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May 31, 2004
May 2004 was a Blur...
In a few hours it will be June.
For me, May 2004 was a giant blur and June looks to be pulver.com's busiest month of the year and we are ready for it.
At pulver.com we are producing three events in June - VON Europe 2004 in London June 7-10, SIP Summit 2004 in Chicago co-located with Supercomm and Supernova 2004 in Santa Clara June 24-25th.
During June we will be working on drafting the Fall 2004 VON conference schedule and the longer term additions of new international VON events to our 2005 conference schedule.
Posted by jeff at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
A Better Way to SIP?
It looks like the Détente in the protocol wars may be at risk. The battle is poised to start in the Fall of 2004.
In recent months, the advent of home NATs and Firewalls coupled with the success of Skype is putting a lot of pressure on company CTOs to find solutions that “just work.” For those who are deploying SIP based solutions, in practical terms this is a pretty big challenge. In the era of the Session Boarder Controller, the whispers are growing louder each day for an alternative scalable Skype-like protocol that can be used to deliver real-time communication services to the masses.
The SIP protocol has made great strides as a solution to help make real-time communications over the internet happen. And SIP is happening at breakneck speeds around the world. But for a growing group of people trying to make money from SIP today, not fast enough.
Delivering real-time IP Communications isn’t easy. Many home networks are hostile to real-time communications and are not optimized for voice. The need for technical knowledge for those using home networks is a real limiting factor in getting standards based solutions in place. For the most part, this is not an environment that is “plug and play” since home owners are using a variety of products and edge devices. This in turn has become an issue for anyone looking to do large scale rollouts. For some, this is the way to spell “nightmare” from the perspective of network operations and support.
If and/or when IP Version 6 happens, many of these challenges just go away. But how long do we have to wait for IP Version 6 to just happen?
Posted by jeff at 07:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Looking for new network service ideas for FWD
The Free World Dialup team is actively looking for community input for new network services that people would like to see become available on Free World Dialup.
Input/feedback would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email your suggestions to: jeff.pulver@gmail.com
Posted by jeff at 06:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
We need to STOP the VoIP Hype!
The story "Cyberphones Are No Longer Just For Nerds" in today's issue of the Hartford Courant is one of the first mainstream newspaper stories to mention that VoIP can offer more than just cheaper calling.
The blurry message comes toward the end of the story.
Hopefully others in the media will start to pick up on this concept.
We need to do what we can to stop the hype that VoIP is just a way to get cheaper phone service.
Posted by jeff at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
May 30, 2004
7:47 AM in Westhampton Beach
Earlier today I went for a short drive around town and tried to capture some of the more natural early morning images which are sometimes taken for granted in Westhampton Beach.
Roscoe
Posted by jeff at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Summertime in the Hamptons
Memorial Day Weekend signals the launch of the "Summer Season" in the Hamptons even though we are still weeks away from the formal start of Summer.
This weekend has been no exception and the composition of the crowds in the town of Westhampton Beach are much different than those visiting us just a weekend ago.
From now thru Labor Day weekend, it will take 2+ hours to travel what is usually a 45 minute trip from Westhampton Beach to East Hampton. For some, every weekend will be a party, in fact the summer will be a long blur mixed in with just a few sober hours.
While there are times that I really enjoy the peacefulness of the Winter season, there is something to be said about observing the "invasion of the summer people" and the rituals which they follow.
This year's US Open which takes place in a few weeks should help redefine what a traffic jam in the Hamptons is all about. This worldclass golfing event will be taking place June 14th to June 20th at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton.
Last year I co-founded a WISP called "Hamptons Wireless." My hope is that this is the summer that we start to get some customers. :-)
Posted by jeff at 07:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 29, 2004
VON Europe 2004: A Global Event!
I just took a look at the current VON Europe 2004 community and I realized that when our event commences on June 7th, there will be delegates representing all of the major continents. It has been awhile since I could say this at any of our VON events.
In fact, there are currently delegates registered from 36 countries representing over 300 different companies.
The conference community is filled with senior executives from the worldwide communications industry.
There is just a limited number of delegate seats that remain available. We will most likely have a standing-room only crowd at VON Europe 2004.
Since our VON Europe 2004 exhibit floor sold out 3+ months ago, we are already selling exhibit space for VON Europe 2005 which will be taking place in Stockholm, 23-26 May 2005.
Posted by jeff at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 15: New York City Council hearing on VoIP and E911
This week I was invited to testify at the June 15th New York City Council hearing on VoIP and E911.
The hearing is entitled "Oversight: Delivering e911 Service Over Internet Telephony."
My hope is that by the time the hearing is completed, those who pulled together the event will realize that the title should have been: "Oversight: Delivering e911 service using IP Communications."
The term "Internet Telephony" is very limiting when compared to "IP Communications."
In any event, I appreciate the invitation and I'm looking forward to being a part of the meeting that will be taking place in City Hall.
Posted by jeff at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
VH1: Best Week Ever Blog
Every once in a while, VH1's Best Week Ever Blog makes for interesting reading.
Posted by jeff at 08:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 28, 2004
pulver.com Comments on FCC's IP NPRM
Earlier today we filled our reply comments on the FCC's IP NPRM.
I'm looking forward to reading the other reply comments and staying fully engaged in the process.
Posted by jeff at 06:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Today I helped open NASDAQ!
Earlier today, together with the AudioCodes CEO, Shabtai Adlersberg, I helped open today's NASDAQ trading session.
Both Shabtai and I said a few words before the market opened and then together we signed in the start of this morning's trading session.
While these photos capture some of the excitement, it was an amazing experience and in the end, a giant blur!
Special thanks to Shabtai Adlersberg, for inviting me for the honor and the opportunity to bring my family to the event.
Congratulations goes to AudioCodes (NASDAQ:AUDC) in celebration of the 5th Anniversary of going public.
Special thanks to AudioCodes for what was a real special day!
Posted by jeff at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Getting Ready for NASDAQ
Later this morning I will be the guest of AudioCodes at NASDAQ. I will be there when their CEO, Shabtai Aldersberg, rings the NASDAQ opening bell in celebration of the 5th year anniversary of the AudioCodes IPO.
The event will be broadcast live at 9:30 AM EDT on CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, CNNfn, FoxNews and other places.
Posted by jeff at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 27, 2004
VoIP Case Study @ Standford Business School
Earlier today I spent time on campus at the Stanford Business School with three professors who are in the process of writing a VoIP case study which will be introduced in the Fall 2004 Semester.
As an added bonus, I was invited to attend their class when this case study is discussed which is tentatively scheduled for November 9th.
This is yet another sign on how the IP Communications industry has gone mainstream. :-)
Posted by jeff at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wi-Fi @ Denny's: Only in Silicon Valley
When I arrived in Palo Alto late last night, after looking for a place for some coffee, I couldn't help but smile when I ran across a local Denny's which was advertising that it had “Wireless Internet” access.
