable VoIP system that lets customers use their cell phone, regular phone, or PC to receive VoIP calls.

If Vonage launched its personal VoIP service in France, would it be called Vonage a Toi? (Vonage for you...) Or would the added functionality of three-way calling be marketed as Vonage a Trois? 

I just came across a release announcing a new Policy report from the Cato Institute.

I’ve come to learn that no matter how innocent my motives in simply shedding light on a particular report covering our industry, I stand equal chance of being taken for a liberal, a conservative, a leftie, a rightie, a commie, a fascist, a pink, a punk… whatever the prevailing opposite happens to be that day.

I’ll get over it somehow. Thick skin, you know.

Barbara A. Grothe is the� owner� of� Telecom Resources in Indianapolis, IN. Here are her thoughts on the SBC/AT&T deal:

SBC & AT&T BACK TOGETHER AGAIN?

Who would have dreamed up that in 1984 when AT&T settled a Justice Department lawsuit by agreeing to spin off the Regional Bell companies, i.e.

Matthew P. McCormick is President of Technology Decisions, Inc., a Chicago-based global technical consulting firm specializing in: Telecommunications, Information Technology, and Business Strategy with respect to technological investment. Areas of practice include VoIP, Wireless Communications, and Computer Networking.

I particularly like the company's tagline: It's not that bad. We can help.

Good stuff.

Richard Kuehn is president of RAK Associates, a telecom consulting firm in Cleveland, OH, and is also a founder of the Society of Telecommunications Consultants.

Here is his take on the SBC/AT&T situation.

Someday we will have one big monopoly telephone company!! This is certainly a benefit to SBC in two ways.

William A. Morgan is Managing Partner, W and J PARTNERSHIP.

Here are his thoughts on the SBC acquisition of AT&T.

The acquisition of AT&T by SBC means:
(1) SBC now has the means to compete at will, using today's technologies and minimal additional capital, in all ILEC territories, especially such as those of Verizon, BellSouth, and Qwest. If SBC were to choose to use IP Converged Networking with the AT&T backbone, many competitors' top accounts and areas would be instantly vulnerable.

I just received this release from Level 3 , regarding their having submitted a financial modeling program to the FCC showing the likely impact of VoIP on ILEC access revenues.

The release follows:

Level 3 Submits VoIP Intercarrier Compensation Model To FCC

Findings Indicate Voice over IP Is Not a Significant Threat To ILEC Access Revenues Over Next Two Years

BROOMFIELD, Colo., February 1, 2005 -- Level 3 Communications, LLC today announced that it has submitted a financial modeling program to the Federal Communications Commission that demonstrates the likely economic impacts of Voice over IP on access charge revenues collected by local phone companies. The submission was made in support of Level 3's December 2003 forbearance petition on Voice over IP, which is pending before the Commission.

The model, using industry-based assumptions, indicates that the growth of VoIP traffic will not have a significant impact on access charge revenues collected by non-rural local carriers over the next two years.