If you were watching the VoIP market in 1999 you would have witnessed the most forward-thinking service provider in the world, Deutsche Telecom who decided to not only roll out VoIP but also invest in the company that brought VoIP to the masses. I am talking about VocalTec of course.

 

1999 was the second year of Internet Telephony Magazine’s life and this investment brought a tremendous amount of confidence into the world of IP communications at the time.

 

Most if not all other service providers at the time were saying publicly that VoIP had no place in business or carrier networks. This investment was very refreshing.

 

In case you aren’t aware, VocalTec stumbled when the bubble burst and was eventually acquired by Tdsoft who kept the VocalTec name.

 

Now Deutsche Telekom is at it again and they have joined Intel in investing in JaJah a company providing a VoIP to PSTN solution.

 

The importance of this news is the first service provider responsible for accelerating the VoIP market is now reinvesting in the space. Who knows how far along VoIP would be without Deutsche Telekom helping fund the first startup in the space.