August 19, 2008

In Praise of the Indian regulator, TRAI, for proposing to Open Up the Indian Market to VoIP

I praise TRAI for proposing to open up the Indian market to VoIP.

Yesterday in a big win for the VON Coalition and VoIP enthusiasts around the world, the Indian regulator TRAI issued its recommendation on "Issues Related to Internet Telephony." The VON Coalition filed a comprehensive set of recommendation in June of this year in this proceeding arguing that they should open their market to VoIP and it appears that they have followed the thrust of their recommendations. TRAI is recommending a framework that essentially allows unrestricted VoIP offerings in India. Previously (among other problems), VoIP services were unable to make calls directly to the Indian public switched telephone network (PSTN).

They found that their existing regulatory framework was slowing the adoption of VoIP and preventing broader adoption of broadband - and thus find that they need to remove regulatory barriers to VoIP availability and adoption.

Key recommendations include:

- ISPs have been permitted to provide unrestricted Internet telephony (Termination of Internet telephony calls on PSTN/PLMN and vice-versa).

- National Long Distance (NLD) operators shall be permitted to connect to ISPs through public Internet (Internet cloud) for unrestricted Internet telephony.

- ISPs and NLD shall have mutual agreement for unrestricted Internet telephony.

- NLD shall make suitable commercial and technical arrangements with access providers (PSTN/PLMN) for unrestricted Internet telephony.

- No change in existing IUC regime.

- TEC shall identify distinct number resources for Internet Telephony subscribers.

- Telephone numbers from identified blocks shall be allocated to ISPs, UASPs, BSOs & CMSPs for Internet telephony.

- Emergency number dialing is not mandated to ISPs. (they note on page 55 that "Imposition of restrictions and mandatory obligations may kill the initiative to provide unrestricted Internet telephony before a service can commercially pickup"

- All ISPs interested to provide unrestricted Internet telephony shall install Lawful Interception equipment.

- Quality of service (QoS) for unrestricted telephony has not been mandated.

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With all this said, its important to note that this is not yet a fait accompli. These recommendations now go to the Department of Telecom (DOT) which has been known to disagree with TRAI before - but I expect these will be adopted. It is great to see such a sign from the country that is often the "back office" to the rest of the world is likely to begin opening its door to the benefits of VoIP.

Finally, one of the most populous countries in the world is on the move to advance VoIP.

Special thanks to everyone who has been working on making this happen.

Tags: voip, India, TRAI, VON Coalition, Public Policy, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

August 10, 2008

Free World Dialup moving to $30 annual membership

The email below went out to inform the nearly one million registered users of Free World Dialup of plans to adopt a $30 annual membership fee as of September 1, 2008. Daniel Berninger has responsibility for day to day operations of FWD as CEO, but I wanted to add a few words on the motivation for taking a stand for paid membership.

Yogi Berra said, "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it." I don't know if anyone predicted that the entire VoIP industry would end up with business models dependent on traditional telecom revenues, but it seems hard to deny with Skype, Jajah, Ribbit, and a long list of others chasing per minute revenues. We are risking the exodus of the FWD user base (and inevitable hate mail) to prove there exists an alternative. FWD will move forward in support of communication between paid members and anyone else with VoIP devices connected directly to the Internet. We will provide no services to facilitate interconnection with the telephone network. This represents a recommitment to the work that motivated the FCC to issue the Pulver Order in 2004 recognizing FWD as entirely unregulated. We believe the energies dedicated toward gaming the telephone network would produce much better results if applied to the task of creating services, applications, and content for communication devices directly connected to the Internet. Chasing an experience based on charging per minute immediately erases the prospect for an Internet like experience independent of geography and usage charges. FWD is the only VoIP enterprise going this route, and plentiful options exist for those looking for cheap minutes. I hope people will remember FWD's 12 years as a free service and wish us luck as we put action to our convictions.

...........................

Dear FWD'er:

Free World Dialup is implementing a $30 USD annual membership fee during the month of August after 12 years as a free service.

A startup taking over a decade to reach conviction about a business model likely sets a record, but we believe $30 USD per year is the magic number. It is 10% of the cost for Vonage's unlimited usage plan. FWD provided the inspiration for the founding of Vonage in 2001, and Vonage's hybrid Internet-PSTN offer now generates nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. FWD's voluntary paid membership experiment last summer demonstrated the demand for a complete break from telephone network. FWD's future as a Communication ISP will include only those services that do not have a per minute charge. Rather than competing directly with the telco's or even Vonage, the mission of a Communication ISP is creating new opportunities and modes of communication. FWD will relaunch the website during August to focus on services, applications, and content available to people with VoIP SIP devices connected directly to the Internet.

