VoIPWatch

Who Says They Don't Block VoIP

Seems in Belize blocking VoIP is happening.

Why eBay Chose To Buy Skype

Always insightful Ted Shelton who writes for IP Inferno and VoIP Magazine has some very witty insight about the reasons why ebay opted to buy Skype. He's not wrong and long term this could play out.

eBay as a company that moves in very large ways, but not in very fast ways. I still see see value in the Skype purchase and more importantly the eco-system that eBay has needs to grow and communciate beyond email and the online bid and buy system.

More Skype Woes

IP Pipeline reports that Skype is having problems beyond StreamCast Networks. It seems according the The Registrar that Skype In service may have been down for a week in the UK.

I love the closing sentence about why they may not be fielding media phone calls, but sorry, Skype has basically gone the "no comment route" so they're not talking about their legal battles at this point.

Become a Google Talqer

Talqer, a new player in the VoIP game, has developed a platform that immediately lets Google Talk users start making calls that can tbe more than PC to PC by making calls from their PC to normal telephone lines.

Take Your VoIP and Go

Cingular's new UMTS and HSPDA based Broadband Connect service is being bundled into a new line of Dell Latitude laptops.

This means those of you who like to use softphones will be able to get better quality and clearer communications.

Getting Ripped........Off

As long as I have been blogging, I've always felt the "love" of one's fellow bloggers. Be it Om,  Alec, Jeff, Rich, Stuart, Russell, Tom, Ted, James, Martin, Mike, Jeremy, John @ Gizmodo etc., each of us tends respect the work of one another.

And like Comrades in Arms, hurt one, you hurt us all. So it was extremely rewarding to wake up this morning and see James' piss n'vinegar post about how CNET chose to cover the Streamcast/Skype case.

It was great to also see Richard and Jeff make similar comments, as well as TechDirt's Mike M.

Maybe I've come to expect that from them. It's happened before. It will happen again. But as pal Om said to me on the phone over the weekend "You broke the big one. Your in the big leagues now." He said that just after linking to the first story on Saturday. Giving credit wasn't hard for him. Forbes.com and many other sites found a way to do it to.

But to be gracious I just did what any real journalist would do. I worked my sources and got the story out and the world saw it.

Thanks to all my friends.

Innovate Europe On VoIP At CeBit

Innovate will be a hot conference this Spring in Zaragoza. Their team summarized the vibe about VoIP at CeBit highlighting my topic of the year, Fixed Mobile Convergence.

iSIP Promises No More Skypemares In Europe

iSIP, owned by Interoute and controlled by the Sandoz Family Foundation, is planning to take on Skype in Europe within the corporate market using SIP, low flat rate pricing per month and by addressing security concerns.

According to Reuters:

Companies could use the service to cut communication costs with their
staff, customers or suppliers anywhere in the world. Interoute plans to
offer iSiP for a flat fee of 1,500 pounds ($2,620) a month to
companies, with no limit on the number of users.

Interoute said on Tuesday its iSiP service, which like Skype uses the
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, will also allow
companies to offer free Internet calls, free national calls and cheaper
calls to mobiles, but without any security concerns.

The Streamcast vs. Skype Et Al Complaint

I have just finished reading what is likely the 30+ page Streamcast Networks complaint against Skype et al that found its way to me. It reads as much like a Hollywood film treatment that needs to star Paul Newman as the attorney ala his roles in "The Verdict" or "Absence of Malice." I say likely as the copy that found its way to me may not be the final court submitted version, something I am working hard to obtain.

With Digital Hollywood starting tomorrow in Los Angeles you can bet this will be a topic of discussion in  the hallways and over drinks. Certainly the news of this will more than likely overshadow any so called "deal" that may be announced there from or Fox or one of the other online players.

First off the plaintiffs appear to be charging the defendants with 11 causes of action and have asked for both a TRO (temporary restraining order) and relief by the courts largely surrounding who should own the FastTrack P2P technology and how allegedly it got to who ended up with it and other requests for relief.

Related to ebay/Skype I have asked for a comment from them via both Skype USA GM, Henry Gomez the former eBay Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Government Relations, who is traveling today to Europe. Gomez likely would have the expertise to address this (as he went to law school but I don't beleive ever practiced) as well as from their PR agency representatives. Being Sunday I was happy to hear back from the CEO of their PR firm who promised to dig into this when everyone is back to work tomorrow.

NOTE: eBAY HAS NOT BEEN NAMED IN THE COMPLAINT.

I also won't begin to editorialize or speculate on the possible ramifications or reprecussions this can have on the Skype entity now owned by eBay, or what the potential fallout could be on the shareholders, including those who may already have profited, as this needs a lawyer's input, so ask one.

Remember, in the USA the defendents are innocent until proven guilty and anyone can sue anyone over anything. But proving this case will be what matters, not the charges.

This whole thing may also get settled out of court, which is what I suspect will happen and then no one in the outside world ever know the outcome, which may be why eBay, as a public entity was not named in suit as it provides the manuevering room to likely do just that.

SoCal Tech On Michael Robertson

Friend, neighbor and fellow disruptor Michael "Golden Boy" Robertson was recently profiled in SoCalTech.com's newsletter. he talks about SIP vs. Skype and his philosophy for how to build and grow a business.

My money says Michael packages up SipPhone and Gizmo and sells it off.