VoIPWatch

The MWC Hangover

Maybe it's being able to view Mobile World Congress from afar, but after getting past the 5G hype and "foldable" mobile phone news, for someone who has been around mobile and telecom for over 20 years it feels like a hangover where the bartender drank up what wasn't.

For starters the news felt really lightweight. But at the same time there was so much non-news generated by companies that anything that could be groundbreaking wasn't happening in Barcelona.

Thankfully, other than missing the great food and wine, I was happy to not be there.

Google and Sprint and 5G

Google and Sprint have a very interesting past when it comes to telecom, which is why the announcement about Google Fi and 5G via Sprint is really interesting. Looking back at history, Google and Sprint became friendlier when GoogleVoice numbers were first made usable as the primary mobile number on Sprint's wireless network. That ended last year but it was something that was really useful so its no surprise that Google and Sprint and teaming up again.

When you look at Fi adding 5G radios to the next generation of Pixels phones and then other Androids is a smart move. Already Fi is tightly woven into T-Mobile, especially for global roaming, but having Sprint's flavor of 5G also means tighter integration with Qualcomm's chips and engineering support from Nokia and Ericsson. 

This move is more than just about Fi, as so much of it future proofs Google and access to its most important asset. You, the customer.

Want to Tango? Say Hello to the EVNO

We've all heard of the MVNO, the acronym for a mobile virtual network operator. They took a while to take off, and have had their ups and downs all over the globe. In some markets they have done well, in others not so well, and in the end, any have either shut down or simply been acquired as alternative brands for the established mobile network operators (MNO's).

Others like former client Truphone have morphed into a Global Mobile Network Operator (GMNO), combining core network access with global roaming and local numbers. GoogleFi operates similarly, but because it is so tightly woven to the Google core network and services it is really more of a single connectivity plane to all that is Google and the Internet. Nowhere is this more evident than on Google's own Android based Pixel smartphones. But, when you take a broader look at what both Google Fi and Truphone have done so far, they really have set the stage for the rise of a new category, the EVNO-the enterprise virtual network operator.

Recently Tango Networks announced their Kinetic Cloud Mobile X, something the company describes as the "first communications service that creates a private mobile network exclusively controlled by an enterprise for maximizing the productivity of its distributed workforce." If that doesn't have all the makings of an EVNO, I don't know what does.

Tango Networks is providing the enterprise market with total control from mobile and WiFi access to policy and full UCaaS functions, something pal Dean Bubley, the London based futurist and analyst says is "an early example of a wider trend." Beyond Tango, Bubley is expecting to see "continued convergence of MVNOs with enterprise comms and UCaaS, enabled by technologies such as eSIM and cloud-based mobile core networks."

From an enterprise perspective the mobility manager, or IT mobile lead, can now define the mobile experience for their entire staff, and even others who need to be connected to their core communications system using Tango's Kinetic Communications Platform. This goes well beyond simply providing calling, connectivity and access, as what  is doing is more akin to concepts like federation by allowing those who actually need access, even third parties related to the enterprise to have access, and even then, only permitting them do what they are permitted to do. That's a lot like sharing a file from Google G Suite inside and outside the company, as the platform makes voice, text, video and more accessible across the entire enterprise and just as reachable by their ecosystem partners.

While Truphone and Fi, start first with the SIM, Tango ends with that. The SIM, or eSIM at some point, is merely the key to the network lock, including over any form of mobile wireless or Wi-Fi for authentication. What makes this so very interesting is what Tango has done with the core UCaaS system, making the SBC the real traffic cop, and the softswitch more than just a glorified call director by moving the call control functionality from the mobile operator inside, to the enterprise itself.

Taken on face, this may seem immaterial, but have you ever tried to transfer a call from one mobile phone to another? It's almost impossible unless you're running the call over a data connection and have a UCaaS provider in the middle. That's a lot like what GoogleVoice does, and it's really basic stuff.

But in the Tango environment, they've made it is as easy as it is on a desk phone because the call control is inside the enterprise network's UCaaS system, making the mobile wireless network (or WiFi) no different than a cord or cable does for the handset on the office network.

