The Jeff Pulver Blog: September 2005 Archives

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September 30, 2005

I am now a "High Profile" Columnist at BusinessWeek Online:

Yesterday I was offered the opportunity to become a new "High Profile" columnist at BusinessWeek Online.

I accepted. :)

Over the years I've had a column in: Boardwatch Magazine (1995), Internet World (1996), VON Magazine (2004) and now BusinessWeek Online.

While I am not exactly sure what the role of a "high profile" columnist at BusinessWeek Online is supposed to be, to the extent that I am able to use my new platform to provide higher visibility to some of the technology trends and public policy issues that I'm passionate about, this seemed like a great opportunity.

Hopefully I made the right decision. :)

Posted by jeff at 07:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last Call at Advanced IP Pipeline?

Say it ain't so...but it looks like Advanced IP Pipeline is going away and is being absorbed into Cyberspace.

While I'm sure the Advanced IP Pipeline team will re-emerge in other CMP websites (because they say they will), I for one will miss the approach that Paul and his team took to reporting the latest advancements in IP Communications on the web pages of Advanced IP Pipeline.

Posted by jeff at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 29, 2005

Blair Levin Interview in Barron's on IP-based communications:

This week's Barron's includes a great interview with Blair Levin. The interview largely tracts much of Blair's talk from Fall 2005 VON last week.

If you missed Blair's Industry Perspective at Fall VON last Tuesday, I highly recommend you check out his thoughts from the Barron's interview.

Posted by jeff at 01:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

EvDO Working Well in NYC…

…but for only 24 hours at a time.

The past couple of days I’ve been in staying in Manhattan to relax and catch up a little bit with the outside world. While I’ve been away, I’ve managed to avoid connecting to the high speed internet access of the hotel I’m staying in, and instead have been relying on my EvDO service for internet connectivity.

It turns out that EvDO on Verizon Wireless only allows the connection to stay up for 24 hours in a row. Either that or it is just some strange coincidence that my EvDO service has now disconnected two days in a row, right after the connection time passed: 23 hrs, 59 minutes and 59 seconds.

Posted by jeff at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

An Opportunity Still exists for a 802.11 Community Networks:

Back in November, 2002 I first wrote about "802.11 Community Networks" in the Pulver Report.

Back then I wasn't thinking of deploying mesh Wi-Fi networks as part of an emergency preparedness / emergency communications scenario but rather as a means to service "a community." Three years later it still would be real cool to see a Wi-Fi GMRS 2-way radio become widely available. Personally I see an opportunity where such devices could become as popular as CB radios did for many Americans in the 1970s but with the opportunity to be more than just a passing fad. Such devices could also serve a similar purpose to what Alec Saunders blogged about last week.

To get the ball rolling, earlier this year I started a project with a friend from high school to launch a meshed "802.11 Community Network" in our home town on Long Island that in theory would be a great platform for "Wi-Fi GMRS Communicators." I would appreciate hearing about any and all 'cool wi-fi enabled communication devices' that we should be looking at to offer the residents of our wi-fi empowered community project.

Opportunity for a 802.11 Community Networks (from November 12, 2002 issue of The Pulver Report)

Looking at the viral evolution of local 802.11 networks and the ability to quickly and easily deploy IP based services on them, I now see an immediate reason why communities should take the steps needed to now embrace this technology and commit to create their own private 802.11 community networks starting first around the homes of families who have children attending the local elementary school(s). This same concept applies also to middle schools and even to high schools and eventually an entire town.

Once the community 802.11 network is created and maintained, one primary use could be for the set of IP based location based services that could be deployed. For example, one could go to the local PTA and show off 802.11 technologies that allow us to deploy Location Based Services in small chips that we put in our kids' school bags that allow parents to track their kid's bags. We could give our kids some kind of communicator so they could press a button and ask for help, or send out a simple "I'm ok" message. This network could also be used as a local and private instant messaging network to announce school closings, notices home about homework, after school activities, etc.

This wireless network could also be used as a simple 802.11 CB Radio for school kids and their friends. Access to this network should be free. Each community could decide whether or not to provide public links to the public internet from such networks. This would need to be carefully thought out, as I'm sure it could also be abused, but the fundamental concept is the "are my kids ok?" network. :-)

As I think about the possible applications for such a network, my mind jumps to the news about all of those horrible child abductions and the Amber alert system. I'm hopeful that a community supported 802.11 network might prevent such bad things from happening. We could place chips/devices in our kids' favorite toys, stuffed animals, book bags, etc. I have no experience with any Parent Teachers Associations, but if it was pitched right, there should be some interest for a trial deployment, especially if the equipment was donated.

One could also look to deploy other community services, such as a community service that could track family members who suffer from things like Alzheimer's. Our pets could be tracked around our neighborhood. Parents could also check-in on their kids who are at other parent's homes on play dates. This network could serve as a backup for relaying critical information about relatives and friends who have medical conditions who have to be monitored on a real-time basis. The applications and value of such a network would grow as the number of people who are dependent on the network increases.

All that is needed are people who would be willing to allow for such equipment to have a presence in their homes. This would also require people willing to donate the equipment to seed the project and others with enough community spirit to help maintain the vision.

I realize we would need to address privacy concerns, as well as all the wireless security issues to make sure that none of the available information is abused...but I believe that there exists a middle ground that we can reach that will make almost everyone happy.

I'd like to see the support of VPN tunnels so that I could access the wireless network in my home and connect to the 'outside' world via my own personal connectivity.

Maybe others are already doing it. If not, I'd like to explore what it would take to start a movement to put this kind of activity in motion. The world can become a better place. We just need to take the steps needed to do these kinds of things on our own. Taking one step at a time, just about anything is possible...it just needs to get done. Access to the parent's 802.1x network should be free and cared for by those who care about such things.

Posted by jeff at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Vivox Announces $6 million in initial Venture Capital Funding:

Last week during Fall 2005 VON, it was announced that Vivox raised $6 million in venture capital from: Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital. Vivox is the second company to emerge from pulver.com this year and raise venture capital.

Vivox is a Boston based company and is in the business of "providing online communities with application specific embedded communications services."

From the Vivox funding announcement press release:
"The Company is chaired by Jeff Pulver, an acknowledged industry pioneer and one of driving forces behind the creation of what became Vonage. He believes that the next stage of evolution in the communications industry involves technologies that focus on contextual communications.

"Replacing traditional phone service has been done. Now, it's time to utilize the real power of IP communications by providing organizations with capabilities that they can customize for any application in any environment," said Jeff Pulver, founder and chairman of pulvermedia and Vivox chairman. "This is a good example of how the communications industry and computing industry are colliding."

Vivox in the News:

Mass High Tech: VON founder launches VoIP venture: Vivox
Boston Business Journal: Vivox picks up $6M in first-round VC backing
Technology Review: For Love and Money
American Venture Magazine: Vivox announces $6 million in venture capital funding

Posted by jeff at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 28, 2005

Thanks for joining us in Boston at Fall 2005 VON:

I just wanted to thank the members of the blogosphere, including the readers of this blog who spent time with us last week in Boston at Fall 2005 VON. Your presence was appreciated.

Posted by jeff at 09:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 27, 2005

The FCC Grants a Reprieve from Immediate VoIP Disconnects

The FCC announced today that VoIP providers don’t have to begin disconnecting customers tomorrow. The FCC found that VoIP providers have made substantial progress in gaining acknowledgments of the E-911 "limitations" from customers, noting that at least 21 providers have received acknowledgments from 100 percent of their subscribers and at least 32 others have obtained acknowledgements from 90 percent or more of their subscribers. For these companies, the Enforcement Bureau announced that it will not pursue enforcement action. The other Interconnected VoIP Providers have until October 31st.

It is good to see that the FCC is listening to industry and user concerns, recognizing the important progress being made, and trying to work with the VoIP community on this issue. This is a promising development, particularly since it comes on the heels of Chairman Martin's consideration, during last week's Senate Hearing, of the positive role of the Internet in preserving communications post-catastrophic events.

Posted by jeff at 05:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

TV on the Internet: Pilot Episode of Chris Rock’s New TV Show Now available on Google

Another sign of the times. the pilot episode of Everybody Hates Chris is now available on Google.

Looks like the folks behind Chris Rock's TV show found a new way to create buzz for their show -- by making their pilot episode available on Google. This is just another example of what "disruptive broadcasting" is all about and how TV/IP is starting to happen in 2005.

Posted by jeff at 09:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Free World Dialup renamed to: FWD®

Effective immediately, “Free World Dialup” has been renamed to: “FWD.”

Back in May, 2004 we were awarded the US trademark for the letters “FWD®.”

During the past few months we have been working on the launch of our new website. A preview of the new FWD website is available for viewing at: http://beta.freeworldialup.com. The FWD web team would appreciate receiving feedback from our user community.