See FWD CEO, Daniel Berninger's "Communication ISP Manifesto"

If you wish to retain SIP registration and support FWD, please click through the paid membership banner at the top of the home page which links to the Acteva registration service.

Make sure you use the email associated with your FWD account (the one on which this message arrived.)

If you lost your FWD account info, you can use the password retrieval process or simply create a new account.

The first 1000 paid members get "founder" status, but FWD will retain existing free accounts through August 31, 2008. The new paid membership requirement allows for associating any number of accounts with the email address used for payment, so you can keep the free ride alive by finding a friend with paid membership.

I hope you will join in transforming FWD's nearly one million free accounts into paid memberships as we work to make the Communication ISP the next big thing in VoIP.

Best regards,

Jeff

...........................

Tags: Free World Dialup, Daniel Berninger, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)

November 05, 2007

Tom Evslin on Video: The Third Stage of the VoIP Rocket that Never Fired

Tom Evslin's video from Fall 2007 VON discussing The Third Stage of the VoIP Rocket that Never Fired:

Tags: FWD, VON, VoIP, Tom Evslin, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

October 30, 2007

Images from Fall 2007 VON: Day 1

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Tags: voip, von, Video on the Net, Internet TV, Social Media, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 05:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

October 27, 2007

IHT / NYT Reporter Seeking Industry Comments on the Alcatel-Lucent Merger: One Year Later

Kevin O'Brien is writing a story for the Internet Herald Tribune / New York Times about the Alcatel-Lucent Merger: One Year Later. He is looking to speak with both people from Alcatel-Lucent as well as members of the Internet Communications industry. Kevin sent me the following email which I offered to post on my blog as a way to help him connect with people who might want to get interviewed for this story.

---

Date: Sat, 27 Oct 2007 05:39:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kevin O'Brien
To: Jeff Pulver
Subject: Re: Alcatel-Lucent Merger - One Year Later

I am writing an article for the IHT and NYT on the
Alcatel-Lucent merger, one year on. I am seeking input
from people within the company and outside the firm. I
expect to interview one or more current Alcatel-Lucent
board members.

I would be interested in interviewing anyone who
currently works for or has in the recent past worked
for Acatel, Lucent or best yet, Alcatel-Lucent. Also
would like to speak with clients who can compare their
contacts with the company now and before the merger.

I can conduct the interviews either on-the-record or
on background and not for attribution. Contact please
kevin11obrien@yahoo.com with contact details.

----

Tags: voip, von, Alcatel-Lucent, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

October 21, 2007

Looking forward to Fall 2007 VON

A week from today I will be back in Boston, catching up with friends from around the world, people who are part of the global Internet Communications Industry.

The Sunday before VON traditionally provides a relaxed opportunity for our community to reconnect and get an early start on the networking VON has become famous for.

Delegates arriving early to VON are invited join the pulverTV studio audience as we will be broadcasting live on Sunday October 28th from inside the Boston Convention Center from 3-5pm.

I am especially looking forward to having the podium at VON at 08:30AM on the morning of Tuesday, October 30th where I will be sharing my perspective on the future of VoIP.

Tags: Social Media, Social Communications, VON, Boston, voip, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

October 18, 2007

VON Israel 2007: A Great Event

VON Israel 2007 took place earlier this week (Oct 14/15) and overall it was a great event.

Continuing the momentum of VON Israel 2006, VON Israel 2007 brought together both a mixture of international speakers as well as many of the leaders of the Israeli Internet Communications industry. I enjoyed the opportunity I had a chance to catch up with Israel’s Minister of Communications, Ariel Atlas. It was also great to see the diverse range of people who spent time at VON Israel, people ranging from the European Union’s Ambassador to Israel, Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, to Ami Erel, the Chairman of Cellcom and the numerous early-stage entrepreneurs who went to VON Israel to have their ideas and dreams validated.

On the news side, VON Israel generated a number of headline news stories covered in the Israeli business press and our event was also covered by a number of Israeli bloggers.

“Social Media” was one of the hot/buzz topics of the conference. This was a topic which came up during my opening keynote on Sunday and was covered by a number of speakers including Yossi Vardi during his speech on Monday. VON Israel provided a great environment for people interested in both carrier and enterprise VoIP solutions.