When I walked into the Denny’s Dinner and took one of the rate cards, I was equally amazed at what the asking price for Wi-Fi access was. The peak rate is 15 cents a minute for the first 30 minutes and then 50 cents a minute thereafter. At an effective cost of $19.50 per hour for Wi-Fi access, I have to believe that the standard bill for Wi-Fi @ Denny’s is generally much greater than the average individual dining costs.
This made the off-peak rate of 15 cents a minute ( $9/hr) sound cheap.
Only in Silicon Valley…
Posted by jeff at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Another "Really Big" Week for VoIP
Today is only Thursday, and the week of May 24th has already been another "really big" week for VoIP.
Starting with being the cover story of this week's Barrons, followed by a pretty big story in the WSJ on Monday, coupled with yesterday's Comcast announcement, the VoIP Buzz just continues to grow.
At the moment there are 3,330 news stories on Google that match the term "VoIP" which is the highest it has been since I've been tracking the term.
On Tuesday VoIP was the subject at an all-day event at Columbia University's Business School, and in a few hours, I will be meeting with a few professors at the Stanford Business School who are writing a VoIP Case Study.
To help drive home the point of how mainstream VoIP is becoming, the CEO of AudioCodes will be ringing the opening bell at NASDAQ tomorrow morning...and I am looking forward to standing behind him as he does it.
Posted by jeff at 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 26, 2004
VON Europe 2004: Conference almost sold out!
VON Europe 2004 will be taking place 7-10 June in London.
This event is tracking to be our most successful VoIP event in Europe since
2000. To date there are delegates attending from over 35 countries,
representing a true pan-European audience. Our pre-conference activities
commence on the morning of 7-June and our conference formally opens
at 17:00 on 7-June. Our sold-out exhibit hall opens the evening of 8-June.
We only have a limited number of conference seats still available. If you
are planning on attending, please take a moment and register today.
Posted by jeff at 06:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 25, 2004
Going to California Tomorrow...
Tomorrow afternoon I will be taking another jetBlue trip to Oakland, CA...this time for a meeting Thursday morning at Stanford University.
I'm being intereviewed by a trio of professors who are working on a new VoIP related case study that will be introduced at the Stanford Business School in the Fall.
I've been looking forward to this trip ever since being contacted by them back in March.
Posted by jeff at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
FWD(R) Trademark Granted
Yesterday I received the official letter from the US Trademark and Patent office that FWD(R) is now a registered and recognized trademark for Free World Dialup.
Posted by jeff at 07:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
pulver.com - tiny?
In Mark Wigfield's story yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, "It Looks Like a Duck. Or Does it?" he called pulver.com: "a tiny Melville, N.Y.-based VOIP provider."
pulver.com may be a doing a lot of different things these days, including producing our VON Events but one thing we are not is "tiny."
While Free World Dialup is run by a minimal amount of full-time staff, the reality is that depending upon what we are doing there are 6-8 dedicated full-time people within the extended pulver.com organization who are servicing the needs of the Free World Dialup community. This may be "tiny" compared to the likes of AT&T, but these are the amount of people we need today to deliver the service known as FWD(R).
Posted by jeff at 06:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
May 24, 2004
5th Annual Paws for Style
In a couple of hours I will be attending Animal Fair Magazine's 5th Annual Paws for Style benefiting the 100th year anniversary of the Humane Society of New York.
Posted by jeff at 05:28 PM | Permalink
Lucent Acquires Telica
M&A Activity in the IP Communications space continues...
Lucent has agreed to acquire Telica for approximately $295 million in stock and options, plus additional employee-related cash payments.
- Under the terms, Lucent will exchange 92.7 million shares of common stock and options for all of Telica's equity. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close during Lucent's fourth fiscal quarter of 2004
- Telica will become part of Lucent's Integrated Network Solutions business.
Posted by jeff at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
FCC Chairman Powell will be at Fall 2004 VON!
I just heard that FCC Chairman Powell is confirmed to speak at Fall 2004 VON in Boston on Tuesday, October 19th.
I’m already looking forward to introducing the Chairman at VON. :-)
The Goo Goo Dolls are confirmed to play our conference party the night of October 20th.
All around, this is shaping up to be our best VON event…ever!
Posted by jeff at 06:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 23, 2004
Business Implications of VoIP
On Tuesday I will be spending the day at Columbia University at their CITI Workshop on: Business Implications of VoIP - Identifying the Winners and Losers Of Voice Over Internet Protocol.
Their agenda includes quite a few industry executives, many of which have participated at our own past VON events.
Following the CITI workshop, the Telecommunications Committee of the Bar Association of the City of New York will hold a companion program on the legal and regulatory implications of VoIP.
Looks like Tuesday will be VoIP Day in NYC.
Posted by jeff at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
AudioCodes CEO to ring NASDAQ Bell on Friday, May 28th
Shabtai Aldersberg, AudioCodes co-founder and CEO of AudioCodes will be ringing the NASDAQ opening bell on Friday, May 28th. I will be at NASDAQ with Shabtai, to celebrate this event as well as in effect, the coming of age of both AudioCodes and IP Communications. AudioCodes on a daily basis continues to contribute to future of the IP Communications Industry.
This will mark the 5th year anniversary of AudioCodes going public.
From a personal perspective, I appreciate all the support that AudioCodes has provided our VON events over the years. They have been supporters in both good times and bad and I look forward to being at the NASDAQ in Time Square on Friday morning with them to celebrate their special day.
Posted by jeff at 08:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Rediscovering Free World Dialup
I have spent quite a few hours so far this weekend on Free World Dialup answering calls to FWD# 10000, and meeting people once again from literally all around the world.
It was the thrill of IP Communications over Broadband that hooked me into FWD back in 2002 and this weekend has been a refreshing reminder of the fun that I had as a ham radio operator who used the internet as an alternative ham radio band. Back then I looked at Free World Dialup as more of a hobby, than say, a businesses.
One concept that the mainstream media has still yet to grasp is that there are a growing number of communities that are content speaking with each other just using the Internet. For these people there is no need to use the wireless or PSTN networks for such calls. The success of peer-to-peer networks like Skype just helps to accelerate this social phenomenon.
During the work week when I’m in my office, there are times when I answer the 55555 line as a way to greet some of the newcomers to Free World Dialup and in the process, check out our own pulse. For the most part, when I answer the 55555 line, I find someone who is trying out voice over broadband for the very first time and our conversation usually becomes a positive reinforcement of that experience.
I am currently working on introducing a new platform for Free World Dialup which will be introduced when we are ready, and can properly support it. When introduced, if successful, we will be a living example that IP based "voice" is really just an application when compared to legacy networks and regulatory environments.
In the meantime, if you are around this weekend and available on FWD, please feel free to drop my a line at FWD# 10000.
Posted by jeff at 06:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 22, 2004
Skype co-founder Shared Product Roadmap @ VON Canada 2004
It was great having Nikolas Zennström with us at VON Canada 2004.
