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IBM foresees no email, phones nor PCs

Tom Burton — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

IBM is predicting the virtual office will become the norm driven by expanded globalization and environmentalism. The new workplace will be centered around mobile computing with instant messaging the preferred method of communications. Unified communications suites will be built around IM platforms, rendering email, desk phones and desktop PCs things of the past.

The scenario for the next workplace was detailed by the general manager of IBM Lotus software Mike Rhodin at VoiceCon 2008 this week. He predicted Enterprises will go beyond click-to-call and presence to integrate with business processes and this would be where the greatest benefits would be.

He said demand for interoperability and maturing of industry standards will force providers to embrace interoperability. "Converged, aggregated, and rich presence" will drive office and personal productivity.

The final five-point prediction was that the whole concept of meetings would change rapidly as 3D and gaming tools would enable far more instantaneous and ad hoc contact.

Rhodin announced a partnership with Forterra a developer of "virtual world" (i.e., Second Life-like) technology and unveiled its unified telephony suite as a middleware component in the multi-vendor world that characterizes many UC deployments.

For more:
- IBM made five predictions at VoiceCon Release

Related articles:
IBM pledges $1 billion for UC Article
Siemens announces new UC platform Article

SMS growing five-fold in U.S.

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:59:54 -0500

SMS or text messaging does not have much to do with VoIP, but its stunning usage is a stark reminder that the simple often works best when it comes to personal communications. SMS is also a great example of an application no one saw coming.

The IP Carrier blog reports that CTIA researchers have found U.S. SMS traffic volumes have boomed over the last four years growing at 37 percent a month. "As of December 2006, over 18.5 billion text messages are sent every month and that number has grown by 250 percent each year for the last two years," the blog reports.

Some have predicted SMS may plateau as more and more phones are email and IM enabled. This is not so according to Verizon Wireless which is predicting text messages to grow nearly five times from 400 million per month in July 2005 to over two billion per month next year. The U.S. was relatively slow to the SMS phenomena but is wasting no time catching on.

For more:
- IP Carrier carries the report in its blog

Related articles:
- Carriers lose SMS revenue of $4.9B Report
- Worldwide SMS revenues to hit $67B Report

VoIP becomes key in the battle for eyeballs

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:59:56 -0400

MySpace and Skype users will be able to talk to each other free of charge starting in November under a deal which sees VoIP emerging as key offering in the looming battle between the big email operators and the fast growing social network sites. Under the deal announced last week MySpaceIM with Skype will enable users to place free Skype calls and send IM messages to MySpace and Skype users.

For Skype--owned by auction powerhouse eBay--the deal gives it access to MySpace's 110 million-user base, most who are young and living in the U.S. Skype has more than 220 million users, mostly outside North America.

MySpace is under strong competition in the U.S. from fast-growing Facebook and in the U.K. from Bebo. But the real threat to the booming social network sites is expected to come from the big email providers, Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft and Google who have plans to pump up their sites with new services including voice and video telephony.

Yahoo executives describe its 250 million email users as the "world's largest dormant social network," and with all the portals' social network initiatives falling short, the new battle ground is expected to see the portals seeking to morph their email products into a broader communication and relationship offering--including VoIP.

The nightmare scenario for telcos worldwide is that (much) sooner than later they could face a billion email and social networkers all with free VoIP. Maybe, but what is not in doubt is how cable companies in the U.S. have emerged as the new VoIP market leaders. Read our next story.

For More:
- Will Social features make email sexy again Read WSJ report
- MySpace and Skype announcement

Related Articles:
Skype and iPhone team up Report
Will Mobility Revolutionize Social Networking? Article

Joe Frost: JacobsRimell directs traffic at Comcast

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:39:39 -0400

Comcast adds around 11,000 VoIP subscribers per day.

“That translates into 20 million to 30 million physical transactions per day,” from sign-up to activation, said Joe Frost vice president of marketing and strategic alliances (picture right) for JacobsRimmel, the London firm that provides back office operational support systems for the Philadelphia cable company.

“Any new customer, or one who changes services… that all goes through our software,” Frost said.

JacobsRimmel--JR for short--was started 10 years ago by David Jacobs and Phil Rimell, network engineers who’d worked together at Reuters.

JR initially targeted telcos, which were developing new services to overlay on their existing networks. As the two engineers witnessed the media market splinter into various platforms, they figured the demand for systems management would grow.

“Only differentiation is the user,” Frost said. “Our approach was, ‘you need to focus on the user experience.’” Continued …

USER PERSPECTIVE
… Traditionally, Frost said, there was a wire, a vendor and a service--plain and simple. Now, there are a variety of multimedia services on any number of network architectures.

“When user logs into that on a different computer with a slower link, the game they’re playing doesn’t know that,” he said. “It logs in at the same speed because the whole service is implemented in an architectural way,” as if the modem and data rate are always the same.