I’m looking forward to returning to the States and preparing for Fall 2007 VON in Boston where I will be sharing my perspectives on the future of the Internet Communications Continuum.

Tags: Social Media, Social Communications, VON, VON Israel, voip, Israel, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 16, 2007

Images from VON Israel 2007: Day 2

Tags: Tel Aviv, VON, VON Israel, voip, Israel, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 15, 2007

Images from VON Israel 2007: Day 1

Tags: Tel Aviv, VON, VON Israel, voip, Israel, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

October 14, 2007

Looking forward to VON Israel 2007

In a little less than 3 hours from now I will be giving the opening keynote at VON Israel 2007. My keynote will be broadcast LIVE on BlogTV starting at 0900 CET / 3AM EDT.

Archive from Jeff Pulver's VON Israel 2007 talk:

Tags: Tel Aviv, VON, VON Israel, voip, Israel, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

October 11, 2007

Tom Evslin: The Third Stage of the VoIP Rocket Never Fired

Tom Evslin: The Third Stage of the VoIP Rocket Never Fired

"There is no third stage of VoIP as an incremental improvement on POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service). Instead there is a whole new way to communicate. POTS won’t be improved; it’ll just be replaced. The rearguard action fought by traditional phone companies will eventually result in their over-priced and underperforming voice services being replaced and abandoned since they aren’t being improved (unless those companies can control the Internet – that’s a big unless).

In the new communication world – which is already forming inside social networks – live voice and voice mail are just two on a continuum of choices people have for communicating with each other. Video’s a choice; so is text and email and still pictures. Communication can be live and real-time; it can be slightly async like texting; or seriously async like email. The modes of communication mix freely. Two or more people using different devices communicate at the highest common denominator rather than the lowest.

And there are no more phone numbers, just names and handles (made up names). There’s no more great directory in the sky; there’s the union of the directories of the social networks we use and our personal directories. We’ll know who’s “calling” us as surely as we know whom we’re calling (callerID today tells you where a call is made from, not who is making it)...It’s been an interesting ten years. And it’s only the beginning."

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Yes it has been an interesting ten years. An Amazing ten years. And as Tom said, this is only the beginning. The Thrid Stage of the VoIP Rocket is one of the topics friends will hear more about during my Industry Perspective at Fall 2007 VON.

Tags: FWD, VON, VoIP, Tom Evslin, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 10, 2007

Next Stop: Tel Aviv

Tonight I'm flying to Israel in advance of VON Israel 2007. I will be speaking at VON Israel in the morning on both October 14th and 15th. Friends who would like to attend VON Israel are invited to follow this link to register.

While at VON Israel I will be spending some of my time catching up with friends involved in the Internet Communications Industry and I will also meeting with a number of entrepreneurs who will be telling me about their early-stage startups.

If you are aware of an early-early-stage Israeli based hi-tech startup that I should be aware of, please contact me and I will try to setup a meeting during one of my future visits.

Tags: Tel Aviv, VON, VON Israel, voip, Israel, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 07, 2007

VON Israel 2007: Just one week away.

I am looking forward to giving the opening keynote at VON Israel 2007 when it commences a week from today on Sunday, October 14th. While at VON Israel I will be spending some of my time catching up with friends involved in the Internet Communications Industry and I will also meeting with a number of entrepreneurs who will be telling me about their early-stage startups.

If you are aware of an early-early-stage Israeli based hi-tech startup that I should be aware of, please contact me and I will try to setup a meeting during one of my future visits.

Tags: Tel Aviv, VON, VON Israel, voip, Israel, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 26, 2007

Tom Evslin: Rent vs. Buy - ooma

Tom Evslin: Rent vs. Buy - ooma

"...This is an interesting idea but not as unique as ooma claims (I’m not commenting on their patent since I haven’t read it). Ham radio operators provided local bridges for each other into phone systems even in pre-Internet days. VoIP pioneer Jeff Pulver, probably building on his ham radio background, supported gateways in the 1990s version of FreeWorldDialup (note: FreeWorldDialup is now FWD International and I’m an investor in and board member of that along with Jeff but I was not associated with the original company).

Predictions:

* One way or another, phone calls will become as free of incremental charges as email is today.