I enjoyed the time spent with Nikolas and the vision he shared. In some ways I looked at Nikolas as the Roman Polansky of my generation since he preferred to stay out of the USA due to his KaZaA legacy. While one day I hope he will join us in the USA at a future VON event, I understand the issues at hand and why he choose Canada as the place in North America to share the Skype roadmap.
When Nikolas took center stage at VON Canada 2004, he spent most of his keynote talking about the history of disruptive technologies and disruptive communications. One of his slides showed his customer acquisition costs vs. Vonage where their costs were .001 cents and Vonage was marked at $400. I think he may have underestimated the Vonage number a bit. ;-) It wasn't until Nikolas got to toward the end of his talk when he had everyone in the audience going on every word as he shared the product roadmap for Skype which included: SkypePlus and SkypeOut.
As previously hinted, SkypeOut will provide Skype users on a prepaid basis the ability to place calls to the public switched telephone network. During the talk, I found out that G.729a will be used as the codec to perform the PSTN interconnect, so at least for the moment, when SkypeOut launches, customers placing calls to the PSTN may not always be able to experience the higher quality sound that Skype normally uses for it's own Peer-to-Peer communication.
SkypePlus will offer Skype customers value-added services including: Voicemail and the mapping of DID (Direct-Inbound-Dialing) numbers.
While no formal launch date was provided for these new Skype services, during the Q&A session, it was mentioned that revenues are expected to start during the third quarter of 2004, which translates to me as "sometime really soon."
For me, the most exciting sleeper news that came out was the announcement of a Skype API that will allow third-party developers to leverage Skype engine and in effect build new applications. The availability of a Skype API may have a profound effect on the future of PC based peer-to-peer communications, as more and more developers learn about this and start to extend the communications power of Skype.
I looking forward to seeing Nikolas again in a couple of weeks when he will be giving one the of most anticipated keynotes at VON Europe 2004 on June 8th.
Posted by jeff at 07:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
VoIP: Cover Story in this week's Barron's
The long awaited Barron's Cover Story on VoIP was just published.
The story, Talk Gets Cheap provides a pretty good overview of the current state of the US VoIP Industry.
Posted by jeff at 06:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Roscoe gets some ICE from Toronto
While I was in Toronto this week I dropped by a store called ICE which has it's origin back in Los Angeles at their popular sister store, Kitsons.
While visiting this gift and clothing store I ended up picking up a new shirt and collar for Roscoe. Roscoe was kind enough to model his new accessories:
When's Dinner?
"Bone" Bling Bling
163 Cumberland Street, Toronto
Posted by jeff at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 21, 2004
My Phone Needs a Flash!
A camera phone without a flash is just a phone with a camera appendage.
Now that cell phones have cameras and now that SIP is being added to the next generation version of these devices, I expect it is just a matter of time until we see Wi-Fi/GSM phones which support real-time streaming SIP Video.
Posted by jeff at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
My blog is my Voice
One trend which I've recently noticed is the way my blog has been used to sometimes quote me in News stories.
While I first noticed the advent of this trend a few months ago, two stories from this week,
drive this point home. These are two more examples of how a story published in my blog has turned into a quote for a story.
On the plus side, given my sometimes hard to reach, "on the road" lifestyle, this means that a reporter does not always need to reach me directly for a quote when working on a story (and they can still quote me.)
Posted by jeff at 07:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Australia looks like it will Regulate VoIP in 2005
According to a story published by ARNnet, ACA Moves to Regulate VoIP,
The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) will be introducing specific regulations for service providers and Enterprises by mid-2005.
Posted by jeff at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 20, 2004
VON Canada 2004: One Successful Event!
In all aspects, VON Canada 2004 was a successful event.
I am looking forward to producing VON Canada 2005 next May in Montreal.
I'm now getting ready to leave for airport and return to New York. My focus will soon return to VON Europe 2004 which will be taking place June 7-10 in London.
Posted by jeff at 04:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
ENUM and Intellectual Property Rights / Reliving the Past
Internet Management Systems recently submitted a contribution to the current meeting of ITU-T Study Group 2 that claims that both they and HP have intellectual property and patents dealing with the mapping of telephone numbers to internet domain names.
Whether or not this IPR claim holds, it will signals the start of a process which may yield unpredictable results and may effect some business plans.
A quick look at prior-art shows that ENUM is using ideas from RFC 1486 published in July 1993 (which means Internet Drafts and testing were going on long before that date) which imply any patent claims talking about mapping of E.164 to domain names have to be filed before that date.
The VoIP industry first experienced something similar back in 1996 in the days of the "Codec Wars."
Posted by jeff at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 19, 2004
New York State rules Vonage is a "Telecom Company"
Earlier today the New York Public Services Commission announced their decision that Vonage is a telecom company under NY State rules.
Specifically the Commission determined that "...Vonage owns and manages equipment that is used to provide telephone service to Vonage's customers and to connect Vonage's customers to the
customers of other telephone corporations via their public networks and thus, like other owners of telecommunications-provisioning equipment, is subject to the NYS Public Service Law."
This is a very troubling development.
I am quite disappointed to see that New York State decided to apply legacy telephone regulation to Internet based communications while the FCC is in
the process of figuring out the right regulatory treatment for VoIP.
Between this decision in New York and a pending decision in California, these new developments may lead to the introduction of new regulatory barriers that in fact could slow the adoption of IP Communication services and delay the extraordinary benefits available from such services.
This is not a good day for Telecom Policy in New York.
Posted by jeff at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Another story from VON Canada: Pundits sound off on VoIP's future
VON Canada 2004 continues to be noticed by the Canadian Business and Telecom media.
An example of this is the story that appeared today in
IT WorldCanada.Com, "Pundits Sound Off on VoIP's Future."
Posted by jeff at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Please help support DRI
The Diabetes Research Institute can always use additional support in their search for the cure. Your help and support would be appreciated.
Risa and I recently chaired the 2004 Crystal Ball on Long Island and we have recently committed to chairing the event next year. Special thanks to the support we received from some of our friends in the IP Communications Industry.
I'm currently working on a special DRI charity event to take place in Boston that I hope to announce shortly.
Posted by jeff at 07:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
VON Canada 2004: In the News
The advent of VON Canada 2004 has not gone unnoticed by the media which in turn has helped to increase the visibility of our event. I am already looking forward to being back in Canada next May in Montreal for VON Canada 2005.
Some of the recent VoIP stories which originated this week from VON Canada 2004 include:
Posted by jeff at 06:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Cisco and IBM team to offer Enterprise VoIP Services
I've read a few stories this week about Cisco and IBM teaming up to offer large Enterprises VoIP related products and integrated services.
Given the potential impact of such an alliance, it will be interesting to see how much traction they are able to get toward their stated goals of helped to accelerate the widespread adoption of IP Communication technologies across the large Enterprises of the world.
Similar and just as powerful strategic alliances had been announced back in 1998-2000 during the last time the VoIP sector had the attention of the communications industry.
It will be interesting to track the success of this public alliance this time around and see how it works out. For all we know, it may still be real early to try to expect real results from such an alliance.
