If you want to thank someone for lowering your phone bill, you have a few options – you can thank the founders of Skype and Vonage or go back to the nineties and thank the many people at VocalTec who invented and popularized VoIP before anyone else even thought of it. Much of the reason TMC decided to launch a magazine titled Internet Telephony back in 1997 was because we saw the transformational power of the IP telephony gateways and software which VocalTec produced.

VocalTec co-founder Alon Cohen is a personal hero for what he did by literally changing the way the world communicates. Moreover, I am often called by patent attorneys who are involved in patent cases regarding technology which Cohen invented many years earlier. He is a true pioneer and both he and Ari Rabban, another VocalTec Alumn now work at Phone.com. I had a chance to speak with Cohen who is now the EVP and CTO of the new company as well as Rabban who is CEO and Co-Founder of the hosted communications provider and I am thrilled with what I learned.

The interviews were televised – and I am happy to share them.

VoIP’s next phase – take a trip down IP communications memory lane and hear Alon Cohen’s thoughts on the current and future trends in the market and what is happening at Phone.com today (Apple iDevice link)

Phone.com’s Ari Rabban discusses his company’s domain name, mission, mobile apps and more (Apple iDevice link)