* The carriers will take legal action to block ooma service. They will claim that customers are not allowed to provide this kind of bridging and that ooma is disguising “long distance” calls as local calls. Make no mistake, success by ooma and/or others lke them would leave a big hole in the domestic termination revenues which at&t and Verizon and other last mile telco providers receive and domestic termination is very lucrative.

* You’ll hear more about gateways – at least on Fractals of Change."

Tags: FWD, ooma, VoIP, Tom Evslin, Daniel Berninger, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

August 07, 2007

Second Life Launches Voice for All

As Chairman and co-founder of Vivox, I like to share Vivox updates from time to time.

Linden Lab has launched voice on the Second Life main grid for all residents. You may recall past blog posts about Vivox receiving a great reception in Second Life with their Million Minutes program and integration. Well, they are officially integrated and launched for all residents and things are going very well.

Growth has been at an amazing rate with over 120,000 users in the first 4 days!

Second Life residents are using voice for different reasons varying from educational, business, social networking and roleplaying interaction. Whatever the reason, it is clear that live and integrated voice is making in impact in virtual worlds for the better. This may very well be a good topic to explore and dig into at the Social Media Summit that I have been working on to develop. Looking forward to seeing the future of voice in Second Life continue to unfold.

Tags: Vivox, Second Life, Linden Labs, Jeff Pulver, Pulveria

Posted by jeff at 09:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

August 05, 2007

FWD invites beta testers for network tunneling service

The FWD relaunch effort needs beta users for testing a new option in free international calling - network tunneling. Network tunneling allows FWD users to receive calls from traditional telephone numbers. It combines the ubiquity of the traditional telephone network and the fact few ISP's impose usage or distance sensitive costs. For example, a long distance relationship between Toledo, Ohio and Dublin, Ireland would prove expensive to maintain via traditional telephone service. Network tunneling provides a way for a FWD user in Ireland to obtain a telephone number in Ohio that automatically completes incoming calls to the FWD user in Ireland.

There already exist ways to point inbound numbers (DID - Direct Inward Dial) to VoIP software (e.g. SkypeIn for US$60/year), but FWD proposes to offer network tunneling at no cost through partners Super Technologies (http://www.supertec.com) and IPKall (http://www.ipkall.com). FWD also makes it easy to receive calls on IP phones or regular phones (via an ATA) rather cope with a headset and PC software client. Future versions of the service will offer non-US DID's. Super Technologies already offers a range of DID options for anyone willing to pay a nominal fee.

The beta test of network tunneling seeks to identify technical glitches, but we also want to learn more about how people might utilize the service. Avoiding costly international calls represents an obvious application, but maybe network tunneling enables services not otherwise possible. For example, FWD plans to implement a support line using network tunneling. The support line will be a regular telephone number, but network tunneling allows us to distribute the calls to FWD volunteers distributed around the world.

The broadband version of FWD launched in November 2002 at a time when IP Phones and ATA's cost almost US$500 and broadband penetration remained below 10% in the US. Five years later, there exists a wide selection of IP Phones and ATA's starting below US$50 and even 15th ranked US reports more than 50% broadband penetration. However, the 10x reduction in price and 10x expansion in availablity did not free us from dependence on the telephone network. VoIP implementations by Vonage and the cable co's still depend on the telephone network to complete 95% their calls. FWD hopes network tunneling motivates more people to buy unlocked ATA's and IP phones to accelerate the day when the network effect no longer represents an enemy of progress.

Please contact Daniel Berninger (dan@danielberninger.com) if you are interested in participating.

Tags: Free World Dialup, Daniel Berninger, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

August 04, 2007

I'm Still Thinking Outside the (Phone) Lines...

As I'm spending time this summer with Dan Berninger on the re-launch of FWD, I was reminded of what I was trying to achieve back in 2003 when I stumbled upon this 2003 BusinessWeek story which I was in.

And Luca Filigheddu is on the right track when he suggests, Let's Give Up on the PSTN.

Tags: Luca Filigheddu, Free World Dialup, Daniel Berninger, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 28, 2007

Daniel Berninger: FWD relaunches to break the telco trance

Daniel Berninger who is helping me with the re-launch of FWD shares his perspective about FWD in this piece that ran yesterday on GigaOM.

Tags: Free World Dialup, Daniel Berninger, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

July 26, 2007

Free World Dialup News: FWD Dials Up a New Direction

Voxilla: FWD Dials Up a New Direction

Tags: Free World Dialup, Daniel Berninger, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 20, 2007

Heading over to IPTComm 2007...