Posted by jeff at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Pulver: CRTC shouldn't treat VoIP like phone service
It seems that my recent visit to Ottawa didn't go unnoticed.
it business.ca just ran a story about my suggestion on how VoIP service providers should be treated...I Just wish they could have used a more flattering picture in their story.
Posted by jeff at 06:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
VON Canada 2004: Highlights from Tuesday
The first full day of VON Canada 2004 lived up to my expectations of what I thought we could do by bringing a VON event to Canada.
Special thanks to everyone who helped make this happen.
I opened VON Canada 2004 with a talk similar to what I shared on Monday in Ottawa and the conference day closed with a keynote by Niklas Zennstrom, CEO, Skype.
During his talk, Niklas shared information on some of the optional value-added services that Skype will be introducing in the Q3 2004.
Niklas also revealed that Skype will be making an API available in the near term that will empower developers to build Windows based COM applications that take advantage of Skype.
After Niklas's talk the conference welcome reception took place inside of the exhibit hall.
Below are some images from VON Canada 2004 - Tuesday, May 18th
Niklas Zennstrom and Jeff
Joe Rinde @ VON Canada 2004
Welcome Reception
Welcome Reception
John Yoakum w/Nicklas
Posted by jeff at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 18, 2004
VON Canada 2004 Starts in a couple of hours...
I'm looking forward to the commencement of VON Canada 2004 which is our inaugural event in Canada.
Last night I had a chance to meet Niklas Zennstrom, CEO, Skype and I'm looking forward to hearing his keynote address later today.
The day I spent in Ottawa yesterday was rather enlightening with regard to the current Canadian public policy towards the treatment of VoIP.
One interesting VoIP coincidence was that sitting across from me on the flight from Ottawa to Toronto was Ian Angus, publisher of Telemanagement and one of our speakers at VON Canada on Thursday. The interesting twist was that Ian was flying out to Saskatchewan via Toronto so it made our chance meeting ever so more interesting.
VON Canada 2004 is a pan-Canadian event with a pretty fair representation from all of the Canadian Providences except for the Northwest Territories.
Plans are already underway for VON Canada 2005 which is tentatively set to take place in Montreal next May.
Posted by jeff at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 17, 2004
May is Tulip Season in Ottawa
For a first time visitor to Ottawa it seems as if I picked the perfect time of year to visit.
I had no idea about the history of Tulips and what they mean to Ottawa until I took a little side tour and saw the magnificent Tulip tour in Ottawa.
Posted by jeff at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wi-Fi'ing from Air Canada @ LGA
While one day in the near future I expect that we will be able to take something like widespread Wi-Fi availablity for granted, I'm still impressed each time I'm waiting by the gate for a flight and I'm able to catch up with email and otherwise stay connected.
Posted by jeff at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Vonage at 155,000 subscribers
Just read a story on Reuters which covered the fact that Vonage is up to 155,000 subscribers.
Posted by jeff at 05:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Getting Ready for Ottawa...
Sometime before dawn breaks I will be on my way to the airport to spend the day in Ottawa and end the day in Toronto for the start of VON Canada 2004 on Tuesday.
I'm looking forward to my first trip to Ottawa. :-)
Posted by jeff at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Net routing challenges cellphones
This story from today's International Herald Tribune contains a great plug for VON Canada 2004.
I'm looking forward to meeting people from both i2Telecom and Skype in Toronto later this week.
Posted by jeff at 12:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
High Demand for Gmail Accounts
Over the weekend I received quite a number of requests for a Gmail account, in the event that I'm able to invite more friends to Gmail.
While I haven't been given the opportunity to invite more than the two people I invited last Friday, my "waiting list" for people waiting for a Gmail account just continues to grow.
Personally I like Google's approach to growing the Gmail user base organically.
Posted by jeff at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 16, 2004
VON Europe 2004: Shaping Up to be Best European VoIP Event since 2000!
Looking at VON Europe 2004, it looks like this will be one of our best European VON events and the largest VON Europe since our 2000 event back in Stockholm.
When factoring in our sold-out exhibit floor and our world-class conference speakers, a strong positive momentum will be felt when we are in London next month.
To date, there are delegates registered from over 30 countries including:
Australia, Austra, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Malta,
Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, USA. This will be a true pan-European VoIP event.
There is still time to register but register soon since there is a pretty good chance that we will run out of conference seats at this event.
Posted by jeff at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Time to Move beyond the HYPE of VoIP
When looking at the state of VoIP HYPE, it is the best of times, the worst of times.
Excessive hype of Internet Telephony back in 1996 brought forth the ACTA Petition. Let’s try not to relive our past by learning from our past mistakes. The reality of today is that voice traffic is moving off of the public switched network (PSTN) but it is not just going to IP Networks. Traffic is moving from the PSTN to wireless (cellular) networks, broadband networks, Wi-Fi Networks and quite a few other hybrid networks. This is not a threat but a market reality.
Looking at some of the recent local and regional news coverage in the US regarding “VoIP”, it is clear to me that the term “VoIP” is now being used to describe a new wave of competition to incumbent telephone service and not much more. For me, this is a disturbing trend. When I speak to some consumer reporters who refer to VoIP, in many cases they believe they are referring to a high tech technology, but when pushed, there seems to be a hollow understanding of what VoIP really is. As an industry we can do so much more to educate the world about VoIP and I would like to believe that we could be so much better about it. Taken to a far extreme, over time, the entire IP Communications food chain could be at risk if enough people collectivity minimize the role which IP Communication technologies will contribute to the near term future of the communications industry.
The time has come for the IP Communications Industry to start to move beyond the HYPE of VoIP and start to deliver some of the services which are only possible because of the advent of IP based communications. Some of these services start to become very visible only when we start to blur the line between instant messaging, presence, and voice communication. Throw in things like blogging, social networking and gaming and things just start to get interesting.
The advent of a technology like SIP means that for the first time in the 127+ year history of telephony, the same protocol can be used on an end-to-end basis between customers on two ends of a telephone call. This represents a total radical change in the engineering of communication networks and ways, which value added services, can be and will be introduced in the near future.
I look forward to reading about the next wave of companies, which truly will help redefine the future of the communications industry. My hope is that such services start to arrive in 2004.
Posted by jeff at 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 15, 2004
Next week in Canada...
On Monday, in advance to the commencement of VON Canada 2004, I will be flying up to Ottawa for a series of meeting with Canadian Ministerial staff, University Academics, and members of the Ottawa Telecom business community. Before leaving for Toronto, I'm supposed to participate in a series of press interviews with a select members of the Canadian business and telecom media.
Monday should be an interesting day...
Posted by jeff at 07:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Still looking for pending VoIP stories to be published
A few weeks ago I spoke to a reporter from Barrons who told me that he was working on a cover story on VoIP.
While the story hasn't run yet, I expect the VoIP industry will receive another boost when/if this story runs.
