Mr. Blog Thinks VoIP is Over

In a post that will sure stir up controversy Mr. Blog thinks VoIP is over. In some ways he's right, the period of VoIP being a geek's toy are over, and VoIP is now mainstream, blending in with traditional telephony as a POTS alternative or replacement as it now delivers PSTN or better quality for the most part.

But where missed the mark is not so much about short-shrifting the potential new spins on telephony, but on what will occur and be enabled as a result. While he trash talks Skype and others in an elegant way, the value of Skype and the pressure it is putting on the telco industry cannot be overlooked.

Yesterday at one of the Bridgeport Network Global Convergence Summit in Chicago a question was asked to the audience of largely "C" level telco and service provider executives if they use Skype. Nearly 2/3rds of the crowd had their hands up. These are senior executives and one even said how he uses it to talk to his son who is away at college, and since the father pays the bills, he likes the idea of free talking to the son on a regular basis.

From my perch, especially after attending yesterday's summit, it's clear that VoIP will play a bigger role, especially with Mobile and convergence.