This morning I'm heading over to Columbia University to join a morning panel at IPTComm 2007. I am also their lunchtime speaker today. I am looking forward to catching up with some friends attending this conference.

Tags: VoIP, IPTComm 2007, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 05:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A Minute by any other name is still a Minute

Jacob Ner-David comments on the Fall of Sunrocket.

Tags: voip, Jacob Ner-David, Sunrocket, Vonage, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 17, 2007

Participatory Communications: FWD summer 2007 relaunch project

An important summer project this year involves giving FWD (formerly, Free World Dialup), my 12 year experiment in participatory communications, new life as a standalone self-sustaining membership organization. Nearly one million people participated in FWD activities over the years as the project evolved from tinkering with firmware on PC sound cards to provisioning 700,000 SIP accounts. FWD initiatives include the first VoIP-PSTN interconnect (1995), H.323 interoperability (1998), SIP registration services (2002), SIP Peering (2003), FCC's Pulver Order (2004), pulver.Communicator with video (2005), and prior art for VoIP patents (2007).

FWD represents yet another example of the Internet disrupting the status quo by inserting "participatory" in front of a word like communication or democracy, journalism, and culture. The communication options offered by telephone companies in 1995 started and ended with plain old telephone service (POTS). POTS remains the primary business of the telephone company in 2007, but a long and expanding list of Internet enabled communication options exist for anyone motivated enough to make them work. FWD provides a participatory platform in finding ways to make Internet communications a viable option.

The work of FWD puts it at odds with the telephone company, because telco profits depend on controlling the availability of communication. The desire of people to communicate that makes the telephone companies so profitable comes from the same human need preventing people from accepting limitations to their communication options. Communication serves to build human relationships not to mention provides an essential input to economic activity. People join FWD projects because the telephone company scarcity business model conflicts with the need for six billion people on Earth to communicate.

Existing FWD services will remain free, but implementing a membership model will allow us to fund new services and make FWD self-sustaining. My funding of FWD over the last 12 years departed from any investment logic long ago. The membership fees will not provide a return for the investment, by I hope they remove the limitation my resources have on FWD reaching its potential. Support and maintenance needs of existing FWD services people tell me want can be liberated from my interest in spending on new services. The membership idea represents an experiment in itself in testing whether people will contribute a nominal amount ($30/yr individuals, $300/year business) as the price for communication freedom.

I asked Daniel Berninger (dan@danielberninger.com, +1.202.250.3838) to lead the next phase in the life of FWD. Dan participated on the founding FWD technical team while still at Bell Labs (I was an IT manager on Wall Street) in 1995. Participatory Communications looks likely to keep the telco's on the defensive judging from the people that have already joined as paid members.

If you would like to learn more about FWD, please contact Daniel Berninger.

Tags: Vonage, Free World Dialup, Daniel Berninger, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (28)

June 15, 2007

Patrik Fältström's Keynote from VON Europe Spring 2007

On Tuesday Patrik Fältström gave a Keynote address at VON Europe Spring 2007 in Stockholm.

His presentation is available here.

Tags: VON Europe, Patrik Fältström, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 13, 2007

The Herding Cats: Still Crazy After All These Years

Last night in Stockholm, Seattle’s own Herding Cats returned to Nalen and played their hearts out.

Since becoming the “house band” of pulver.com back in April, 2002, The Herding Cats have traveled the world with us and it was great to see them own the stage and the audience last night during the VON Europe party that I hosted.

Special thanks to everyone who spent the night with us having fun at the party.

Tags: Herding Cats, Chris Brogan, VONEurope, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 02:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

June 12, 2007

VON Europe Spring 2007: Images from Day Two

The following pictures were taken on June 12th at VON Europe Spring 2007:

Tags: voip, VONEurope07, von, VON Europe, Stockholm, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 11, 2007

VON Europe Spring 2007: Images from Day One

The following pictures were taken on June 11th during our "Pre-Conference" Day for VON Europe Spring 2007.

(Photos taken by: Stephanie Chiavaras)

Tags: voip, VONEurope07, von, VON Europe, Stockholm, Jeff Pulver

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

VON Europe Spring 2007 will be Starting Soon...

I'm looking forward to the commencement of VON Europe Spring 2007 in a couple of hours and the opportunity to start catching up with some of my friends from the European IP Communications Industry.

Special thanks to everyone who has contributed to this event, including our: speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and the team of people from pulvermedia who have all helped make this happen.

