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Mack-inations
The Tao of VoIP
By Tim McElligott
April 08, 2004
Of all the colorful commentary Jeff Pulver provided his Spring VON audience last week in Santa Clara, his question--more of a challenge, really--to those vendors and small providers who have been instrumental in early voice-over-IP development was the most profound. Well, it wasn't Gandhi-like profound, or even very Lennon-esque (one of Pulver's favorite philosophers), but it did represent the dilemma the industry faces in light of AT&T's announced entry last week into residential VoIP.
Sounding more like Milton Friedman than John Lennon, Pulver asked, "Now that big companies with deep pockets are in, how do the innovators survive?"
It is an important question, because speed and innovation are going to be key to doing more than replicating the telephony network in packet form. Maybe the AT&Ts and SBCs of the world can stay fleet-of-foot as they roll out their national VoIP networks. Maybe the reborn Global Crossing can turn on a dime. Maybe Level 3 Communications, playing the role of the mobile virtual network enabler in the land-based IP world, can enable cable companies and ISPs and other providers that are nimble enough to push the envelope in terms of innovative or niche VoIP applications. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.
But history tells us that speed and target marketing are not the forte of Tier 1 providers. Sure, they can collectively offer VoIP across the country in a blink of an eye, but to be anything more than a cheap, commoditized blending of voice and data into a stew of packetized content, large service providers need to utilize platforms that can spit out targeted application for very specific customer needs like watermelon seeds. Either that or they leave a big chunk of their potential market to those who can--the innovators.
Granted, it's hard to be quick in a three-legged race, and the carriers are always running with regulators tied to one leg. And the danger here is that when the big boys come to play, the regulators come to stay. So it can't be said enough that in order for next-generation communications service providers to flourish, regulators need to follow the philosophy of Lennon's partner Paul McCartney and just "Let It Be."
Regardless, in order to survive, innovative vendors will have to concentrate on giving Tier 1 service providers the appearance and flexibility of small, hungry companies that will do whatever it takes. New, innovative service providers will have to make their play before the big players figure out how to do that.
E-mail me at tmcelligott@primediabusiness.com.
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Top News
Verizon Wireless invests in IT, call centers
By Dan O'Shea
After recently saying it would open a new $29 million call center in North Carolina, Verizon Wireless has announced an additional investment of more than $10 million to expand an existing information technology center in Orangeburg, N.Y.
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Apptix hosts Microsoft apps for Bell Canada customers
Bell Canada began offering its enterprise customers Microsoft Exchange messaging and collaboration solutions this week using the on-demand platform from Sterling, Va.-based Apptix.
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ENTERPRISE VoIP NOT LEFT OUT AT VON
AT&T and Level 3 Communications may have stolen the show last week with their residential VoIP announcements, but theirs wasn't the only buzz at Spring VON -- and I'm not talking about the top-shelf booze at the all-conference party, thank you very much. A big VoIP cocktail was mixed on the device side of this burgeoning business as Microsoft introduced Windows CE 5.0, and from the wholesale side as Global Crossing declared itself still in the game.
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SYLANTRO HAS FEET IN BUSINESS AND CONSUMER VoIP
With the Broadvox deployment last month of residential VoIP services, Sylantro announced last week it has become the first provider of a single, hosted platform carriers can use to provide both consumer VoIP and business IP Centrex.
Sylantro has put its residential platform through trials with various service providers over the last six months. Broadvox is its first public deployment for residential services. In addition to supporting enhanced primary line service, the platform supports teen lines, second lines and SOHO services.
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OSS
AT&T Wireless continuing relationship with Convergys
AT&T Wireless retained Convergys today as its billing and customer care provider after considering responses to a formal Request for Information it issued in 2003. The new agreement for billing all of AT&T Wireless' subscribers now expires at the end of 2008. Upon closing of the proposed merger between AT&T Wireless and Cingular, Cingular will have the right to modify the agreement with Convergys subject to certain terms and conditions.
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Pac-West goes with Lucent Dial access
Pac-West Telecomm announced this week that it has completed the upgrade of its managed dial access network to a Lucent Technologies platform to improve the stability and reliability of its network. The upgrade will allow Pac-West to offer next-generation services, such as VoIP and reduce network management costs. Pac-West selected the APX 8100 Universal Gateway solution from Lucent's Accelerate VoIP portfolio. It also deployed the Lucent VitalQIP DNS/DHCP and IP Address Management software and the NavisRadius Authentication, Authorization and Accounting Server. Pac-West serves California, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon, offering a menu of dial-up IP access and port wholesaling services. Pac-West supplies the access ports, local access numbers, modems, routers, Internet backbone, call detail and usage reports, and 24/7/364 network monitoring and customer support.
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Syndesis evolves DSL platform
Provisioning and activation provider Syndesis released version 5.0 of its DSL solution suite this week. They say it redefines service fulfillment economics for the next generation in value-added broadband services. The suite offers a comprehensive set of off-the-shelf dynamic provisioning, activation and discovery capabilities. New enhancements include new capabilities for VoIP, Voice-over-DSL, Voice-over-Broadband, Video-on-Demand, and ultra high-speed Internet and out-of-the-box support for the latest DSL equipment from vendors such as Adtran, Alcatel, Cisco, Copper Mountain, Juniper, Lucent, Marconi, Nokia and Siemens. It also supports next generation DSLAMs and Aggregation routers that utilize Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and Virtual or Transparent LAN transport. Version 5.0 also features dynamic support for PVC, Virtual Path, or hybrid Layer 2 and 3 --based access architectures with service model support ranging from re-provisioning for basic services to fully on demand provisioning for more complex services.
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In Print
AT&T STEALS SHOW WITH VoIP LAUNCH
Voice over IP took official ownership of the future last week when AT&T launched a new residential service at Spring VON in Santa Clara, Calif. Level 3 Communications gave further validation to the technology by announcing its own residential wholesale VoIP initiative.
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HOW TO BEAT FRIED WORMS
The only consistency found in estimates of the financial damage caused by Internet attacks is that they are big -- Sobig. Collectively, worms and viruses such as Bagle, Netsky and MyDoom have cost the worldwide economy more than $100 billion in cleanup, equipment and software replacement, and lost productivity. MyDoom alone did $22.6 billion in damage last year, according to London-based security and digital risk management firm mi2g. In its first 24 hours of existence, the Blaster virus racked up approximately $525 million in inoculation costs.
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