Posted by jeff at 06:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

September 26, 2005

Notes from Fall 2005 VON: Introduction of “Internet Field Day”

A little background: Ten years and a half years ago I made my first connection between what we used to call “Internet Telephony” and a lifetime hobby that I still have a strong passion for: Amateur (Ham) Radio. I’ve been a licensed ham since 1975. In fact, it was my ham radio roots and passion for “phone patching” that lead to the original launch of Free World Dialup which became the world’s first internet telephony network back in November, 1995.

“Field Day” is an annual ritual for US (and other) Ham radio operators that takes place on the forth full weekend of June each year. During Field Day, hams practice their emergency preparedness and establish communications using emergency power – solar, battery, generator and put up antennas while camping wherever they can find a spot – be it a back yard, a parking lot, a camp ground, a state park, a school, or a mountain top. Hams have been pretty creative over the years as to the places they have chosen to operate from.

In the days leading up to Fall 2005 VON I couldn’t help but notice the strong outpouring of support from the IP Communications Industry to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. While the support shown has been very impressive, the IP Communications industry lacked actual experience in responding in a coordinated manner to a natural disaster. This lead to my outreach to the American Radio Relay League to launch “Internet Field Day” as an activity to be coordinated with the ARRL’s Field Day.

Historically, it is the worldwide ham radio community that is amongst the first responders in a natural disaster. “When all else fails, Amateur Radio works” is not just a slogan. Katrina was no exception and, there was (and continues to be) a tremendous outpouring of support and tireless hours put in by the ham radio community.

While the details still need to be fully worked out, the ARRL is supportive of my concept for an “Internet Field Day.” Last week while I was in Boston I met a number of ham radio operators who were also very positive about this initiative and were committed to helping to make “Internet Field Day” happen. I believe that there is now a great opportunity for the IP Communications industry to learn about emergency preparedness from the Ham radio community and that going forward we can learn how to make a positive difference…together.

Posted by jeff at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Fall 2005 VON: Selected Notes from the Blogosphere

This weekend I spent some time searching the Blogosphere for stories written by people who were part of the Fall 2005 VON Community using a variety of websites including: Google Blog Search, IceRocket, Blogdigger, Fastbuzz and Technorati. What I confirmed was that "blog searching" is still an imperfect science.

Some of the blog entries that I discovered include:

Most prolific blogger while in Boston at Fall 2005 VON: Alec Saunders

Tags: pulver, von, voip

Posted by jeff at 05:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 25, 2005

Newsweek: eBay's Bet: The Skype's the Limit

Steven Levy: Newsweek - eBay's Bet: The Skype's the Limit

"..."This is the triggering of a transformation where telecom merges with software applications," says Jeff Pulver, a longtime agitator in the Internet-voice field...."

Posted by jeff at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NetworkWorld: VON Reporter's Notebook

Network World: VON Reporter's Notebook

Amongst the stories covered in this piece was another VON "first:"

"...Always connected: virtue or vice?

VON being a diverse show with attendees from all over the world, a group of orthodox Jewish men at the show managed to find a quite place on the exhibit floor to form a minyan, or orthodox prayer group. As the men bowed and prayed, one person in the group appeared to be thumbing a hand-held mobile communications device. One observer noted: "If you're going to make time in your schedule for prayers, just put the Treo away." ..."

Posted by jeff at 07:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 24, 2005

Results from the 2nd Annual "Best Bet for the Cure" Charity Poker No Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament:

On Sunday, September 18th we held our second annual Best Bet for the Cure: Charity Poker No Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament which had a starting field of 105 players.

The event raised over US$ 20,000 for the Barton Center. Special thanks to all of the volunteer dealers and to everyone who sat down and joined as at the tables as well as everyone else who helped make the event happen.

After six plus hours of playing, the following people placed 1st thru 10th place:

1st:`Lou Piazza (Champion)
2nd: John Amaya
3rd: Jonathan Askin
4th: David Young
5th: Bryan Sheppeck
6th: Reuben Kerben
7th: Tony Kim
8th: Jonathan Bloch
9th: Shannon Pendergrast (last year's winner of the Celebrity Tournament)
10th: Jeff Pulver

Note: The "Final Table" included just seven players as seats 8, 9 and 10 were eliminated in the same hand immediately prior to the commencement of play at the final table.

John Amaya (L) and Lou Piazza (R)

Tags: poker, von, pulver

Posted by jeff at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hiawatha Bray on VoIP Insecurities:

Boston Globe: Net phones vulnerable to sabotage

I caught up with Hiawatha while he was walking around Fall 2005 VON on Tuesday. After his great coverage of Fall 2004 VON last year, I thought he would be covering the wide range of issues facing our industry today...so I was surprised when his only focus at VON seemed to be on the security of VoIP.

While I did my best to try to explain to Hiawatha that IP based technologies in general have similar vulnerabilities when it comes down being susceptible to the after effects of network worms and virus, and that security of IP networks will continue to be a "never ending battle", this alone did not mean that anyone should be dismissive about deploying mission critical applications that in turn make us rely on email, the web and other IP based communication applications…today.

Personally I’m not a fan of articles that attempt to scare people about the possibilities of “sabotage” to IP Communications networks.

'...But this solution won't help millions of consumers who are being urged to rely entirely on services like Vonage and Verizon Communications' VoiceWing. Vonage cofounder Jeff Pulver, who sponsored this week's Boston VOIP conference, admitted that Internet phones carry risks, but adds that they are far outweighed by lower costs and greater versatility.

''It's not really a question of whether we should or we shouldn't," Pulver said. ''It's inevitable to me that communications goes to IP and stays there, until something better goes along."'

Posted by jeff at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 23, 2005

FCC May Ignore VoIP, But Congress Didn't

Advanced IP Pipeline: FCC May Ignore VoIP, But Congress Doesn't

What a difference a week makes. While my attention this week was focused on Fall 2005 VON, it was great to see that the US Senate acknowledged the contributions of the IP Communications Industry in the Katrina relief efforts, while just a week ago, the FCC did not.

While I hope that Hurricane Rita leaves no additional lasting effects on the region, I would like to believe that both SBC and BellSouth now have active plans to "virtualize" their phone numbers and can immediately deploy a nomadic voicemail solution should their customers become affected by the effects of Hurricane Rita.

Posted by jeff at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Record breaking Attendance at Fall 2005 VON:

Fall 2005 VON is now history and this has been one amazing week for the worldwide IP Communications Industry. This has been a week full of industry news, presentations, exhibitions, a Blook, meetings (and more meetings) and a VON party that set of record of it’s own – the line to get into our party Wednesday night peaked at being four blocks long.

Looking back, it was great to see the many people who traveled from over 60 countries and from across the US to visit with us in Boston. Special thanks to all of the speakers, exhibitors, delegates, sponsors, analysts and press that spent time with members of the Fall 2005 VON community.

As I unwind over the next few days I am looking forward to catching up with my own blogging and everything else going on around me.

Again, special thanks to everyone who came to Boston and contributed to the success of our event. ..and a special thanks to all of the members of the extended pulvermedia team who contributed to our event, working both behind the scenes and in front of the scenes not only on-site, but in the days and weeks (and months) leading up to Fall 2005 VON.

See you at Spring 2006 VON in San Jose: March 14-17, 2006!

Posted by jeff at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another VON First: Mini Cooper Giveaway on Fall 2005 VON Show Floor

Yesterday afternoon I took part in what was another “first” at a VON event, a drawing for a Mini-Cooper car which Borderware was giving away. I just found it interesting that an exhibitor would give a car away as a means to try to get attention on our show floor. This technique did appear to work. In fact, given that the car drawing created a great deal of a excitement for an otherwise post-von-party morning, I would not be surprised if another car ends up being given away at a 2006 VON event.

Below are some images from the third full day of 2005 VON:

Posted by jeff at 07:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 22, 2005

Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Communications in Disasters

I am still at VON and cannot break away to focus too much attention on the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on “Communications in Disasters” going on this morning. But, it is essential listening for all of us who care about IP-based communications. I recommend that we all listen to the Hearing or get the transcript from the Senate Commerce Committee Website. VoIP is most prominently discussed –- probably the primary focus of the Hearing (unlike last weeks FCC Open Meeting on Emergency Preparedness). It seems like a lot has happened this week to focus attention on the role of the Internet and IP-based communications in times of public crises.

In his testimony, Kevin Martin discussed the need to harness the Internet. VoIP was the subject of much questioning of Chairman Martin. Senator Dorgan questioned Chairman Martin about the prospect of shutting off VoIP users simply because they do not offer traditional E-911 capabilities. Senator Sununu’s questioning focused on enabling innovative technologies to allow for better emergency response and preparedness. And of course, Senator Sununu gave a brilliant, lucid opening statement.

I have to get back to the VON Conference, but will review the transcript later today.

Posted by jeff at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Huey Lewis and The News @ Fall 2005 VON:

Last night at the Roxy was one of the best "All Conference" parties @ VON in recent memory, as well as the best attended. Over 1,800 people joined us for what as a "high energy" party at the Roxy as we welcomed: Huey Lewis & The News which was followed by another amazing performance by the Herding Cats.