Sometime this month there should also be another VoIP story in Fortune Magazine...and I also expect VoIP to be covered in a special report sometime this month in the Wall Street Journal.
Posted by jeff at 07:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Rediscovering my FM Radio Dial
Each Spring I find myself spinning the radio dial in my car in an attempt to rediscover the state of FM Radio with the hope of finding a new station to listen to...but I have yet to find a radio station that brings back the feelings I had when listening to WNEW-FM growing up in the 70s.
To date what I have discovered is that most stations these days sound the same as a result of the "cookie cutter" approach to radio programming where most stations lack a heart and a soul and just program the music for the benefit of the target demographic and some advertising revenue.
While I'm sure there must be some local radio stations which still connect with their listeners, I'd like to get to know them. If you have a favoriate station, anywhere in the world, please drop me a note about it by sending email to: jeff.pulver@gmail.com.
In the meantime, it has been my frustration with the state of commerical radio in the metro NYC area that has driven me to investing in pulverradio with the hope of bringing a new style of radio programming to the internet.
Posted by jeff at 06:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
I Heard back from one of the "Other" Jeff Pulver(s)
The internet continues to be an amazing place to live.
About ten days ago I blogged about some of the other "Jeff Pulver(s)" whom I've run into over the years, including one who is currently the VP of Marketing at Siebel. To my surprise, I received the following email:
From: Jeff Pulver / Siebel
To: jeffp@pulver.com
Subject: The Other Jeff Pulver
----------------------------------------
Someday, I look forward to meeting you as well. You are all over the
place...make sure you keep the "Jeff Pulver" brand moving in the right
direction! Looks like you are doing a pretty good job so far. Good luck
to you...
- jp
___________________
Posted by jeff at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 14, 2004
Gmail just added: "Invite a friend to join Gmail!"
I've been a happy Gmail beta user for the past few weeks.
While friends have asked me to add them to the beta list of Gmail users, I didn't know how to do it...until today.
I just logged in to check my Gmail and a new option was added: "Invite a friend to join Gmail!"
Today I had the ability to invite 2 friends. I'm not sure if I will get to invite more people in the future, but if you would like to give Gmail a try, please drop me a line at my Gmail account - jeff.pulver@gmail.com and I'd be happy to add you to the list of beta users in the event that I get to invite more people over time.
Posted by jeff at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Another reason to purchase a Treo 600 - Now it does SIP!
I just discovered this SIP Client for PalmOS which will turn a Treo 600 into a SIP phone.
While the Treo 600 is a cool device on it's own, the addition of a working SIP client makes this a true enabler of "disruptive communications."
Posted by jeff at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
BellSouth joins the Enterprise VoIP Revolution...
While BellSouth was one of the first RBOCs to leverage VoIP with their efforts in their International Division, they have been the last to announce their formal Enterprise VoIP Service offerings inside the USA.
Breaking the trend of the string of recent Nortel wins, Lucent was the winner this time, wining a three year contract to provide BellSouth with the equipment needed to enable their Enterprise Service offerings.
Posted by jeff at 06:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
If Jay Leno Tracked VoIP, this would make his weekly "Headline News"
From the Birmingham Business Journal:
TekLinks hires three engineers...including: "Reaves, a VoIP specialist with 21 years of experience."
This would mean Reaves was doing VoIP since 1983. Somehow I don't think this is possible. ;-)
Posted by jeff at 06:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 13, 2004
Looking forward to VON Canada 2004
The future of VoIP in Canada will be the topic of conversation next week when we meet in Toronto for VON Canada 2004. This week as our VON Canada conference schedule has gone thru our ritual last-minute changes and updates, the event has turned out to have some really good content.
Considering that six months ago VON Canada was just a glimmer of an idea, I’m real happy to see how the conference has come together and the support that we have been receiving from the Canadian VoIP Industry, especially from both Bell Canada and Telus which are our event sponsors. I also appreciate the support we have received from our conference speakers and our VON Canada 2004 exhibitors.
One interesting twist with VON Canada, is that due to the pending CRTC VoIP decision, some companies which I have invited to speak in the Industry Perspective section of our conference schedule have chosen not to speak, including the CRTC. Some others, like Bell Canada and Telus will be heard in the keynote portion of our conference by their appointed regulatory spokespeople.
While not presenting, the CRTC will be attending the conference and earlier today I was told that the CRTC has offered to speak at Fall 2004 VON since that is scheduled to take place after the current VoIP proceedings are completed.
One of the highlights of our event will be the special keynote given by Niklas Zennstrom, CEO and co-founder, Skype.
I’m looking forward to being in Toronto next week. At pulver.com plans are already underway to produce VON Canada 2005, which most likely will take next May in Montreal.
Posted by jeff at 06:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Gibeo.net - brings back memories of College and Highlighters
A few years ago I met Jeremie Miller right after he first started working on Jabber.
Earlier today I discovered his latest project, gibeo.net and the immediate thing that came to mind was the set of highlighters that I once used when I was in college. After you try out Gibeo, you may know what I mean.
Jeremie's goal is for Gibeo to evolve into a potentially disruptive technology for the web and provide a next-generation net based annotation system. This system needs to be seen to be understood.
While it is still actively being developed, Jeremie has recently reached out to get some feedback on usability and functionality, as well as to help brainstorm new potential uses for the technology.
This system operates at the "layer above the content."
Giebo provides a mechanism to insert intelligence between the browser and the
web server. It basically allows you "break the glass window" that is any web site
and have the freedom to see it in new ways, enhanced and with context aware
tools and utilities. In fact, every static piece of the web can now become an open interactive resource or social gathering and discussion place.
Take a look at some of the example websites which Gibeo references and then visit your favoriate websites and give it a try.
Posted by jeff at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 12, 2004
Early Bird for Supernova ends on Friday
Supernova 2004 will be taking place June 24-25 in Santa Clara, CA.
Supernova explores the decentralization of communications, software, and media. It brings together 200 influential executives, technologists, entrepreneurs, investors, and other thought leaders in a unique, interactive format.
I'm looking forward to co-producing this event.
"Early Bird" registration for this event ends on Friday.
Posted by jeff at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
hotel helix - room 820
the hotel helix in Washington, D.C. is the hotel I plan on staying at the next time I need to be in D.C.
Below are some pictures from inside room 820 at the helix where I stayed on Monday night which provide an example of the look and feel of an Andy Warhol influenced hotel.
Posted by jeff at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Getting Ready for Toronto
Next week we will be producing our first event in Canada when the pulver.com team arrives in Toronto for VON Canada 2004.
After seeing how important VoIP is becoming to the future of the Canadian
communications industry, I decided to bring our VON events to Canada.
VON Canada 2004 will be a boutique event in
comparison to our Stateside and European shows which will end up providing the attending delegates a much more intimate experience than is possible from some of our bigger events.
Both Bell Canada and Telus are our event sponsors and we are committed to producing VON Canada again in 2005.
