VoIPWatch

Telstra Clear Offers VoIP For Business in NZ

Telstra Clear looks very interesting from afar.

It's a hosted VoIP service designed for the five or more type offices. What I find interesting though is it is woven over the fabric of the telco network in New Zealand.

This means integration from the core to the edge, and a single source provider. It's what I think Verizon is hoping to do with FIOS, and what AT&T will never achieve with U-Verse, which is looking like ISDN all over again for the giant telco here in the USA.

The official web site is here for Telstra Clear.

Coffee Time in Seattle

More Tools For Global Nomads at Working Anywhere

For those of you who are mobile and just can't stay in the office, I've posted my second in series of "Tools for Global Nomads" on my OTHER blog, called "Working Anywhere."

If you missed the first one, it can be found here.

Why another blog some have asked? That's simple. The nature of blogging in my view is very niche, and while certainly there is some overlap, and the need for others to know, I'm trying hard to be more granular in focus.

Of course there will still be some "fun" here on VoIPWatch, but if you want to know more about what I'm finding that impacts the changing technology, telework, virtual workforce and being able to be Working Anywhere, the other Andy blog is the place to be.

Landlines In Decline? I Say, Not Really--Just Shifting

The story in Slate about the death of the landline presents "partial truth" in my view as it picks up a theme that anyone who has had statistics in college quickly learns.

The game we learned was called "how to lie with statistics" which really means telling the truth, but using the stats in such a way as to obfuscate the real facts that are also in evidence. You simply leave them out or use the numbers in the best way to only portray your point.

Yes, Gracie, telco landlines are dropping. That's true and we all know that. The author even goes so far to point out the rest of the story, but leaves a lot out as well:

The growth and convenience of wireless have played a role, and so, too, have the rise in broadband Internet access and the availability of phone service from cable companies and outfits such as Vonage and Skype.

What's missing:

I would contend that a significant portion of the perceived defections really do remain landline user, but are instead landline replacement to another form of landline, not land line abandonment to wireless as a cursory read of the story would lead one to believe.

Cable MSOs led triple plays and the VoIP operators like Vonage, AT&T CallVantage, Broadvoice, Earthlink's TrueVoice and others are where the landline crowd has shifted to, as well as to VoIP services like Verizon's VoiceWing. Those numbers are not factored into the story, and make up what I call Voice 1.5.

Voice 1.0---> Telco/PSTN Supplied Telephony-via RG-11 and billed by the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC)

Voice 1.5---> Digital or VoIP Based Delivery of PSTN Like Telephony Services--only difference--the wire (Ethernet) and the bill comes from a usually different source

Voice 2.0---> IP Based Delivery of Advanced Voice Services with more features than the LEC offers

Thus my contention is that Voice 1.5 and Voice 2.0 customers in the home are using landlines and should be counted in the total, and additionally that the cable companies are really the same as telcos in many ways.

Update-->It seems Telegeography's Stephan Beckert agrees with me. He sent this slide and a note earlier today.

Here's an illustration of the point you make in your posting about the Slate story on the decline of landlines.

The big 4 ILECs lost 2.5 million switched lines in Q1 2008 (28,000 lines/day). VoIP service providers gained 1.4 million subs. Thus the actual decline in "telephone" users was more like 1.1 million, rather than 2.5 million (and a surprisingly large number of those disconnections are still due to secondary lines)

Of course, that doesn't change the fact that the ILECs are losing fixed lines in a hurry.

cheers

Stephan

Can Skype Be Bugged?

A report is making the rounds about Skype having a backdoor that provides authorized government officials a way to listen in, and I would guess watch your conversations.

Reports also say Skype is not commenting.

Clearwire Spotted in Seattle

While wandering from coffee shop to wine shop and other cool places in Seattle today, I spoted a UPS Store that was selling Clearwire.

As you can see the product is being marketed much like cell phone service both for fixed and mobile. You can get both fixed and mobile for rate of just under $95.00 with the promise of "up to 2.0 Mbps."

I ran a speed test using SpeedTest.net and you can see the down was fairly good, but the upload is a tad pokey. But, for mobile broadband, this new service seems to be working fine in my book and would be part of the road warrior arsenal if it was in my area.

You can also add voice for $14.99 that offers unlimited calling in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico.

IfByPhone In Apple Apps Store

Client Ifbyphone has been accepted into the Apple iPhone Application Store. They along with Truphone puts two Comunicano agency clients in the program there. Friendly company and sometimes client, MyNuMo, also has one there.

IfByPhone's first application allows users to select multiple contacts on your iPhone and quickly and easily send a voice broadcast to them instantly or at a future scheduled time. What's great about this is it doesn't chew up minutes and works over the WiFi, EDGE or 3G connection.

If you want to check it out, go to the Apple Application store.

Vonage Raises Needed Cash

Maybe now that they got an infusion of cash Vonage's most recently hired PR team will start reaching out to influencers again like they did on their way up the VoIP and telco ladder. It's been months since I heard from them (the USA team that is.)

My sources tell me that this is really a laddering step to Vonage being taken private. One of the conditions was that Jeffrey Citron had to step down. It seems those sources are right again.

Pork n' beans

Wine and Food in Seattle