Below are a few images from the party that were taken by friends:

Posted by jeff at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

September 21, 2005

Images from Fall 2005 VON: Day One

Posted by jeff at 06:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Images from Fall 2005 VON: Workshops

Below are images from Monday, the "unofficial" first day of Fall 2005 VON.

Posted by jeff at 12:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 20, 2005

Guest Blogger: Former FCC Chairman Michael Powell – VoIP Validated

For years, VOIP was the province of enthusiasts, rebels and early adopters. VON was a conference with the atmosphere of a small fraternity—true believers, but outsiders to others. Recently, however, VOIP has taken center stage and is finally getting respect as a powerful, even superior approach to communicating with the human voice. By digitizing voice content, it no longer needs to be a system where the sound in is always analogous (in other words analog) to the sound out. Speaking the language of computers and the internet enable a well-spring of innovation—voice that can be transformed to text, voice that can change language, voice that can be sent by email or instant messages and accessed from around the globe. It has taken time, but the world is starting to accept that this is not your father’s telephone and presents a genuinely disruptive alternative to the traditional phone network. Consumers are gravitating to VOIP and the recognition of its value now dominates the headlines of mainstream papers and magazines.

In the market, the big guys have taken notice. Microsoft’s purchase of Teleo, Googles entry into the IM voice space, AOL’s Voip entry and impending modifications to its popular AIM program, and the mother of all deals, Ebay’s eye popping 4.1 billion acquisition of Skype have all lent a new air of credibility to the service.

While regulatory incursions into the historically unregulated VOIP space may not be entirely welcome, it too confers a sense of genuine arrival. The FCC E911 order illustrates the growing recognition that consumers are using and relying on these new services. Congress is increasingly being forced to pursue new legal structures that are more hospitable to IP communications.

One word of caution, however, is in order. As services mature and push into the mass market they gain greater regulatory attention. Consumers begin relying on the service more intensely and have increasing expectations of reliability and quality. Competitors are drawn as well, as the mosquito nipping at their ear now represents a more dangerous threat to their health. All of which draws regulators to the flame, anxious to “protect” consumers and, frankly, sometimes competitors. The new entrant glossy shine that provides a lot of legal leeway starts to rub off. Good and careful management of the service’s coming of age is critical. I have seen the wireless industry, Microsoft and many others struggle with this transformation from adolescent to adult. It will soon be VOIP’s turn at puberty.

Finally, a word about IP in the devastating wake of Katrina. The internet and IP were developed in large measure to be more robust and reliable in times of disaster. In NYC on 9/11 and again in New Orleans these systems fared well compared to other communications systems. The prowess of IP in times of crisis is a tremendous argument for a national policy that is unwavering in its commitment to build out IP data networks and encourage migration of services to such platforms. Our safety and well-being may depend on it.

VOIP now has respect and credibility. Its high time.

Posted by jeff at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 19, 2005

pulverweb.com Launches:

pulverweb is an independent, objective center for information about IP-enabled communications and the Voice over IP industry. The site's "Top Industry News & Views" sections will be updated daily, with links to the best VoIP stories and blog posts on the Web. The anchor to the site is my blog, where I will continue to shares my "vision-thing" on a daily basis.

pulverweb will also be reporting live this week from Fall 2005 VON, with photo galleries, updates, etc. People can send link suggestions to: info@pulverweb.com

Posted by jeff at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome to Fall 2005 VON!:

Yesterday the people who took part in our 2nd annual charity poker tournament had a chance to preview the look and feel of Fall 2005 VON’s premiere at the Boston Convention Center (BCEC). Fall 2005 VON starts later this morning and a VON event has never looked better. :)

Fall 2005 VON will be our largest and most amazing VON event in our history. I am looking forward to: the seeing the people, attending and speaking at the VON Conference, walking our exhibit floor and just being at the BCEC to feel the buzz, excitement that will be emanating from the BCEC this week. This is going to be a great week for the IP communications industry.

Welcome to Fall 2005 VON!

Posted by jeff at 06:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 18, 2005

A View from my Window: Images of Boston

Posted by jeff at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Fall 2005 "VON Blur" Starts Today:

Now that the pulvermedia VON team is in Boston and we have established our presence on-site at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC), I'm ready to experience "VON Blur" once again. For me, "VON Blur" happens as my VON meetings and other VON activities start to blend into each other. By the end of the week, everything starts to blend in and feels like one big blur. It seems that Andy also is preparing for his own “VON Blur” :)

Today I am looking forward to playing in our second annual "Best Best for the Cure: Charity No Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament." I’ve learned to look to playing poker for the same business social networking opportunities that pulver.com used to offer our conference delegates a few years ago when we would host a pre-VON golf tournament. But for myself, instead of just driving around a golf cart around the course for four hours, I actually enjoy sitting down at the table and playing tournament poker.

For me, being part of the VON Community means trying to balance between the: conference sessions, social interactions / meetings and walking thru spending time in the exhibit hall as well as just being available for the ad-hoc meetings which just happen. At Fall VON my cell phone will be on so that people who need to reach me this can send SMS messages rather than just rely on my ability to react quickly to an email.

One thing I've learned over the years is that as far as I am concerned, while I'm on-site, I know that I will have a real hard time balancing between keeping with my scheduled meetings, seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

At the moment while I am still focused on my Fall 2005 VON Industry Perspective, I'm feeling pretty good about my talk and I just need to make sure that the PowerPoint slides are in sync with my latest messaging.

I hope everyone who will be here in Boston this week for Fall 2005 VON will enjoy the show and be able to best take advantage of VON by applying the styles they feel help them multitask the best.

Welcome to Fall 2005 VON!

Posted by jeff at 08:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 17, 2005

The First Mystery of Fall 2005 VON: hackoff.com

I just arrived in Boston for Fall 2005 VON and on my room key is a promotion for hackoff.com - "VoIP has a Clue."

I'm running out to dinner but when I get back I will be trying to solve this mystery. :)

Posted by jeff at 06:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fall 2005 VON News Blog:

Continuing with the tradition we set earlier this year, for Fall 2005 VON, we are providing a RSS feed for the press releases and published news stories associated with Fall VON.

The result is our new Fall 2005 VON News Blog.

Posted by jeff at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Katrina, VoIP and the September FCC Meeting: Stories from the media and the Blogosphere

On Thursday I blogged about the September FCC meeting that was moved to Atlanta and the fact that there were no representatives from the IP Communications Industry invited to testify despite the fact that quite a few people from the IP Communications industry contributed to the Katrina Relief efforts.

This in turn helped inspire the following stories to be published around the Blogosphere and in the media:

- IP Democracy: Pulver's Peeved at FCC's Exclusion of VoIP from Meeting
- VoIP Watch: Pulver Questions The Government And So Do I
- Telephony Online: FCC updates Katrina recovery but excludes VoIP community
- Information Week: VoIP's Role in Katrina Aftermath Understated
- Advanced IP Pipleline: FCC Seeks new bureau for disaster management
- ZDnet: Will VoIP play a role in rebuilding the Gulf Coast?

Tags: fcc, voip, katrina

Posted by jeff at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 16, 2005

Free World Dialup: Back in the News

the Inquirer: Ecommerce talks

There is a nice reference today to Free World Dialup in a story written by Wendy Grossman which was published in the Inquirer. Next week FWD will be amongst the companies attending Fall 2005 VON and will also have a presence on the show floor.

Posted by jeff at 07:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

eBay/Skype: Sometimes Reporters just don’t “Get It:”

This morning TheStreet.com included me in their take of the recent eBay/Skype deal. I find it interesting while how some reporters/analysts/writers appreciated the significance of Monday's eBay/Skype deal, there are other reporters who find it easier to ridicule the situation rather than spend the time trying to actually understand it.

Well at least the folks at TheStreet.com spelled my name right and used a recent picture of me.

Tags: skype, ebay, voip

Posted by jeff at 06:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Getting Ready for Fall 2005 VON:

Before I leave for a VON conference, I am still the one who ends up sending out our “Conference Community” list to the speakers and delegates attending the VON Conference. Our “Conference Community” list includes everyone we know (from our event database) who we expect will be at the event at the time the list was compiled.

Last night when I sent out our Fall 2005 VON Community list, I was amazed to see that at least in terms of numbers, there were about double the amount of people on the Fall 2005 VON Community list as compared to a similar list that was sent out for Fall 2004 VON, just a year ago.

As far as I can tell, there will be more private receptions and/or dinner events taking place next week at Fall 2005 VON than any VON before. Personally I’ve been invited to a number of private events taking place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening (pre-VON party) and my current plan is to try to visit every event that I was invited to. Frankly, I believe that the number of evening activities taking place next week in Boston is another great sign of the fundamental strength of the IP Communications industry.

Members of the pulvermedia team will be arriving in Boston later today and the rest of our team will be arriving by Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon while “VON Blur” sets in, I will be playing in our second annual charity poker tournament.