“The operator should be able to understand the user’s context. They should be able to know what format content should be delivered in,” Frost said.

That’s where JR came in at Comcast. The cable operator wanted to develop new services from a consumer perspective rather than one focused on the network. It was JRs job to make those new services work properly on the network at hand. Frost called it “first-time right provisioning.”

“When a customer picks up a receiver, they’ve got dial tone,” he said.

PIECE OFFERING
JR logs annual revenues in the area of $25 million and employs 120 people full time. Comcast is the company’s largest customer. After that, it’s Denver-based Liberty Global’s UPC broadband service in Europe. UPC has 9.2 million video subs; 2.4 million broadband subs and 1.3 million VoIP customers, according to the company Web site.

JR’s platforms typically are customized, but the company started to offer certain elements as products over the last year, Frost said.

“Typically it takes a year to 18 months to launch a new service,” he said. “It’s all about getting the operational processes in place, if you think about what an operational platform has to do--take an order via e-mail, SMS, voice, etc… interpret it, decompose it, and say ‘this individual wants this product made of these services.’”

A service provider would normally select operational software that locked them into a single vendor. The product-based offering allows greater flexibility.

“If Comcast decides to change vendors on some levels, it’s up to JR to go to that new vendor,” Frost said.

FEATURE FALL-OUT
Going to a product-oriented offering doesn’t mean those products don’t have to evolve constantly. Every new feature on a communications device means another long string of operational transactions.

With SIP phones, for example, “the handset has far more features than we’re used to,” Frost said. “It has to be configured. You can’t just take it out of the box. Activation is a lot more complicated.”

A similar phenomena occurs with network technology.

“If you’re an operator and you buy a switch, you got an army of operators to support that switch,” Frost said. With a softswitch, “… you get a few directions on configuration.”

JR has created off-the-shelf software to activate that switch, and other offerings to configure the IP PBX systems being adopted by a lot of small businesses. Frost noted that an automated PBX could be had for $250, “but it takes a lot of configuring. Let’s say you’re going to deploy 1,000 of these. You don’t want an engineer sitting at his desk configuring these. It has to be automated.”

Craigsnumber sneaks into the light

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:01:37 -0500

When you post an ad on CraigsList, you're given a disposable, anonymous email address that forwards to an address of your choosing and expires in a week. Someone has come up with something similar for voice. Craigsnumber will give you a free temporary phone number that will forward to a number of your choice for an hour, a day, a week or a month before expiring. Numbers are available in 14 cities, and all seem to be extensions of a finite number of phone numbers. This is all obviously wired with VoIP technology; I'm sure there's an Asterisk PBX somewhere in the mix. Who's doing this? We don't know. An audio file from the purported founder says he's staying undercover until his lawyers tell him it's OK. Oh, and there's no connection, other than the name, between CraigsList and Craigsnumber. You can get your number from the website or by dialing 415-234-5678.

For more information about Craigsnumber:
- read the website from Craigsnumber

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Tue, 14 Nov 2006 15:01:23 -0500

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Direct SIP addressing? Not so fast.

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:01:34 -0500

It's the unglamorous stuff that usually makes the real difference between success and failure. One analysis of VoIP wonders when we'll be able to call a SIP phone by entering its SIP address instead of a conventional phone number. The answer: not any time soon. Addressing schemes are tricky things. Whippersnappers don't remember how big a deal it was when email addresses went from specifying every step (ihntp!rutgers!abasin!dan) to putting all that routing information into the cloud (dan@fiercevoip.com). No one, mercifully, remembers x.400 email routing schemes, and the days of operator-assisted intercity calling are receding out of memory and into folklore. So when will we see SIP-addressed phones? Maybe never because someone will figure out how to move SIP addressing to an easier scheme--one, of course, that still doesn't require the PSTN for termination.

For more information about SIP addressing:
- read this article from VoIPLoop

SIP Trunking alliance boosts interoperability

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 20:01:37 -0400

In the bad old days of email, email systems didn't interconnect; a message on MCI Mail had to go through hoops and contortions to show up (maybe) on CompuServe. This is pretty much the state of VoIP right now; to get from Here to There, too many IP calls hit a wall of compatibility issues. At last week's Internet Telephony show, Ingate Systems gathered a bunch of companies including BandTel, Objectworld, Voex, and Pingtel to establish a SIP Trunking alliance to ensure that their products interconnect with each other's. Pingtel is a particularly interesting player here, due to its corporate involvement in the IMS Forum, one of the driving forces behind IMS.

For more information about the SIP Trunking alliance:
- see the press release from Ingate Systems

Is VoIP behind GrandCentral's new service?