My week in Canada starts off next Monday when I will
be in Ottawa to meet with some people from the CRTC as well as some of the senior business leaders of the Canadian Communications Industry.
I'm looking forward to our first formal conference venture in Canada.
Posted by jeff at 07:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 11, 2004
Productive Day in DC!
Looking back, today was one of the more productive days I've had in Washington, DC in quite some time.
The day started leaving the super cool hotel helix and meeting with a group looking to do business with the IP-MoU. This was followed by a meeting with the International Bureau at the FCC which lead into my talk at the ALTS conference.
The highlight of my day in DC was the meeting I had with FCC Chairman Powell. I enjoyed the candor of the Chairman and the opportunity to catch up with him as well as our discussion regarding the future of IP Communications.
My last meeting of the day was spent on Capitol Hill with James Assey, minority senior counsel on the Senate Commerce Committee.
I was in a slight rush to get out of Washington DC to get back home to Long Island and catch one of my son's Spring Band concerts at his school. While I left DC late, things worked out in the end as I got to his school with a few minutes to spare and managed to catch the entire performance. :-)
Posted by jeff at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Full Day in Washington, D.C.
While I’m in town today, I will be speaking at the annual ALTS conference, meeting with people at the FCC and paying a visit to Capitol Hill.
In effect, another "blur day" in Washington.
Posted by jeff at 06:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
hotel helix – One Cool Hotel
I spent last night in Washington, D.C. as a guest at the hotel helix. If you are looking for a cool place to stay the next time you are in Washington DC, I recommend you give the Helix a try as it is different from many other hotels I’ve stayed at in DC. It’s an actually really cool place.
The room that I stayed in was a flash back to the early pop-art days of the 70s with a European flair to the design. The entire hotel has an Andy Warhol influenced color scheme...which has to be seen to better understand what I mean. The mini-bar in the room had a can of Cambell’s Tomato soup to help drive the point home.
The Helix has Wi-Fi in the lobby and reliable high speed broadband in the guest rooms.
The next time I visit DC I plan on making it back to the hotel helix.
Posted by jeff at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 10, 2004
Wi-Fi in the Air: Fly Connexion
I first learned about Boeing Connexion at Fall 2003 VON when I was approached by a couple of people from Connexion who wanted to "air test" our WiSIP phone on board with the Boeing Connexion service.
I was told that the Connexion team was already using Free World Dialup at 35,000 feet and using a WiSIP would be just another part of their testing.
I later learned about their planned high-speed Wi-Fi service to be introduced in 2004, and I could not help but think about how cool this would be to be able to stay connected while in flight.
On the way to Washington DC today I learned that Lufthansa will be the first to offer Wi-Fi Internet Access on their long-haul routes, for a cost of only US$29.95.
Now, if I had high-speed, real-time access while in transit, it would most likely mean that I would refrain from watching the in-flight movie(s) and I could spend my time on-line catching up with email in real-time. While connected using Wi-Fi, I would also use my PC and WiSIP phone to speak to people at my office and speak to friends and family members who are also on Free World Dialup.
It also occurred to me that if I had high-speed Wi-Fi available in-flight, it would also most likely mean that I would sleep less on flights because I would feel like I do at home and want to take advantage of the connectivity as often as needed.
As Wi-Fi becomes available on airplanes, I expect that the market for Wi-Fi IP phones will continue to grow, especially with the road warrior community.
Posted by jeff at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
VoIP Still a Hot Topic in Washington DC
Earlier today I met with a couple of old, politically-connected friends, who are working on an effort to educate public officials and consumers about the benefits of IP Communications. This effort in fact is separate from and parallel to the on-going work the VON Coalition and our IP-MoU.
While I think we have all done a good job educating both the early adopters and the technocrats, I do think it is important to make sure we educate the next group of users and decision makers as IP Communications
continues to go from the early adoptor stage to the mainstream.
While my friends at the moment are working "below the radar" when they are ready to come forward and make their efforts known, I am confident that they will serve their mission well.
Posted by jeff at 06:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Getting Ready for Washington DC trip
Later this morning I will be flying down to Washington, D.C. to catch up with some Beltway friends and to be in DC for a talk tomorrow at the 2004 ALTS Annual Conference.
Posted by jeff at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 09, 2004
The Return of pulverradio.com
After a few false starts, pulverradio is gearing up to relaunch later this month.
pulverradio is 100% digital, Progressive Rock radio station.
Our intention is to keep to the spirit that defined progressive rock back in the early 70s on FM Radio in NYC.
Posted by jeff at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Another Open Source Communications Project: YATE
YATE as in: Yate Another Telephony Engine.
At first glance it appears to be the early alpha stage of yet another open source PBX project.
The inital team of developers are based in Romania so the English on their website is well, interesting. :-)
I discovered this project on Orkut a couple of weeks ago and I've added it to my growing list of Open Source Communication Projects to watch.
Posted by jeff at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Mother’s Day 2004: A Record Day for VoIP!
Happy Mother’s Day 2004! to everyone around the world who celebrates Mother’s Day today.
During the course of this week, you can expect to see “celebration press announcements” from some of the service providers in the IP Communications Industry which announce the “record number of VoIP minutes” which their network generated during Mother’s Day 2004.
In the past, these announcements have served as a means of industry validation, insomuch that since a large number of minutes were reported, it meant that a critical mass was gathering around people who used the internet as a communications channel to generate calls that ended up on traditional telephony networks (cellular / PSTN). Expect the total number of minutes reported in 2004 to continue to be on the rise.
With the advent of end-to-end IP, another record which will grow over time will be the number of on-net minutes generated that never touch the PSTN. It is not a question of how, but when the number of on-net minutes exceed the number of off-net minutes.
Posted by jeff at 07:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 08, 2004
Breaker Breaker One Nine, Where's the nearest HotSpot?
Speaking from the perspective of a frequent traveler between Long Island and Washington DC and Long Island and Boston, I've been waiting for the day when the truck stops of the US were wired for Wi-Fi.
I just heard about Truckstop.net, a wireless community for the trucking community.
Truckstop.net promises to provide connectivity to the cab of a truck, inside the on-site restaurant and throughout the entire truck stop.
One interesting application for the trucking community would be to interconnect CB Radio Channel 19 / 9 with VoIP powered repeaters and leverage the internet to interconnect the Wi-Fi truck stops and provide a service that shares traffic and road conditions within the trucking community.
Actually, taking this to the next step, I'd like to see a Wi-Fi powered CB Radio that let provides Push-to-Talk, links in the relevant CB radio channels and has a "range" that transcends the entire truckstop.net footprint.
Posted by jeff at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Exploring RSS NewsReaders
While my blog publishes using RSS, I never took the time to appreciate what RSS offers and the various RSS newsfeed readers which have become available.
I recently started using FeedDemon and by using this program, I have been enjoying the ability to keep up to date with various blogs without the need to actually visit the blog websites on a daily basis.
Posted by jeff at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
pulver.com Consulting
pulver.com Consulting provides strategic consulting services to companies involved in the the communications and Internet industries as well as to the investment community.