This time around, I’ve actually been able to work out the major talking points of my Industry Perspective in advance of VON, and I hope this is a trend I can take into future VONs.

I’m looking forward to being a part of Fall 2005 VON and spending next week in Boston with the worldwide IP Communications industry. This is an amazing time to be involved in this space. For the sake of everyone who stayed the course and lived thru the past ten years of good times and not so good times, it’s great to be back!

Carpe Diem @ VON!

Let’s all “Seize the Day” – everyday – and especially next week while we are at Fall 2005 VON.

Posted by jeff at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 15, 2005

The FCC's Failure to Recognize the Role of the Internet in Times of Public Crisis and as a Powerful Tool for Social Good:

I can't really criticize others if I don't see the bigger picture myself.

My blog from last night challenging the FCC for its failure to include the IP-based communications industry was a somewhat short-sighted and limited. This is probably because, although I have lately tried to deny it and have tried to move into other compelling IP-based applications, I am still too voice-centric in my view of IP-based communications. The truth is that it really is the larger Internet and the multitude of applications that IP technology allows that could revolutionize the ways in which government and citizens respond to public catastrophes. It wasn't just the VoIP service that helped bridge the communications divide during Hurricane Katrina. Frankly, text messaging, email, Web-obtained information, video blogs and other streaming media, and other IP-based applications were instrumental in keeping people connected and informed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. These applications only hint at what is possible through more ubiquitous, robust usage of the Internet. All these applications have been slighted today by the FCC's focus on carriers and traditional modes of communication.

By way of example, my friend Peggy Miles, who is from New Orleans and had family there, started to create Web pages to consolidate all of the local radio and news coming from the area. She has been working non-stop on these efforts and there are many people who rely on the news from the Internet to keep in touch with what was going on when the national broadcasters didn't get the full story. So, VoIP aside, why isn't there anyone at the FCC Open Meeting representing IP broadcasting and the value it has added and could add going forward? And what about all the people who got updates on IM and email when the switches serving the traditional wireline and wireless networks went down?

So, perhaps I was somewhat myopic when I was critical of the FCC's failure to include members of the IP-based communications (read VoIP) industry at today's Open Meeting to consider communications efforts and Hurricane Katrina. The, bottom line, however, is that the FCC Open Meeting was a slight, not just to VoIP providers, but to the Internet and the entire, current and evolving IP-based communications industry.

But, if I missed this point, I guess I really cannot blame the FCC for missing the point. But if we do not shine a spotlight more brightly on the power of the Internet and the host of emerging and evolving applications that the Internet will spawn, we cannot expect the public to ever understand what could be. In the absence of public awareness, regulators will never feel any compulsion beyond caving to the will of the traditional communications companies, reluctant to experiment with the power of IP.

By the way, it is not just the Internet community that was excluded from the FCC's Open Meeting. As one commenter to my blog noted, where is the witness from the Amateur Radio Relay League, even though Amateur Radio has been doing emergency and disaster communication for decades, and as the motto says "when all else fails, there is amateur radio."

I grew up on Ham Radio. Every year I participated in Field Day, an effort to test the power of amateur radio to help in times of public crises. I humbly propose that the Internet innovators along with the amateur radio community and government embark on a similar "Field Day" like project to promote the use of the Internet in times of public crises. Many of the most generous compassionate members of the Internet community were frankly caught by surprise in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, frustrated by the fact that they wanted to help, had the resources and technology to help, but did not know quite how to proceed to help. A "dry run" of the emergency response and support capabilities of the Internet in times of public catastrophes, akin to the Field Day model, might go a long way in allow us to harness the power, energy, resources and desire of the Internet community to aid in crises.

I think the FCC has been searching around for communications failures to highlight what went wrong in the wake of Katrina. The IP-based communications story does not fit that story - the Internet and IP story is a story about what went right and what could go even more right with greater public awareness of the enabling power of IP technology and the Internet.

A final thought: Now, I might say, thank goodness that the FCC has not recognized the role of the Internet in times of public emergencies. If the FCC recognized the Internet as a bona fide communications network, it might be inclined to regulate it. Oh, wait, the FCC has already begun to do so. Ironically, the FCC's first foray into regulating the Internet came in its effort to impose cookie-cutter E-911 obligations on VoIP. As I have previously noted, had the FCC rule been in place during Hurricane Katrina, VoIP services would have been shut off if the provider could not offer the cookie-cutter E-911 offering of the PSTN. Who would have benefited from such a backward-looking decision during a public crisis? Certainly not the Mayor who needed a Vonage phone to speak with President Bush.

If one lesson should have been learned by those who regulate communications, it should be that one-size-fits-all regulation destroys resiliency and the power afforded by promoting a multiplicity of communications options and capabilities. The Internet should be recognized as a means to improve lives and promote the public good, both during crises and otherwise. Government should work not to restrain the capabilities of the Internet but to encourage the Internet innovators to go forth, to differentiate, and to offer a multitude of products and services that will allow for as many communications alternatives as possible. Such alternatives will make communications more survivable and resilient during times of public catastrophes. But this is a message that the FCC and the public will not hear today.

Posted by jeff at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 14, 2005

FCC Moves Tomorrow's Open Meeting to BellSouth Emergency Call Center -- But Where are the Representatives of the IP-based Communications Industry?:

The FCC has moved tomorrow's Open Meeting to a BellSouth Emergency Call Center in Atlanta. At this meeting, the FCC will hear presentations from various industry representatives concerning their role in Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. The witness list includes the following participants:

- Ken Moran, Director, Office of Homeland Security, Federal Communications Commission
- Rod Odom, President, Network Services, BellSouth Corporation
- Booker Lester, Administrative Assistant to CWA Vice President Noah Savant, Communications Workers of America
- Steve Brownworth, Vice President, Network Planning and Systems, ITC DeltaCom, Inc.
- Steve Largent, President and CEO, CTIA - The Wireless Association
- Greg Ewert, Executive Vice President, Iridium Satellite LLC
- Willis Carter, First Vice President, Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International; Chief of Communications, Shreveport Fire Department
- Diane Newman, Operations Director of WWL 870-AM New Orleans, Entercom
- Dick Lewis, Regional Vice President for Louisiana and Southern Mississippi, Clear Channel
- David Duitch, Vice President, Capital Bureau, Belo Corp.
- Fred Young, Vice President for News, Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.

This seems like a pretty broad cross-section of the communications industry and related entities. Notice any industry segment that has been excluded?

I had hoped that one insight government might have gained from Hurricane Katrina is the value of promoting alternate modes of communications via IP and the Internet, and not compel all communications services to look alike and abide by identical standards to promote such social goods as emergency response.

For the past week, members of the VoIP community have tried to do as much as possible to aid in hurricane relief efforts. In fact, the survivability, resilience and redundant topology of the Internet has demonstrated that IP-based communications and the Internet can be a boon to government and citizens in times of public crisis, at least if government does not shackle the industry with legacy regulations and cookie-cutter social obligations, and allows the industry to harness and advance the features, functionalities and capabilities afforded by IP technology.

Most notably, as I mentioned a few days ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Mayor of New Orleans was able to receive a call from President Bush on August 31, because a New Orleans city employee was able to establish communications via his Vonage service by connecting his laptop to an available Internet connection, while other communications services were down.

The scary question remains: What would have happened had the FCC not extended its E911 deadline for VoIP? Would Vonage have had to disconnect the city employee's Vonage service if the employee failed to acknowledge by August 29, that he was aware of the emergency response limitations of his Vonage service? If the hurricane had occurred three months from now, would the city employee have been unable to utilize the nomadic capability of his Vonage service so that it would have been unusable at the remote location where he found broadband access?

When the FCC adopted its Order imposing E-911 obligations on interconnected VoIP Service Providers, the FCC (ostensibly attempting to present an objective picture of what is going on in the world) heard the most heart-wrenching testimony from several people presenting harrowing accounts of the tragic events that resulted from their inability to reach emergency responders via Vonage. There is no doubt that these were utterly tragic events, but anecdotes, in a vacuum without critical discussion and analysis, cannot pretend to present an accurate depiction of the whole story. There was no testimony from anyone discussing E-911 failures on traditional wireline or wireless networks. Nor was there any testimony from Vonage orfrom users who had positive emergency response experiences using Vonage. Nor was there any expert testimony about how to utilize IP technology to improve emergency response capabilities. The result was regulation that forced the VoIP industry to stop in its tracks and build backward-compatible emergency response capabilities or discontinue service. I think the ability to use Vonage service from a hotel room in New Orleans, even if it did not have traditional E-911 capabilities, puts this issue in back in perspective. (Frankly, I must commend Chairman Martin for his prescience in extending the deadline to cut off customers just days ahead of Hurricane Katrina.)

Now, once again, the VoIP industry has been excluded from the dialogue. As a result, I fear that the public might miss out on the full story and may never understand the positive role that IP technology could play going forward in times of public catastrophe.