This change to how Tango handles calls means even when a user is on a legacy 1XRTT network like Verizon's or Sprint's in the USA, the functions still work as if they were in their offica as Tango's native mobile network policy enforcement tools that have been embedded inside the Tier 1 carriers for going on a decade allow the phone to be a true extension to the UCaaS system. Granted, there may be some differences in how the service behaves depending on user device configurations and support for SIM connectivity, but the Mobile UC and policy enforcement tools work everywhere, with more fuctionality on 3G and 4G/LTE, all based upon the patented Tango technology.

In essence, each enterprise customer becomes their own mobile operator. This happens because Tango keeps the Kinetic Cloud Mobile-X radio and device agnostic, and operates just like Google Fi or Truphone, serving as a global MVNO with multiple carrier connectivity. This gives the enterprise the ability to route calls, messaging and data as well as apply local country numbering using the UCaaS switch and SBC by using the rules that have been established within the enterprise call control platform.

That's all why I'm calling Tango's Kinetic Cloud the first of its kind EVNO!!!

AT&T Joins Boingo's Passpoint Program-Does This Mean More Dropped Calls?

Light Reading's Mike Dano has a good account of AT&T choosing to work with WiFi aggregation and DAS provider Boing to offload data traffic using Passpoint.

Passpoint, as Dano writes:

Allow cellular network operators to offload their network traffic onto WiFi networks. Boingo is one of the leading supporters of Passpoint technology in the United States, and already has similar WiFi offload agreements with Sprint and cable company Charter (which last year launched its Spectrum Mobile MVNO service, which makes heavy use of WiFi offloading in order to reduce the amount of money Charter must pay to Verizon for wholesale MVNO access to the company's cellular network).

There's only one big problem with Passpoint. WiFi calling and handover. For a few years I lived in a very densely populated, WiFi rich area in Los Angeles area around Marina Del Rey. Passpoint was being deployed by Time Warner Cable all over the area. In theory Passpoint would allow my Android, iPhone or iPad to "latch" onto the WiFi signal and offload the traffic. Well latching on was never the problem, as Passpoint worked flawlessly. But when I was on a phone call, and the mobile signal would weaken, especially when making a VoIP call, regardless of VoIP provider, or even Skype, the call would magically drop. The impact would worsen as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all rolled out WiFi calling, as the connectivity to WiFi would be there, but the voice call would instantly drop.

The problem was none of the parties involved, the mobile operator, Boingo, the VoIP provider or TimeWarner (now Charter's Spectrum) were even close to deploying FMC (fixed mobile convergence) and VCC (voice call continuity), a technology patented by pal Tom Carter and Bodie Wilhoite.

That patent, and Carter's own money, which was the first investment into a pioneering company, paved the way for the formation of Bridgeport Networks, a former client of mine, whose patent portfolio is now part of Counterpath, another former client. 

Back in 2005 Bridgeport held a gathering of members of the MobileIgnite Alliance, a very visionary group which included future FCC chair Thomas Wheeler, representatives of Earthlink, Boingo, Sprint and others. At the gathering, which was when Boingo joined the Alliance, and which I remember moderating a panel at, was all about solving the problem of calls being handed off between various IP networks, with a core focus of the traffic being managed between WiFi and mobile networks.

With this news about AT&T it's clear that the vision of Carter and Wilhoite was correct, but the lack of deployment of technology that allows for Voice Call Continuity has held back the success of true fixed mobile convergence. 

As carriers love to run ads about "less dropped calls" sadly, without FMC, I can hear John Legere of T-Mobile already saying, "see, they now have more dropped calls than anyone" as he loves to poke fun at AT&T.

Skype for Chromebooks-A Non-Starter

Skype is changing the way it works with Google Chrome, for what appears to be the better, or so you think. At the top of the browser window Skype is telling me:

"Support for this version of Skype for Web is coming to an end. A new preview version is available now for Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome with HD video calling, call recording and much more. Try it out"

So, like a good Skyper, I clicked through. This is what I saw:

So next I click through to "Get Skype for this device" and I was taken to the Android Play store, so while I can run Android apps on my Chromebook, I don't really think that's what Microsoft really is aiming for.