Our consulting pratice has been around since 1996 and we have been involved in various aspects of the evolution of IP Communications.
In between producing conferences, we frequently work with senior executives, their advisors and respective board members exploring various aspects of IP Communications.
Posted by jeff at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
FWD Celebrates Mother's Day with Free Calling into the USA/Canada!
Members of the Free World Dialup community can place for free calls to the USA/Canada this weekend in celebration of Mother's Day.
This promotion is "powered by" LibreTel.
To take advantage of this, just dial: * 1 Area_Code Telephone_Number on the FWD Network.
Posted by jeff at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 07, 2004
Looking for Orkut? Try Orcut.com
This morning I once again was having trouble finding www.orkut.com but to my amazement, I found that http://www.orcut.com gets me to the same okrut.com home page.
I'm glad that someone at Google thought of grabing this domain just in case somebody could not properly spell orkut. I'm still wondering what ever happened to the DNS entry for orkut.com
Posted by jeff at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
ENUM is Happening in the Cable Industry
This week at NCTA, VeriSign announced the launch of their MSO-IP Connect VoIP Routing Service.
Leveraging private ENUM technology, VeriSign has put themselves in the position to offer to interconnect the Broadband IP Networks of Cable Operators and provide a means for IP calls to/from each of their members to stay on the Cable Network and not touch the public switched telephone network. In effect, offering an implementation that might be covered by aspects of the FCC's "Pulver Order." VeriSign's product also provides billing and settlement services. I'm not sure why this would be needed since in my book, all calls that traverse these private IP networks should be free.
Looking at the evolution of end-to-end IP, VeriSign's announcement is significant insomuch that it is a foreshadowing of things to come. I expect to see others come forward in the near future and offer similar services for other types of service providers.
Posted by jeff at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
"Early Bird" Pricing for SIP Summit 2004 Ends Today
SIP Summit 2004 will be taking place June 21-23 in Chicago and is one of the official events co-located at Supercomm.
If you are thinking of attending SIP Summit 2004 and if you are not already registered, today is the last day you can take advantage of our "early bird" pricing.
Hope to see you in Chicago at SIP Summit 2004.
Posted by jeff at 06:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Free World Dialup Tip: How to Dial Vonage
Members of Free World Dialup can try to reach their friends on Vonage by dialing: **243 1 Area_Code Vonage_Number
While this is not a "supported" service, this generally works pretty well.
Posted by jeff at 06:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 06, 2004
Orkut is back!
Orkut has returned...
Posted by jeff at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Where is Orkut.com?: Living the 404 Blues
Early this morning I first noticed that orkut.com disappeared. It still seems to be gone.
When I do a nslookup it returns "can't find www.orkut.com: Non-existent host/domain"
I just visited: squish and did a query on orkut.com.
This results in the following:
7.2% of queries will end in failure at 192.5.6.30 (A.GTLD-SERVERS.NET) - nameserver loop detected
0.1% of queries will end in failure at 198.41.0.4 (A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET) - nameserver loop detected
6.6% of queries will end in failure at 192.33.14.30 (B.GTLD-SERVERS.NET) - nameserver loop detected
0.1% of queries will end in failure at 192.228.79.201 (B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET) - nameserver loop detected
43.3% of queries will end in failure at 216.168.225.141 (ns11.worldnic.com) - nameserver loop detected
42.7% of queries will end in failure at 216.168.225.142 (ns12.worldnic.com) - nameserver loop detected
Guess today orkut.com is hung over with the 404 Blues.
Posted by jeff at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The Open Park Project
The Hill today covered The Open Park Project.
Last week the Open Park Project introduced the first free wireless hotspot at the National Mall in Washington D.C.
pulverInnovations donated some of our Wi-Fi SIP phones to the project.
Next week when I'm on Capitol Hill I plan to walk into The Mall, turn on my WiSIP phone and speak to people on Free World Dialup. :-)
Posted by jeff at 05:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Free World Dialup now supports Asterisk!
These days user of real-time communication networks including Free World Dialup are at times still challenged when needing to traverse some home NATs and Firewalls. Last year the FWD team started work on supporting
protocols in addition to SIP and I'm happy to announce that we are formally supporting the Inter-Asterisk eXchange Protocol (version 2) - IAX2 on the FWD Network. This is in addition to our "experimental" peering support of both H.323 and Cisco Call Manager.
We have found that there are times that IAX2 is able to traverse NATs and Firewalls better than SIP.
In fact, Free World Dialup now encourages all members who are using Asterisk to connect with FWD using our IAX2 proxy.
Details regarding the FWD/IAX support is available on the FWD website.
After subscribing to this new feature, Asterisk users can use their FWD number and password to register their asterisk service and connect with any FWD number.
Posted by jeff at 05:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Science team talks up an internet games revolution
Interesting story in the innovations report about the effects of using VoIP to make online gaming a more social experience.
Posted by jeff at 03:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The "Other" Jeff Pulver(s)
Growing up, there was another Jeff Pulver living across town from me (in the same grade) and every once in a while the computer used by the school district was confused by our similar names. Report cards were sent to the wrong homes, family court more than once called looking for "me", all sorts of fun stuff.
At my high school, there were some teachers who were equally confused, although we didn't look anything like each other and attended for the most part different high schools.
Things got really confusing when his family moved when he was in 12th grade and we attended the same high school for a year.
When my entrepreneurial spirit first hit me and I started a computer consulting company back in the summer of 1978, I first became aware of Jeff V. Pulver from New Jersey who was also involved in offering computer consulting services.
These days every once in a while I receive a confused email from a net friend who reads about Jeff Pulver, Siebel vice president of worldwide marketing. and wonders why I decided to make a career change. ;-)
One of these days when Siebel decides to exhibit at one of our VON Conferences, I hope to meet the other Jeff.
Posted by jeff at 03:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 05, 2004
ITU Urges Caution on pulver.com .tel Proposal
The story, ITU Urges Caution on pulver.com .tel Proposal published by
Computer Business Review talks about the comments the ITU submitted last with with regard to our .tel proposal.
Based on what I read, it seems that our intentions were misunderstood.
It is a good thing that ICANN has extended their sTLD comment filing deadline as it will give us another chance to address some of the concerns from those who submitted comments.
During the past few weeks, we have found that as we meet with people who expressed initial concerns about our .tel proposal that in almost every case, once we explain our vision for how .tel would be implemented, most of the people who initially objected to .tel, have an appreciation for what we are trying to accomplish and in some cases have in fact become supporters of our .tel proposal.
Posted by jeff at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Worldwide VoIP Buzz Grows
The last time I checked the VoIP Buzz, back on March 1st, on Google, there were 2,360,000 hits on the keyword VoIP and 2,290 current news stories. As of this morning there are now 4,010,000 hits on the keyword VoIP and 2,880 current news stories, an increase of 1,650,000 and 590 respectively.