Posted by jeff at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

James Enck: I remember Skype

While I'm still catching up on all of the recent Skype stories floating around the blogsphere, this is one piece that is a great read and reminds me why I love it when James say "yes" to speak at our VON events.

EuroTelcoblog: I remember Skype

"I come to praise Skype, not to bury it."

Posted by jeff at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

eBay / Skype Press Continues...

TIME - Online Edition: Why Did eBay Bid on Skype?
United Press International: The Web: eBay looks to become phone giant
Red Herring: Skype Deal Is Blow to Telcos

Tags: skype, ebay, voip

Posted by jeff at 06:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Blog Search: Google's New Blog Seach Tool

http://blogsearch.google.com/ has just launched. No tags required. :)

Posted by jeff at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Mets Season is Just about Over...

Back on September 5th the Mets still were a contender and appeared to have a real chance in the NL Wildcard race.

By going 1 and 6 in their games since, the Mets proved once again that just because they can afford to sign a few great players doesn't mean that they will have a great team...or even a really good team.

This afternoon the Mets are 11 1/2 games out of the NL East race and 6 1/2 out of the NL Wildcard race.

Unless things turn around real quickly, chances are the Mets 2005 season is over. Time to bring up their "stars" from the farm system and offer them some "big league experience."

The Mets showed a level of greatness for a few days late in August which teased everyone who considers themselves a Mets fan. For a moment it felt like everything was coming together and 2005 was going to be a season to remember...then the Mets experienced another classic late season collapse...and so it goes.

Instead of spending this week at Shea Stadium, which I was looking forward to, I decided to spare myself the agony of being there and focus on other distractions like getting ready for Fall VON. ;-)

Tags: mets, baseball

Posted by jeff at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fall 2005 VON - VON by Numbers:

Fall 2005 VON starts next week and when it does, the IP Communications Industry will have a strong presence in Boston. All indications are this will be our best VON event…ever. Many of the great minds in our space will be joining us at Fall VON and the IP Communications ecosystem will be visible in full force. If you are involved in the worldwide IP Communications Industry, Fall 2005 VON is one event you can’t afford to miss.

During the past 10 years, one of the things that I’ve observed is that: “While we live in a virtual world, the more virtual we become, the more we need to have face to face meetings.” VON is all about face to face meeting and extreme business networking. Between our sit-down lunches, conference sessions and planned social activities, at pulvermedia we do everything we can to help the VON conference delegates with their networking.

Returning VON alumni know to bring a box of business cards with them. I still like to believe that a handshake and a business card is the way to launch a successful business relationship. The delegates who take the time to engage in business networking have a real good chance to leave Boston having met quite a number of people, and having fully exhausted their supply of business cards.

It will be at Fall 2005 VON that we will be acknowledging our own transition from representing a cool niche and “disruptive” technology to being the event which helps to manage the transition of our worldwide mainstream acceptance. This reality will be covered by a number of the 350+ people who will be speaking in the Fall VON Conference.

Based on the current snapshot of the database of the people and the companies who will be joining us next week in Boston, it is irrefutable that VON is the destination event for the world of IP Communications. Looking at our pre-registered delegate database, there are currently 60 countries represented: (Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherland Antilles, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, USA, Uzbekistan, Virgin Islands (US), and Wales) and over 1500 companies.

A closer look at the pre-registered database shows that we are expecting visitors from : Alaska, Hawaii and 43 of the 48 Continental United States as well as a strong showing from Washington, D.C. One trend that trend that is different for Fall 2005 is that we are starting to see more countries from the Americas represented at VON.

During the past two years, our VON events have grown in both size and in stature. Physically, the size of our Fall 2005 VON exhibit floor will occupy 60,000 net square feet which is more than four times the size of the Fall 2003 VON show floor and almost double the size of our Fall 2004 show floor. In terms of exhibiting companies, more than 315 companies will be exhibiting in Boston, as compared to 201 companies last year and 124 in 2003. Over 2,200 people will be spending September 20-22nd working inside the VON Expo Hall representing our various exhibitors.

VON over time has grown up to become the industry trade event which it is today. This came together over the years by taking a “bottom up” approach to community building and by applying some not-so-standard approaches to the traditional tradeshow and event industry. It seems that such an approach has not gone unnoticed. Back in July, I found out that an independent survey ranked VON as the number one destination event for Service Providers. We recently were contacted by Trade Show Week and learned that the growth of Fall VON 2003 to Fall VON 2004 qualified us to be included in Tradeshow week’s 2005 “50 Fastest 50.” While I don’t know where we will end up as compared to all of the events that take place across every industry, it was an honor to just make the list.

Fall 2005 VON will be the home to a number of significant announcements within the IP Communications industry and will be the place where ideas are shared, business models evolve, deals are made, companies get funded and where some entrepreneurs will get the idea to start a new company.

2005 is the year of VoIP. If you haven’t registered yet, 2005 is the year you should be at VON.

Hope to see you next week at Fall 2005 VON, taking place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC).

Posted by jeff at 06:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

September 13, 2005

eBay/Skype - My perspective was picked up by Reuters, NY Times and Noticed by the Blogshere:

Yesterday morning, after hearing about the eBay/Skype deal, and after taking the time to think about what it all meant, I discussed my observations with a few people at my office. This lead to issuing a media advisory that included my comments on eBay’s purchase of Skype. A few minutes later I posted a blog entry which was an update to my initial reaction that I posted right after I first learned about the deal.

As things worked out, I am quite appreciative that both Reuters and the New York Times included a quote from me in their respective stories that ended up running in at least 40+ newspapers and was on seen an equal number of websites around the world during the past 24 hours.

In addition, I was taken back by the number of people from the blogshere who citied one of my eBay/Skype blog postings in their own respective analysis.

Some of the blogs include:

Alec Saunders - (includes a great summary of comments around the Blogshere.)
Andy Abramson
Paul Kapustka
Mark Evans
Business & Technology Reinvention
Future Work::Technology Deprecated
Blog.Dan York.com
Digital Economy
The World 2 Come
Perceptric Forum
Rain City Real Estate Guide
Good Morning Silicon Valley

The eBay/Skype buzz in the blogsphere did not go unnoticed. C|Net News posted a summary of their own yesterday.

Now that the eBay/Skype deal has happened, I wonder who will be next…

Tags: skype, ebay, voip

Posted by jeff at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

eBay/Skype: Accelerating the Adolescence of the IP Communications Industry

Yesterday morning while reading the Business Week story: Tech IPOs Are Clicking Again, I started thinking just how mainstream the IP Communications industry had become in 2005. From the perspective of Fall 2005 VON, it also meant that even more VCs, Investment Bankers, Hedge Funds and Entrepreneurs will be getting involved in the IP Communications space.

Moments after I finished reading the story, I received an email from a friend who sent me a copy of the "eBay to Acquire Skype" press release and I just smiled. (Thank you AD). The world of IP Communications had just changed and become even more “real.” I just hope we all get a chance to enjoy the adolescence of IP Communications for as long as possible.

Just about everyone who is anyone in the IP Communication ecosystem will be joining us next week in Boston at Fall 2005 VON. Companies recently in the news including: AOL, Google, Microsoft, Skype, Vonage and Yahoo! will all be well represented amongst the 1500+ other companies that are already part of our event community.

If you are thinking about joining us and haven’t done so yet, today would be a great day to take a moment to register for Fall VON.

I’m looking forward to spending next week in Boston. Hope you can join us. :)

Posted by jeff at 08:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 12, 2005

Some thoughts on eBay’s Purchase of Skype -- Evidence that the Communications Revolution will be IP-Televised (and available for purchase on eBay (or downloaded for free via BitTorrent, if not Kazaa)):

Usually we don’t see revolutions until after the fact (oftentimes many years after the fact and only after years of analysis and digestion). I suspect that historians might come to recognize today’s announced acquisition of Skype by eBay, as one of the great indicators of the historic transformation in communications. Today's move by eBay in purchasing Skype is transformational because it signals the ability and value of an “Applications Company” adding a “Communications Company” to its portfolio. The acquisition turns the entire telecom industry picture on its head, and demonstrates that voice, presence, text messaging and other IP-based applications will be essential for the company of the future.

Until today, we looked at building communications networks and applications differently. Telcos never were the developers of applications – frankly, developing applications is not the telcos’ strong suit. Innovation happens at the edge. Now we have an example of how communications will be swallowed by the edge. eBay, because it comes from a place where it knows about community, how to build community, and how to enable end-users within its community probably knows how to harness the products and services that Skype’s technology will enable.

Unlike traditional voice communications providers, eBay gets the concept of community and community building. Adding a rich IP-based communications capability -- including IM, voice and presence applications -- to its community should dramatically enhance the value of and services available to eBay’s community.

eBay and Skype are both essentially ‘peer-to-peer’ companies that recognize the value of building community and communicating via a multiplicity of modes and applications within that community. eBay’s recognition that a peer-to-peer communications company has value should shine a spotlight on the other IP-based communications technologies, networks and applications. I suspect others might follow eBay’s lead, see the value of pee-r-to-peer and IP-based communications products, and acquire competing IP-based communications companies.