What's clear is Skype has a Chrome complimenting strategy. What's also clear is they have no understanding of how Chromebooks are Chromium at the purest of levels and should be developing with the Chromebook crowd in mind from the start.

VoIPWatch Named Number One VoIP Blog

I woke up this morning to the news that VoIPWatch was selected by Feedspot as the number one blog for VoIP in their Top 25 Voice over IP Blogs, News Websites & Newsletters in 2019 (VoIP).

Honors like this are nice to receive, especially when I see the rest of the blogs listed. Having been at this since 2003 it's nice that when it comes to being judged by others, VoIPWatch stands above and beyond all the rest. 

 

 

With 5G Pocketspots are Coming Back

When the first MiFi's came out I always referred to them as PocketSpots. Having used more than a few along the way,  they were broadband on the go. I had a few of them from Novatel, most of which were initially locked down to AT&T or Verizon. There were more along the way from Sprint and T-Mobile too. As I traveled internationally I even bought a few out of the UK that were made by Huawei, and some via eBay.  I remember one from Telstra in Australia that was great while I was there, as I could connect my MacBook without worry whne WiFi wasn't always there.

Yes, PocketSpots were the rage, at least until tablets and mobile hotspots on iPhones and Androids became so standard, and the mobile operators made the feature more accessible. Over time the hotspot manufacturers have had their ups and downs. Noavtel chenged their name to Inseego and others like Franklin Wireless have persevered

As Mobile World Congress draws near we can expect to see more news about 5G with hotspots being a starting point for it, as just like we saw with 3G, 4G and LTE. The reasoning, beyond history always repeating, is it will be easier for the mobile operators to sell pocket hotspots so people can connect their existing devices before the upgrade to new 5G ones. That's the result of the contracts that people are under, and how devices have been sold.

So what's going to happen with PocketSpots? Telstra and Verizon are already working with Inseego on 5G NR mobile hotspots, with the prospect of seeing PocketSpots in hand by Q2 of this year. The name, MiFi will go away, making way for something more relevant and today. And just like with the MiFi's the new 5G devices will bring access to faster and more robust services long before the phones, tablets and PCs can connect.

 

Twillio Is Transitioning

Twilio started out as a "developer first" company. That means they started building their business at the developer level and have started working their way up the ladder with the larger customers. Of late though, they have been sending all kinds of signals that they are wanting to be an "enterprise focused" business and shedding that "developer first" focus.

Transition periods are usually very tough on customers who were there at the start, but are not part of the audience for where a business is going. Levels of service usually degrades. What used to be real-time handholding becomes self service support. Bug reports take longer to address and customers churn. Those small customers, the ones that the company built themselves upon, churn out, as the new larger customers receive the higher levels of attention. And like the churn of customers, so too will be the churn of people, all the way up to the top. 

One indication is based upon the type of hires they have been making. That's a telltale sign of a company transitioning from what they started out as, to where they need to be, in order to grow. It's also a signal to the stock market to help keep the price up.

Yesterday Seeking Alpha had a critique about Twilio and why the stock price fell. But, stock price isn't really why Twilio is transitioning with hires and new services offers. They are making this transition in order to drive adoption of Flex, their contact center erector set, as well as to make their IoT Wireless play more loved. To do that Twilio needs to sell-in higher up the decision ladder than the devs. They're transitioning because the API economy is also transitioning.

This is happening because the world of API's is changing. Once the playground of the devs and engineering set who built software, API's are now at an advanced state, both in adoption and in capabilities. What we used to call "mashups," where the combining of two services via API's or SDK's required the involvement of a developer, now are able to be assembled by anyone thanks to services like Zapier and IFTTT. As those tools, and others like them, proliferate and become accessible to more without programming skills, a company like Twilio is being challenged to offer more because what they have been selling has been made table stakes by others in the CPaaS industry like client Signalwire. With LaML, Signalwire demonstrates the company's ability to integrate with existing CPaaS platforms so companies who deployed Twilio won't be left behind.

This inflection point is a serious one, and it's going to be an arms race. Twilio's recent hiring of ex-Tropo CTO Jose de Castro demonstrates that that they needed enterprise level creative thinking in order to provide more robust offerings, not become a founding member of the CPaaST club. It's also the third major high level executive departure from Cisco in their communications software sector when the world is heading in the software direction, signaling that Cisco is going elsewhere, obviously conceeding that they won't be a CPaaS player at the API level, and that the Broadsoft acquisition was for other reasons.