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:01:36 -0400

This isn't explicitly VoIP, but the technology and feature set sure feel like it's got VoIP plumbing. One of the presenting companies at DEMO this week was GrandCentral, which advertises "one number...for life." The deal is you get a single phone number that will ring anywhere you tell it to, consolidate your voicemails (which you can access from the Web, via email or by phone) and let you decide who can reach you where and when. You can also switch phones in mid-call and record incoming calls. The basic version is free; the premium version, with more voicemail storage and unlimited inbound calling, will cost $15/month--though it's free for 60 days during the beta. Outbound calls cost 2.5 cents/minute. The term "VoIP" doesn't appear anywhere, but the rate structure and feature set implies heavily that GrandCentral is essentially a consumer/road warrior hosted VoIP app.

For more information about GrandCentral:
- read this article on VentureBeat

Trend: "Vishing," VoIP phishing on the rise

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:01:37 -0400

A recent report from MessageLabs found that VoIP is fast becoming the platform of choice for cybercrooks engaging in phone and email scams. The latest scams make use of an automated voice message that warns the potential victim of possible fraudulent charges on his credit card. The message goes on to provide a toll-free number to call, and when the victim dials it, he is prompted to enter his credit card number, date of expiration and other information which the "vishers" then use to make fraudulent charges. What's more, vishers can easily manipulate the caller ID to make it appear that the call is coming from a legitimate bank. The report found that phishing (including "vishing") attacks increased 0.03 percent during the month of July.

You'd think these scams would not befall the presumably more tech-savvy VoIP user, but rather the old folks still using PSTN lines. However, VoIP makes it easier for the crooks since VoIP numbers can be set up and shut down within minutes. Therefore, it's almost impossible for law enforcement to track them. The phone systems required to set up the elaborate scams have also become cheaper recently.

For more on the MessageLabs report:
- see this press release

Is a VoIP directory a good idea?

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:01:37 -0400

A blogger at ZDNet who apparently doesn't get enough spam or telemarketing calls has what he's sure is a great idea: a unified, Web-based directory of inbound VoIP numbers from all carriers. This is something that marketers would definitely love, because a great list is at the heart of almost every great business. But, a similar idea for cell phones a few years ago died a quick death, and attempts at building email directories using technologies like LDAP and X.400 have steadfastly resisted widespread implementation.

For more information about VoIP directory:
- see this article in ZDNet.

DiVitas providing low-cost dual-mode roaming

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 11:16:25 -0400

Mountain View, CA-based DiVitas Networks launched yesterday to provide enterprises with roaming between WiFi and cellular using dual-mode phones. At first glance, this may seem to be a me-too approach. But the company claims that it is different because it puts the enterprise in control of the solution, at an attractive price-point starting at $250 to $400 per user. According to its research, only 5 percent of enterprises have mobile email access and 25 percent have mobile voice paid by the company. The remaining 70 percent have no mobile solutions at all. The privately held company is backed by $8 million in funding from Clearstone Venture Partners.

To learn more on DiVitas Networks:
- check out the company's press releases

ALSO NOTED: U.S. Treasury to stop collecting federal excise tax; IMS can be great equalizer for service integration; and much m

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 11:16:24 -0400

> The National Science Foundation issued four awards totaling $600,000 to the University of North Texas to develop a geographically distributed, secure test bed analyzing VoIP vulnerabilities. Article

> The Philippine National Telecommunications Commission sees waning opposition to its VoIP guidelines. Article

> While U.K.-based Carphone Warehouse offers Talk Talk for cheap, potential customers should consider factors such as connection speeds, customer service and contract lengths. Article

> The U.S. Treasury Department plans to stop collecting the federal excise tax on long-distance and wireless phone service and will refund $60 billion to consumers and businesses. Article

> Many businesses may not see enough payback to build out the infrastructure required for voice over WiFi and dual-mode handsets. Article

> The EU should soon require communication providers to retain tracking data for six to 24 months for services such as SMS, email, VoIP and Internet access. Blog

And Finally… "If IP was the great normalizer, IMS can be the great equalizer for service integration," said Nortel VP and GM for global cable solutions Tom Buttermore at the National Cable & Telecommunications Show last week. Article

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Wed, 29 Mar 2006 17:02:53 -0500

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Wireless VoIP (wVoIP)

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 16:28:46 -0500

Wireless VoIP is the term used to describe VoIP services that operate over a wireless network. Most current wVoIP applications are targeted at mobile professionals and students spread out over a wide area or working in locations that are difficult to access and hardwire.

As with VoIP in general, there are questions about wVoIP Quality of Service (QoS), although examples of successful wVoIP rollouts are growing. wVoIP regulation is currently a heated issue and there continues to be questions regarding wVoIP's immunity from regulations that govern traditional telephone networks as well as wireless VoIP's implementation of 911 services.

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Sat, 25 Mar 2006 13:55:22 -0500

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