Companies like eBay that live in the "bottom up" space know what people want -- and now, via Skype’s enabling technology, can deliver the applications that people want. By improving the ability of eBay users to ‘see’ others’ ‘presence’ with Skype, the effect should be the creation of a more perfect market and allow eBay sellers to increase auction prices based on a more efficient method of reaching all possible bidders.

Telcos may suffer in the long term, but, frankly, I can see a more dramatic impact on Sotheby’s and the “Antique Road Show.” :)

If you take the elements of eBay, including the micro-payments capability of Paypal and, now, the IP-based communications capabilities of Skype, we may be seeing the formation of the next Reuters.

Posted by jeff at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

End of an Era? eBay to purchase Skype

So it turns out that the rumors late last week were true. eBay is going to purchase Skype.

But one thing the folks at eBay forgot about, is that while money can buy many things, as the Beatles once said, "Money can't buy you love."

And it was a love and passion by the community of Skype users that directly helped drive Skype's worldwide recognition and success during the past two years. (Having great technology helped a lot too!)

Now that Skype has "gone commercial" I wonder how much of today's Skype community will be there in three months, six months and a year from now.

The punch line here is that it may no longer matter.

Just in a flash, Skype has become the "engine" for eBay customers to communicate with each other. An interesting business model. I'll leave it at that.

What I find to be more interesting is that the basic element of Skype "needing" to be disruptive to the world's communication service providers seemed to have been lifted.

There is a part of me that wonders if the World's telcos got together and gave eBay the money to purchase Skype so that wouldn't have to worry about being disrupted. As a friend says, "there is more truth said in jest than in fiction."

So what exactly is eBay purchasing other than some pretty cool P2P technology, a great brand and access to two of the best minds to hit the internet and market disruptive innovations who have a track record of taking a vision and turning it into a reality?

I'm afraid only the shareholders of eBay will find out.

Until recently, I never looked at Skype as an "ecommerce play." I'm not sure who did. One question that comes to mind is why eBay didn't decide on launching their own SIP service and build their own softclient to optimize the eBay/Paypal end user experience?

Oh well, looks like the market for enabling end-to-end IP Communications (between end-users not looking to do ecommerce) is going to be wide open again.

Another turn of the screw in the history of IP Communications.

Now I have a reason once again to get re-engaged with Free World Dialup.

The timing could not have been better.

Thank you eBay and Skype!

Posted by jeff at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Today's my Birthday..

So today's my birthday and I'm one year older.

This past year has brought along some changes including the transformation of the VoIP Industry into a mainstream business and the formation of pulvermedia as the umbrella organization for all of pulver.com's events.

While I know I'm getting older, I still feel the same inside and don't think that I ever really grew up. Or maybe that's the joke, we never do grow up, we just grow older, and eventually, sometimes wiser.

:-)

Posted by jeff at 06:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

September 11, 2005

Sept 11th reflections...

While there are other things on my mind today, it is hard for me to ignore the fact that today is September 11th and that I used to work for Cantor Fitzgerald Securities and spent June 1993 thru June 1996 working on the 32nd and 104th floors at One World Trade Center.

There were plenty of times when I was at my desk at 8:47 AM and never did we ever expect to have a plane come thru the windows.

Never during my tenure at Cantor Fitzgerald did I ever talk to anyone who came to work everyday with the fear of a follow up attack, even though when I started in June, 1993 it was just a few short months after the first bombing at One World Trade Center. What I do remember is that the folks within the systems group at Cantor learned to take the concept of having a “disaster recovery site” seriously, but not as serious as one might have thought.

I still have a hard time thinking about the people, their families and everyone who went to work on 9/11/01 just like any other regular day in their life, not knowing how everything would change, for some forever, afterwards.

Four years later, one of my personal take aways from all of this is that there are times we need to remember to “Carpe Diem” –“Seize the Day”, while we all can.

Posted by jeff at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Dan Bricklin: Communicating after the hurricane

SATN.org: Communicating after the hurricane

"I guess the new technologies, like the very old ham radio technologies, were helpful. We really do need to work on distributed, ad hoc communications systems. They seem to handle emergencies well."

Posted by jeff at 08:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interesting Observation by Aswath: Are FWD and Skype Twins?

According to Answers.com twin can mean:

1. One of two offspring born at the same birth.
2. One of two identical or similar people, animals, or things; a counterpart.

In the case of FWD and Skype, while Aswath shares some interesting observations, in a strict definitional sense, while they were not from the same birth, for what it’s worth, one might be able to make the case that when observed over an extended timeline, they both appear to be more similar, than different.

There is common DNA in the "fertile mulch" that enabled both FWD and Skype and others to exist. When looked at with a semi-objective eye, during the past year or so, based on features/functionality/services that have been added to Skype over that time horizon, it is possible that someone might pick up that Skype and FWD are behaving like fraternal twins...who end up sharing similar characteristics but whose organic growth were out of sync.

Aswath: Interesting Observation!

Posted by jeff at 07:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The pulver.com "TV Studio" is Starting to Happen:

Last week the Sony HDR-FX1 arrived and I started to become familiar with the camera.

Under the advisement from a few people who responded to my blog, I ended up going with a fully-loaded Apple G5 with Final Cut Pro to do all of the video editing.

It turns out ordering the equipment was the easy part. While I still need to setup an area in my office for in-office interviews and where I can produce my own video podcasts, the harder part of this process ends up being able to find the time and then dedicating the time needed to learn how to use Final Cut Pro.

Posted by jeff at 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

September 10, 2005

WSJ: President Bush Called Mayor of New Orleans on a VONAGE Phone on Aug 31st:

During the week after Katrina hit New Orleans, there have been a number of positive news accounts of how IP Communications delivered during the emergency. And if you missed it, there was another great plug for Vonage yesterday on page 1 of the Wall Street Journal in the story: “At Center of Crisis, City Officials Faced Struggle to Keep in Touch.”

The punch line of the story was: “… At 12:27 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31, the mayor's inner circle made its first outside call in two days. Eventually, the team was able to get eight lines running from the single Vonage account. That evening, the phone rang and it was President Bush calling from Air Force One.…”

According to the story, Scott Domke, who is a member of the city of New Orleans technology team, remembered that he had recently set up an account with Vonage and he was able to use his softphone when he connected his laptop to an available internet connection at the Hyatt Hotel.

Personally I think it was great to see Vonage get such a plug in the WSJ. One thing for certain, when the inevitable made-for-TV movie happens, I’m sure the Vonage phone service will be properly showcased. One side note is that how low-key Vonage themselves have been so far in the way their service ended up being used during the crisis and their mention on page 1 of this WSJ story.

There is a part of me that wonders what the case would have been had the FCC not extended their E911 deadline for VoIP and if Mr. Domke would have been one of the customers required to be disconnected by Vonage due to non-compliance issues. Or what would have happened if the Hyatt Hotel’s ISP was found to be blocking SIP traffic in a way similar to what I had recently experienced at the Meridan Hotel a couple of weeks ago in London?

I hold out hope that the FCC and others in Washington, D.C. will find a new appreciation for the IP Communications industry and what is means when “voice really is just an application”, the underlying need to support Net Freedoms, and especially how useful VoIP can be when used during an emergency.

Posted by jeff at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

September 09, 2005

Building a More Resilient Communications Network -- Lessons learned from Katrina, the London bombings and 9/11:

Last year, pulver.com suggested to the Bells that they deploy what I termed a secondary IP "soft-line". The secondary line given to consumers would allow the user to have a second line that would be portable and accessible through any Internet access point. While such a soft-line is not an essential add-on for traditional carriers, the concept does underscore the need to allow for a multitude of communications options.

Internet-based communications, because of the ability to access the service from anywhere and because of the redundant paths and multiple points of failure built into the network, allows for a much more resilient and survivable means of communications than traditional modes of communications.

If we had the luxury to build the communications network from scratch, I would lay fiber optics and reallocate spectrum to allow for more robust broadband and IP-enabled capacity within the physical transmission media. I would also refrain from assigning numbers to users. Users are now more logically identified with their name rather than a carrier-provided number. The deployment of fiber, the random allocation of spectrum, and the North American numbering plan are decades old mistakes. (I guess it is not fair to call them 'mistakes' since we did not have the technology in place at the time to deploy fiber and assign names rather than number identifiers to users.)

