VoIPWatch

Firefly Gets Buzzing

I actually have held off on writing about Firefly despite having had an account and actually tried it when I first started this blog back in December.

The reason I held off is I have been pretty much focusing on SIP as the protocol that I've been covering. Rather than being accused of being narrow minded, I decided to open my mind (or really admit that it's more open than some would assume :-) ) But their growth is starting to mean its worthy of recognition and commentary.

Firefly is gaining users, much the same way as Skype or SipPhone, it offers free on Net calls, plus some services like Voice Mail and IM.

So while it does a lot of what the IM tools already do, the addition of retrievable voice mail is something that means people can get past email as their primary means of communicating with fellow netizens easily and maintain an ongoing, non real time "conversation." This means, in the word of the King, "a little less conversation, a little more action."

It's also another way to "STAY CONNECTED."

Andy

The Great White North Cable King Plans For VoIP

Ted Rogers is the king of cable in Canada. He's Rupert Murdoch and John Malone all rolled into one, only a tad more controlled. He's planning to get the cable company into VoIP but has learned from the past.

In this Toronto Star article one fact comes through. They know they own the customer already.

The key it seems are two key factors. Not offending the customer they already have. Offering a better product. If there is one thing the cable companies have worked hard to accomplish it's not falling back into the trap that was forever memoralized by Jim Carey in the "The Cable Guy."

Conferencing The Next Frontier

Audio (and video) conferencing will get a huge shot in the arm with VoIP. Earlier in the week Raindance and Level3 made nice and annouced a VoIP based conferencing system. Now, it seems a UK company with expertise is jumping in.

Like most conferencing, this one uses an ASP model, and is marketed through the OEM reseller market.

As applications go, voice conferencing using VoIP is all about conversion. Companies like Gentner, a long time favorite in the space are ideally positioned to jump in with their Clear One "Lets Conference" services.

Why? They already have the customer relationship and trust. Their hardware is found in offices and boardrooms around the world, and basically, everything they make works. Like Microsoft, they may not always be first in any space, but they sure seem to get the business.

Another player in the space is Akamai. They've been supporting VoIP conferencing ever since the Intervu acquisition a few years back, which included the NetPodium technology which is incorporated into their streaming platform.

AOL Dips Toe In VoIP Waters

I'm not surprised that AOL has decided to dance in the telephony space, again. If you recall years back as they were growing in subscribers they offered a telephone service to subscribers at cheaper than cheap rates by reselling AT&T and handled the billing.

Now they are going into Canada with a VoIP service that will be broadband carrier agnostic. What's even more interesting about the story in Canada's National Post is the reference to branded IP Telephony services being offered by retailers. I actually had a conversation earlier yesterday with a long time Packet 8 Networks investor, and proposed this exact type of direction. Ironically, I proposed that Wal*Mart would be an ideal brand for phone service, as they are already dabbling with the idea of their own MVNO play for cellular service.

Unlike cellular, VoIP has no regulation right now, making it an ideal fishing hole for new revenues for companies, especially reatilers who already have a relationship with the customer.

If VoIP is going to gain traction, a trusted relationship with the buyers of the service are needed.

Along those lines, Viper Network, a San Diego based company signed a deal to have CompUSA to become the first reseller for them. While not branded CompUSA Telephone, the timed trial for sales marks the first VoIP retail deal that I know of here in the USA.

VoIP Goes Retail

It looks like even retailers are getting into the VoIP game, as CompUSA has added a test program with Viper Networks for their vPhone.

This is a logical extension for CompUSA. They already sell PC's and Cell Phones, plus home phones. Now to sell a service, even if it doesn't carry their brand will expose Viper to millions of customer rather quickly.

It's a ballsy strategy, and disintermedites the usual ways Telcos reach consumers. As such, I think it is safe to say we're seeing the package goods approach being applied to telephony, something even the wireless carriers have yet to figure out...Can you say P&G?