An interesting added analysis would be to track some of the public pure-play VoIP companies and their market valuations as effected by the relative VoIP Buzz. There may not be any real visible relationships, but it might be a good subject for a college research paper to prove or disprove this thesis.
Posted by jeff at 07:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 04, 2004
AT&T: Taking VoIP Global
As reported in today's issue of the Financial Times, AT&T plans to take their CallVantage service global and launch in overseas markets, including the UK and other European countries.
AT&T is well positioned to execute on being a global broadband parasite, something I first wrote about last summer.
Living on the Internet in a world without borders, AT&T is well positioned to execute on the "think global, act local" strategy.
Posted by jeff at 07:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Q. What do Canada and Panama have in Common?
A. Both countries want to treat VoIP equally.
A few weeks ago when I was on vacation and I first heard of the CRTC's preliminary finding on the treatment of VoIP in Canada, I made a reference to Panama to CNET which seems to have been misunderstood by some people.
The reference to Panama came from a story I read in January which stated that "...starting in March, Panamanian lawmakers approved new regulations that impose a 12% tax on all international calls, including those that use voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to make phone calls over a broadband connection."
What I said was that in effect, based on the preliminary CRTC ruling, it seemed as if Canada was following the thought leadership of Panama in treating VoIP Communications the same as traditional communications. While some people are ok with this, I found this trend to be troublesome.
As I've been saying for quite some time, including at the FCC's VoIP Forum last December, in the world of IP Communications, "Voice" is just an application. To treat IP Communication "Voice" services the same as traditional communications services will serve as a means to discourage innovation in Canada and could have a profound long term negative effect.
My hope is that the CRTC will reconsider their position on the regulatory treatment of VoIP by the time their final findings are published later this year.
I am looking forward to my trip to Canada the week of May 17th to Toronto for VON Canada 2004 as well as to Ottawa on May 17th where I will be meeting with a number of people involved in the Canadian Telecommunications Industry.
Posted by jeff at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 03, 2004
Net2Phone Teams with Level 3 to Expand Cable VoIP Offerings
Another sign of the very interesting times of the IP Communications Industry: Level (3) announced today at NCTA that they are partnering with Net2Phone to offer end-to-end telephony solutions to Cable operators.
Looking at the schedule of NCTA's The National Show, VoIP will be one of the hot topics of conversation this week in New Orleans.
Posted by jeff at 07:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Seattle Times: Internet phone service attracts wider use
Michael Bazeley's story in today's issue of the Seattle Times was written based on information learned from Spring 2004 VON.
Posted by jeff at 07:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 02, 2004
It's already May...
Wow!
This year so far has been one big blur and the days have just been flying by...literally.
Having lived through the slow times I'm not going to complain about being busy. I'm just trying to scale and deal with the effects of "busy."
My hope is that before the summer hits is that I am able to get closure on some of my open projects, including a couple of book projects that until recently haven't gotten the amount of focus and attention that they should have.
I have recently decided to refocus some of my energy on our core conference business and I am looking at adding some new events to the pulver.com event portfolio.
Looking at our schedule, before the end of June, pulver.com will be producing four events: VON Canada 2004, VON Europe 2004, SIP Summit 2004 and Supernova 2004 and I plan on being at each of them.
In 2005 we will be producing VON Japan and my hope is to produce a VON in Australia if I can get enough local country support.
If the next four months happen just as fast as the past four months, I suspect I will be sitting by my computer sometime in August wondering where the year went.
Welcome to the year of "Living in Blur Time."
Posted by jeff at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Public Comment period for sTLD applications has been extended
from the ICANN website:
"ICANN has extended its Public Comment period for all of the new sTLD applications until 23.59 UTC 14 May.
Interested parties are further encouraged to submit comments. ICANN will launch the independent evaluation process as scheduled, and proceed with the sTLD application timetable as originally published."
The original deadline for comments was April 30th.
This means that there is still time if you would like to submit your comments on the sTLD proposals, including the .tel sTLD that was submitted by pulver.com and Netnumber.
Posted by jeff at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
wikipedia.org
I recently discovered wiki called wikipedia.org which is used by some friends of mine involved in the news industry.
You can try entering a term you are looking to get defined. In some cases you get not only a definition but in the cases of company searches, the history and in the case of some items like iPod, pictures too. :-)
Posted by jeff at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Fastbuzz News
I was turned onto Fastbuzz News back in February, right after the FCC issued the Pulver order.
I've found that Fastbuzz is able to help me track news and buzz about some topics much better than Google News.
Posted by jeff at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Kevin Werbach's VoIP Central
Kevin Werbach is now hosting VoIP Central, a new commentary site on policy issues related to VoIP.
Posted by jeff at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 01, 2004
Images from Kids for Kids 2004 in NYC
K4K 2004 - May 1st in NYC
Kids for Kids was a fund raiser for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.
The event was a lot of fun for both kids and parents a like and was supported by quite a number of celebrities.
I had a chance to meet James Gandolfini: "Tony Soprano", David Eigenberg: "Steve" from Sex and the City,
Christopher Meloni from Law and Order SVU as well a few others.
Below are some of the people who were at the event:
Veronica Varekovav
James Gandolfini
Jeff and Janice Huff
Jeff and David Eigenberg
Hallie Kate Eisenberg
Christopher Meloni who can't believe the crowd that James Gandolfini was creating at the event.
Posted by jeff at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Kids for Kids 2004
Kids for Kids 2004 which will be taking place this afternoon is a special fundraiser for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.
I'm looking forward to attending this event with my family at the INDUSTRIA SUPERSTUDIOS in NYC. We enjoyed ourselves last Fall when we attended Kids for Kids 2003.
Kids for Kids will feature storytelling and carnival games manned by more than 100 celebrities.
The event is setup as an open-air street fair with a special area that offers guests the ability to sample tastes from a variety of NYC restaurants.
I'm looking forward to a fun afternoon. :-)
Posted by jeff at 07:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Great Day in Nashville!
Special Thanks to Deborah Taylor Tate of the Tennesse Regulatory Authority for inviting me to yesterday's VoIP Day in Nashville.
While I did not have a chance to meet Lamar Alexander since he was busy in the Senate and couldn't make the event and sent in a taped message, yesterday's event in Nashville ended up providing the pulver.com team with a platform where we were able to share the style and flair of our VON Events while staying true to the reason that we were gathered.
On paper I was the moderator of the first panel of the morning, "What's the Big Deal with VoIP?" which included speakers from: Comcast, Vonage, AT&T, Vanderbilt University and Medley Global Advisors.
What happened was that as our first speaker started running late, Carl Ford jumped into action and with Carl in the Audience and myself on stage we teamed together to moderate the event.
For some people in the audience it might have felt like attending a taping of the old Phil Donahue show, but the morning session gelled together well and left for me the best kind of impression that I could have hoped for. :-)
Arrived at the event
Jeff and Deborah Taylor Tate
Standing in the Shadow(s) of Lamar
Answering the question: What's the Big Deal about VoIP?
Posted by jeff at 07:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)