What is essential is that government, at last, acknowledge the enabling power of IP and the Internet and let the IP innovators and entrepreneurs push the limits of IP technology to offer different functionalities than those offered by traditional wireline and wireless phones. Regulation of late has been backward-looking, forcing IP-based communications providers to configure their services to be 'backward-compatible' with the narrow-band services and networks of the last Century. For instance, the FCC has recently compelled VoIP providers to offer the limited, cookie-cutter E-911 offerings that we see on traditional phone lines. Instead, government should be devoting its resources (or, at least, not forcing the nascent industry to squander its limited resources) to upgrade the existing emergency response infrastructure (by making it broadband and IP-ready) so that the legacy system is capable of harnessing IP technology and capable of communicating with the IP-based networks of the future. Imagine if instead of a distressed person only being able to call and speak to an emergency responder, the user had the option to send video or text and the emergency responder had the ability to access the victims personalized medical history and send a blast to the victim's designated contacts. That is only possible if the emergency response network is updated to meet the technology of the Internet-based communications providers, rather than compelling the innovators to build backward-compatible features into their more advanced products and services.

I would also start thinking creatively about implement "reverse 911" capabilities -- the ability of government to blast mass communications to the public in times of crisis. A few months ago, a small plane entered the air space on near the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Some 30,000 panicked employees fled their buildings surrounding the US Capitol without knowing whether the city was under attack. An IP-enabled reverse emergencyresponse capability would have assured the populace or otherwise could have instructed them what to do in the moment of crisis. Such emergency response would also be greatly enhanced by a concerted industry and/or government effort to deploy wifi more ubiquitously.

I think governments, in the wake of Katrina and the London bombings, are starting to recognize the power and resiliency of IP-based communications to ensure continuing communications during and after public catastrophes. Because IP technology is medium agnostic, it has the capacity to ensure voice and other modes of communication even after wirelines have been drowned, as long as there is some means to reach the Internet and sufficient power. The important next step is to ensure a seamless transition from non-working communications services, to more resilient, survivable alternative modes of communications. If residents of the Gulf States could have segued their services and numbers over to an Web-accessible, IP-based service, the residents could have more readily sent and received individualized and mass emails to their friends, family, colleagues, government responders and other important points of contact.

Posted by jeff at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

VoIP: Proving to be Effective in Katrina Emergency

Special thanks to Jim Kohlenberger of the VON Coalition for maintaining the following list of stories.

According to Jim, "This is a summary of some of the ways the IP Communications industry is responding to Katrina (largely based on news stories and company releases). It turns out that the ability to set up VoIP services on the fly, from any network, has proved to be critical in an emergency. The industry has stepped forward to help FEMA, the Red Cross, and the Army communicate, to help connect the refugees in the astrodome, to help field calls for telethons, to help first responders communicate, to help connect hospitals who are disconnected, and to help utility workers working to restore services communicate with each other. It is quite an amazing story, and I know it is just the beginning."

If there are other stories you are aware of and would like to see included in this growing summary, please send me a paragraph, a news release, or any other background and I will share it with Jim. Also, please feel free to include stories from bloggers where IP Communications has been used to help.

VoIP: Proving to be Effective in Katrina Emergency

IP based voice communications are playing a critical role in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The unique mobility and decentralized aspects of VoIP are being utilized by FEMA, hospitals, emergency responders, for telethon call centers, and utility workers who are restoring service.

VoIP Delivers Free Calling for FEMA, 1,000 VoIP Lines in the AstroDome, and Phone Service For Refugees. AT&T is establishing IP-based calling centers where directed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to give evacuees and emergency workers access to free calling. The first of these centers is expected to be operational within a week. In Houston, AT&T is working with Avaya, Cisco Systems and SBC to establish a communications network for refugees moved to the Astrodome. The coalition of VoIP companies will deliver local, long distance and Internet service to refugees. More than 1,000 phone lines, as well as a data infra-structure, will be available near the Astrodome. AT&T’s IP infrastructure will make Houston the hub for a VoIP network to support refugee camps throughout the region. (INFOWORLD, September 02, 2005)

VoIP Being Deployed By Mobile Command Center For Fire, Rescue and Law Enforcement Agencies. In an area of vast devastation in Mississippi with no traditional phone lines, cell phone or public safety radio services, F4W has established a VoIP network to provide critical communications for relief agencies and a lifeline from the disaster area to the outside world. The Tactical Wireless Emergency Broadband (TWEB™) network set up by F4W will provide secure wireless Internet and VoIP service over several miles to Mobile Command Centers and vehicles from fire, rescue, and law enforcement agencies. The network utilizes Motorola, Tachyon, and Panasonic equipment as well as F4W control software and network devices. (Source: VoIP Magazine, Thursday, 01 September 2005)

Internet Telephony Keeps Baton Rouge Hospital In Touch. Baton Rouge General Hospital, who still had a broadband connection after the hurricane but no long distance, called up Vonage and asked for help. Vonage helped them get set up with VoIP so the hospital can dial out of Baton Rouge. The hospital ultimately used nine voice-over IP converters and wireless-enabled laptops with VoIP software installed for long distance communications and to set up a public branch exchange for communications within the hospital and sharing patient data. (Government Technology, Aug 31, 2005, By Corey McKenna, http://www.govtech.net/magazine/channel_story.php/96493)

Satellite Based VoIP Helping Put Utility Repair Crews In Touch To Restore Service. Siemens Enterprise Networks is working with a power utility in Mississippi that has been sending repair crews into the field with voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones to make wireless calls via a satellite network. The VoIP system has been the main means of voice communications for utility crew supervisors in the field. In this case, Siemens acted as integrator to arrange for satellite network bandwidth, allowing the users to connect to a Siemens IP-based voice switch in Atlanta. With the Siemens VoIP phones, the workers can make five-digit calls over a familiar device to co-workers without needing special codes for the satellite links.(Source: ComputerWorld, “Telecoms face 'one big mess' in US Gulf Coast region”, Matt Hamblen, Sept, 2 2005)

Rapid VoIP Deployments Help Get Emergency Phone Services Up and Running. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) is the first organization to deploy a pre-configured VoIP kits to gain phone service and Internet access in the wake of Katrina. 3Com Corporation is donating the VoIP equipment to emergency and government organizations to support their communications needs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Each kit includes a VoIP phone system with voice mail and auto attendant, which will enable DHH to provide all callers with recorded information on recovery efforts and to the ability to route calls to the appropriate emergency personnel. The phone systems can also be networked so that calls can be transferred between multiple locations. Wireless routers and other networking equipment will further enable reliable communication until the state's infrastructure is repaired. (Source: 3Com Release 9/1/05)

VoIP Used To Rapidly Set Up Red Cross NBC Telethon For Relief. When NBC hosted a Red Cross telethon, Teletech used its VoIP call center technology to answer an anticipated half a million calls from donors making pledges during the telethon. (September 02, 2005, Katrina Red Cross Concert By RICH TEHRANI, TMCnet)

VoIP Service Proves Critical For Cajundome Refugees. Although only 70 miles from New Orleans, Lafayette was spared the worst of the storm and now is caring for refugees. Volunteers at the Cajundome refuge center in Lafayette in less than 8 hours help set up a 100 meg connection and a wireless access point...by the next afternoon a VOIP system had been put in place. The VOIP phones have proven invaluable. ...To actually hear the voices of friends or to contact the world which mostly still exists offline is crucial.” (Lafayette Coming Together)

“Web Phones for Shelters” Project Launched. Volunteers in Lafayette Louisiana have come together to help the refugees from Katrina communicate with family and friends. Web Phones for Shelters is a Project of the Lafayette Technology Community and the LCT Digital Divide Committee. LCT members have put together contacts with concerned folks at Cisco and IConverge to make available internet-based phones which will allow refugees to make free phone calls anywhere in the country to friends and family. Cisco is providing the internet phones which will backhaul to IConverge softswitches which will connect the phones to phone network. (Source: http://www.lafayettecomingtogether.org/webphones.htm)

Red Cross Equips a Fleet of SUV’s with VoIP For Mobile Voice Services. the Red Cross has equipped a fleet of SUVs with IP communications equipment and VSAT (very small aperture terminal) antennas for satellite communications. Each vehicle in the fleet includes Wi-Fi equipment, VoIP phones and wireless laptops to set up a communications center. In some areas these vehicles provide the only voice communication available. (Source: New Telephony, VoIP Demonstrates Strengths in Katrina Aftermath, 09/06/2005)

Army uses VoIP to Communicate. The Army has used satellite as the Internet link for a VoIP network that transmits terrestrially on National Guard Internet bandwidth. (Source: New Telephony, VoIP Demonstrates Strengths in Katrina Aftermath, 09/06/2005)

Posted by jeff at 06:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

September 08, 2005

Working on my Industry Perspective for Fall 2005 VON:

With the buzz and activity in the IP Communication space continuing to grow, it seems like the timing couldn’t be better for the commencement of Fall 2005 VON, the “Destination Event for IP Communications” in just 10 days.

As I try to catch up on all of the news and activities surrounding the worldwide IP Communications industry, I’m starting to feel a little overwhelmed. At the moment, I’m proud to learn on a daily basis about how some of the people within the IP Communications industry have given of themselves to help out in the Katrina relief efforts. I find it interesting how the business community is watching Skype like a hawk and every day there seems to be yet another Skype merger rumor, including the stories today about Skype and eBay. Vint Cerf’s just announced move from MCI to Google just shows how committed Google is to the future of IP Communications, and why everyone should be taking Google very seriously when it comes to IP Communications.