Stay connected,

Andy Abramson

ACTing Into VoIP

This almost slipped by. It's a way to enable PC-to-PC based conference calls over the net using one of the most popular contact management programs around, ACT!.

Given it's large user base, the folks at Voice Now have created a plug in that enables ACT to be the front end for voice conference calls.

This is a space I firmly expect to see lots of heat in as companies like RainDance and Microsoft all put their marketing efforts behind the servcies which they offer to do the same thing. Microsoft's purchase of Placeware, which has become Live Meeting will leverage a user's Outlook database and Messenger to enable the same outcome. Since Messenger is already SIP enabled the ability to do this is rather easy.

Services like this, from Voice Now and the rest are likely to be one of the more rapidly growing applications that help drive VoIP onto more desktops and into more businesses.

Stay connected,

Andy Abramson

Perfect Marriage With Match.com

If Match.com or Love@AOL ever had a partner made in heaven for them, it has to be this web site. Imagine with bundled VoIP service, now a potential suitor can at least get an answer, even if it's not the yes they're looking for.

The service, which is about to be bundled by some of the VoIP carriers according to a News.com report, will enable customers to program a list of numbers they no longer want to receive calls from.

My unified messaging service from Webley lets me do this already, and I can program customized messages based on the callers inbound number. Now, only if these folks could find a way to send back rejections to unwanted faxes from those annoying fax mail services...

Stay connected,

Andy Abramson

Turf Battles With the Feds

Turf battles between the DEA, FBI, CIA, NSA, the old BATF, Customs, Coast Guard and local law enforcement have been around for years. It's the old, whose got a bigger pair of B&^*S, but now on the surface, an even bigger battle is brewing. It's between the FCC and both the FBI and the DEA (who seem to be on the same side this time).

Seems the two investigative groups are rightfully very concerned about VoIP and encrypted conversations.

While I have no doubt that the NSA and CIA have high level cracking capability to listen in on VoIP that is currently being deployed, I do sense that thier brothers in crime prevention likely don't. Either that, or if they do, a page has been taken out of the old KGB playbook call disinvestia or disinformation.

Oddly, Tom Ridge's group, Homeland Security is not complaining about this problem. That makes me wonder more if the ability to snoop isn't really as big of a problem as some of the agencies are making it out to be and using groups like the ACLU who will get very concerned about privacy matters to throw off the scent of reality.....

Stay Connected,

Andy Abramson

Telcos Pushing Back

One has to read between the lines and see who is being quoted to really seperate the wheat from the chaff.

As more stories pour out about VoIP it is important to realize that the analysts at companies like Yankee Group and IDC are paid by the telcos and the next gen carriers, though not always at the same time. Comments from analysts at these firms usually represent a view that one side or the other has requested a position on.

In reading the article from News Factor Network I can't help but feel that the old line telcos are driving the "opinions" right now simply because too much of what is being said reflects a protectionist view of customer ownership.

Basically, if Jeff Pulver's not being quoted, you can bet your bippy, that the story is really more biased than it should have been. Pulver has been a VoIP loyalist and pioneer for many years. His understanding about the space is second to none, and he is on a crusade. By not including his view on the space most articles are missing out on reality.

But there are others. Christine Hartman of Probe has extensive SBC experience on the softswitch side. Her predecessor, Hilary Mine, who Alcatel scooped up to guide their next gen efforts, both were VoIP loyalists who never got the recognition for understanding the space as well as they did.

Bottom line, is the right people have to be asked the right questions for a story to really matter. Unfortunately, sometimes journalists never let facts get in the way of a good story!

Stay connected,

Andy Abramson

Alcatel Scores!

In the era of the dot.com explosion, announcements like this were commonplace for start-up companies as a way of touting their value. More established and traditional players didn't make announcements like these, citing the disclosure regulations, or claiming they were non-material to their earnings. Well it looks like in the VoIP era, all that is going out the window, as with each victory the major players are chest thumping.