Yes, like Cisco, Twilio is clearly in transition.

 

 

Government That Governs Least Governs Best

The government that governs least, governs best has long been a bastion of the USA. For centuries our laws and regulations have been based on letting industries self-govern and self-regulate. It's only when they don't that the government steps in.

That's what is happening with robocalling.

Despite input from industry giants including the mobile operators, telcos, service providers like Bandwidth.com and visionary companies like YouMail, the fact that robobcalling has reached the point it has, and that more calls today go unanswered than ever before is at pandemic proportions. 

Robocalling, or automated dialing, was originally created as a time saver for call centers and telemarketers to reach people who were already doing business with them. Cold callers then started to use the same technology and soon came the scammers. 

So what are the biggest issues with robocalling:

1. Spoofing of numbers
2. Repeated calls from different numbers to the same people
3. Masking of numbers 
4. Fraudsters

In the old days the annoyance call bureau of a telco would work with customers to stop things dead in their tracks, but in the VoIP era many of these robocallers are not even in the USA, and the telcos efforts have become ineffective. The robocallers change telco providers by the hour, and often use credit cards that within a few days stop working. They are hardly caught, and even harder to find. In essence they can stay in business as long as the industry doesn't solve the problem itself.

Well the chairman of the FCC has had enough. As the HIll reports, "the FCC chair followed up with another demand that they implement caller authentication systems this year and a threat over the repercussions if they don't comply."

This is where government stops saying to the industry, fix your problem and starts saying, "or else."

 

Return of the Anywhere Worker

A few years ago, Dialpad launched a very timely and on the money campaign all about the "Anywhere Worker." That was something I could identify with easily for a lot of reasons.

1. When I launched Comunicano in 1993 the goal was to never have a physical office. This was well before the idea of remote work in marketing and advertising was considered normal
2. In May of 2006  I launched the pioneering blog, Working Anywhere - the blog that was about just that. My mistake was I didn't keep that as active as VoIPWatch..well, mistakes can be corrected.
3. In 1976 when I first started working for the Phildelphia Flyers' Hockey Central, I was an anywhere worker using a remote answering machine and a calling card to report to local media from an office, my home office and even ice rinks. In essence anywhere I was, was work. This followed two years of being the PR Assistant for the Philadelphia Wings, where the Spectrum Press Box was often my office.
4. In 1989 when working for Foote, Cone and Belding's Impact-my office was the den in my parents house at night, while by day, between my cell phone and knowing where every payphone was on the Temple University campus, I stayed in touch with colleagues and clients. Oh, and then there was Jamey's Restaurant on Fridays with the Wine Lunch Bunch, and the phone in the back that was my "Friday office."
5. In 2004 Comunicano began representing SightSpeed (thanks Peter Csathy) and we propelled the growth of video conferencing/calling well before Skype, and then sold the business to Logitech. I remember one call with Peter from Munich in November 2004, the day after a in person meeting in Emeryville, and his comment wondering how I could be in Munich as we had been emailing and chatting most of the day and night. I had been using Boeing's CONNEXXION  service all night on my Lufthansa flight well before what is today's version of in-flight Wi-Fi.
6. In the early 2000's hotels started to add broadband, and I can recall many a battle over some hotel systems powered by Cisco that didn't work with Mac's or airports powered by a company now owned by HP that didn't work with them either. As my now former wife, she being a girl geeky physician, would say, "If the hotel doesn't have broadband, Andy won't be staying there." So true.
7. In May of 2015 after selling my home, I moved to Europe, living in Prague, Vienna, Krems, Paris, London over the first month and then basing myself in Lisbon and Porto for three, using mobile and fiber connectivity to operate Comunicano while I jetted around the EU for three months, really working from anywhere.

As a pioneer in the idea of "Working Anywhere" it's interesting to see how some things have changed, and others remain the same.

For those interested in the idea of the Anywhere Worker, Fuze is holding the Flex conference in Boston in June.