At the moment, I am once again right caught up in the middle of an iterative process of trying to get the messaging right for my talk at Fall VON. For me this continues to be one of the things which have become a long standing VON ritual and for those familiar with the movie, in some ways, my own personal “Groundhog Day.”

From now until the moment I’m done speaking on the morning of September 20th, my presentation will continue to evolve. This is not my intention but I know it will happen…it always does.

Posted by jeff at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Guest Blogger: Vint Cerf, SVP Technology Strategy, MCI

US ENUM TRIAL

In a recent letter to the County Code 1 ENUM LLC, chaired by MCI’s Karen Mulberry, US Ambassador to the ITU, David Gross, encouraged progress on a trial of the ENUM system for associating telephone numbers with the Domain Name System (specifically the e164.arpa portion of the domain name space). The letter needs to be read in the context of a trial that takes place in the +1 telephone country code space, shared by the US, Canada, and seventeen other nations in the Northern Hemisphere.

Among the many who have contributed vision and leadership towards this end, Karen should be singled out as a driving force behind this effort. Karen has persevered on the long road leading to this stage of ENUM’s birth in the US.

Ambassador Gross lays out a framework within which the trial is to be conducted. Because the trial is relevant to all the nations sharing country code 1, consultations within the USG including FCC, NTIA, the State Department among others, led to the formulation of this framework and its expression by Ambassador Gross partly to assure our sister users of +1 that the effort will be carried out in a responsible fashion.

If I had any quibble about the framework, I guess it would revolve around the restrictions on who is allowed to participate and which +1 telephone numbers can be introduced into the 1.e164.arpa portion of the domain name system. As the trial gets under way, I hope that expansion of participation to include willing members of the general public might be considered. Plainly, it would be important to assure (and to test!) methods to prevent unauthorized entries in the 1.e164.arpa data base. Failure to verify such preventative measures could lead to “hijacking” of phone calls intended for one party but vectored onto the Internet to an unintended interloper. The conservative framework is plainly intended to reassure everyone that the trial is to be conducted with the protection of users in mind. It would be constructive to find a way to test also the mechanics of registration and protection so that by the end of the trial, we would have some idea of and confidence in the mechanisms for registration for ENUM service by users directly or by others on their behalf.

There is a substantial amount of reporting and planning built into the framework offered by Ambassador Gross, so this will require a concerted effort by the participants in the trial. The experience gained and so documented will be valuable.

It is worth noting that many were skeptical that such a trial could be devised in the context of a multi-national sharing of country code +1 and it is a tribute to all those who have worked so hard to make ENUM a reality in the US that the effort has reached this point. I congratulate Karen Mulberry and her colleagues and thank Ambassador Gross, and his colleagues in the USG for their support and encouragement.

Vint Cerf

Posted by jeff at 05:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Leaving Toronto…

The past couple of days have been a blur. This morning in a couple of hours I will be leaving Toronto and heading back to New York. Once I get to Melville I will end up spending what is left of my day to in back-to-back meetings.

There is a lot going on at the moment inside the world of IP Communications, in a number of areas, including a positive development in the commercial ENUM trial front with regard to the +1 country group. The following is a guest blog by my friend, Vint Cert, SVP Technology Strategy, MCI:

Posted by jeff at 05:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 07, 2005

Contact Loved Ones: A New Service to connect Hurricane Katrina Evacuees with Family launches

Late last night, I spent some time on the phone with Dan Schoeffler, the person behind the new Contact Loved Ones ("CLO") service. CLO is a new public voicemail system designed to help those effected by Katrina to connect with their concerned family members.

It turns out that Dan is also from Long Island and that we share a long-time friend. (JQ - thanks for making the connection.)

I just hope that Dan's dedicated non-stop work during the past four days to launch this new not-for-profit service gets noticed by the people who would benefit from it the most - those directly affected by Katrina.

There is no doubt that his efforts will get noticed by the media.

This is yet another great example of "end user empowerment" and demonstrates once again how IP based communications technologies can be leveraged in time of emergency to help make the world a better place.

Posted by jeff at 07:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The pulver 100 of 2005:

The 2005 “pulver 100” identifies who we at pulver.com believe to be the top privately held growth companies in the worldwide communications sector.

2005 has been an amazing year for VoIP – and the companies named in the pulver 100 have made significant contributions, by helping to spread IP communications worldwide with little or no dependence on traditional telephone network, equipment, or service providers. This year’s pulver 100 continue to represent the future of the communications ecosystem, and we’re proud to honor them.

First introduced in 2002, the pulver 100 features private companies in the communications sector that have substantial real-world deployments and enjoy significant growth rates. The value chain characterized by the pulver 100 differs from the vertically integrated telecom model of the last century, focusing more on a networking-industry model that espouses open interfaces, connectivity decoupled from services, and software decoupled from hardware.

The companies named to the 2005 pulver 100 are: Abbeynet, AccessLine Communications, Acme Packet, Aculab, Allot Communications, Apparent Networks, Atreus Systems, BayPackets, BlueSlice Networks, BridgePort Networks, Brix Networks, BroadSoft, BroadVoice, Camfrog, Carbon Twelve, Centile, Cicero Networks, Citel Technologies, Commetrex, Convedia, CTI², Dialexia Communications, DiamondWare, DigiLinea, Digium, Empirix, Ensim, eStrata, Excel Switching, Eyeball Networks, Fonality, Go2Call, Grandstream Networks, Hotsip, I3Micro Technology, Inclarity, Ingate Systems, Interoute, Intertex Data AB, Intoto, IP Unity, IVR Technologies, Jungo Software Technologies, Kayote Networks, KoolSpan, Lignup, LocustWorld, M5 Networks, MailVision, Mediatrix Telecom, Meru Networks, MetaSwitch, Natural Convergence, Netcentrex, Netrake, NewHeights Software, Nextone Communications, Nimcat Networks, OnRelay, Owera, Pactolus Communications Software, Paltalk, Paradial, Peoplecall, Persona Software, Personeta, Pingtel, Popular Telephony, Psytechnics, Quescom, Sansay, SIPquest, Skype, SkyWave, Sling Media, Snom Technology, SPIRIT DSP, Strix Systems, Surf Communications Solutions, Swyx, Sylantro Systems, SysMaster, TalkSwitch, TEKVision, Telchemy, Telepo, Telio, Tellme Networks, Trinity Convergence, VegaStream, Versatel Networks, VidiTel, Vocera Communications, VoicePulse, Vonage, Voxeo, Wavigo, WebMessenger, XConnect.

Posted by jeff at 01:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

September 06, 2005

One Step Closer to Producing Video Podcasts: Just ordered the Sony HDR-FX1

After watching Current TV the past few days, I decided to take the next step in being able to produce high quality video podcasts…I just ordered the Sony HDR-FX1 HD camera.

I would appreciate hearing back from other owners of the Sony HDR-FX1 for their recommendation of camera accessories and/or software suggestions for the production of video podcasts. Also, at the moment I am trying to decide on whether to go with an Apple G5 or a “high-end” Windows XP platform for video editing / production. Any and all feedback/suggestions/opinions would be appreciated here as well.

Posted by jeff at 06:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

On the Road Again...Next stop Boston

Tonight I'm leaving for Boston for my last "scheduled" road trip prior to Fall 2005 VON.

Tomorrow I will be in Boston for a few meetings and I will then be flying out from Boston to Toronto for a dinner meeting. Thursday morning I'm leaving Toronto early in the morning so that I can spend most of the day at my office on Long Island.

2005 has been my year of "living on the road."

Posted by jeff at 05:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

IP-4-IT is on a Roll:

While my personal focus at the moment is on Fall 2005 VON, I wanted to take a moment and put the spotlight onto our new IP Communications in the Enterprise focused event, IP-4-IT. Last year when I first started working on the concept, I felt the timing was right to introduce an event which focused on the effects of IP Communications in the Enterprise and the resulting challenges and opportunities this represents to the office of the CIO.

Earlier this year, pulvermedia got together with CMP Media with support from the TIA to co-produce IP-4-IT which will be taking place November 14-16th in Las Vegas. pulvermedia’s IP-4-IT team in our Beverly, MA office has been working closely with the companies which identified with our vision and wanted to be a part of the new event. To date we already have 50+ companies exhibiting and I expect this to continue to grow on as we head into IP-4-IT. We appreciate the support of: EMC, Intel, Microsoft and RIM as our event sponsors.

Our conference schedule continues to evolve and I am looking forward to helping to provide a platform where the effects of “Disruptive Communications” in the Enterprise will be explored.

Posted by jeff at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Boston Globe Preview of my announcement at Fall 2005 VON: Free White Page Listings for VoIP Service Providers:

In a story published yesterday in the Boston Glob