Tags: voip, von, VON Europe, Stockholm, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 01:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 10, 2007

Back in Stockholm…

I am looking forward to the commencement of VON Europe Spring 2007 and catching up with friends from the European Internet Communications Industry and a community at VON Europe representing 69 countries.

If you will be in Stockholm on Tuesday night and would like to join me at my “Hi-Tech” party, please feel free to RSVP for the party.

Tags: VoIP, VONEurope07, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 05, 2007

TIA Telecommunities Joins the Blogosphere

With a mention in the TIA Communities blog like the one I just read, it is hard for me not to take note of the TIA Telecommunities blog. :)

And yes, I am looking forward to hosting our party on June 19th in Chicago where over 750 people have already registered. If you are planning on visiting NXTComm, please be sure to R.S.V.P soon for the party.

Tags: NXTcomm, GLOBALCOMM, Chicago, party, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 30, 2007

My Keynote at CosmoCommunity 2007 will be LIVE at 09:30 EDT

I will be giving the Keynote talk at CosmoCommunity 2007 at 09:30 EDT.

To watch my speech, please click here. We are planning on streaming the session LIVE on Ustream.tv

Tags: voip, CosmoCom, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 23, 2007

Announcing my "Summer Party" for the Scandinavian Hi-Tech Industry: June 12th in Stockholm

Since my first visit to Norway in 1997, I've enjoyed visiting Scandinavia over the years and having our VON Europe events take place in: Oslo, Helsinki and Stockholm. I have always enjoyed being around the creative energy of a community of Early Adopter Entrepreneurs whose innovations and technologies have contributed directly to the worldwide success of the IP Communications industry over the years.

So on the night of June 12th, at Nalen in Stockholm, I will be hosting a party for those people who are members of the Scandinavian Hi-Tech industry to both celebrate accomplishments of the past and to take the opportunity to look to the future and explore where tech innovation will going in the months and years ahead.

Also at the party will be members of the VON Europe Spring 2007 community.

Our past parties at Nalen have been always been "high energy" parties and this one will continue with our tradition. Seattle's own Herding Cats will be back and I am looking forward to a fun evening of hi-tech networking and music.

If you or someone you know is involved in Hi-Tech and will be in Stockholm the night of June 12th, please RSVP for our party by visiting: this site.

The specific party details will be sent to those who sign up.

I look forward to catching up with friends in Stockholm the night of June 12th.

Tags: Nalen, Stockholm, VON, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 07:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 17, 2007

Announcing fritter (fring +twitter)

Our friends at fring have just added twitter support to fring. This is in addition to their support of: skype, gtalk, MSN and SIP. And the product isn't called "fritter" but it seems it could be now that twitter support has been added.

All the fring user needs to do it to provide the twitter credentials in their client, and a twitter contact instantly appears on his fring contact list through which he receives updates from his twitter friends and update his own followers.

fring just posted this video on YouTube to demonstrate how to use twitter with fring:

fring CEO Avi Shechter is one of the many people who will be speaking at VON Europe Spring 2007 in Stockholm June 11-14.

Tags: Stockholm, twitter, Sweden, fring, Mobile VoIP, VoIP, VONEurope07, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 14, 2007

Giving Keynote talk at CosmoCommunity 2007 on May 30th

I will be giving the Keynote talk at CosmoCommunity 2007 on May 30th..

CosmoCom is our neighbor in Melville and I've been a fan of their work since before they moved to Broadhollow Road. I'm looking forward to giving my talk and using the opportunity to get to know more of the people involved in the CosmoCom community.

>

Tags: voip, CosmoCom, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 13, 2007

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the "Moms" in the Blogosphere.

I wonder how many Mother's Day calls will be placed using VoIP today.

Tags: voip, Mother's Day, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

May 10, 2007

Carl Ford on VON Europe Spring 2007: 11-14 June in Stockholm

Click To Play

One of the things Carl is referring to is our ENUM and Peering Summit which is taking place on June 11th. And Carl is right, this summit will bring together many of the people involved in making peering happen. And Carl also referred to our P2P SIP Tutorial which is being given by the people from the IETF who are responsible for the evolution of P2P SIP.

I'm looking forward to VON Europe Spring 2007 and catching up with my friends involved in the European IP Communications Industry.

Tags: VoIP, VONEurope07, Carl Ford, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 09, 2007

My search for Startups and Innovators continues:

Call for Startups, Disruptors and Innovators from the world of Internet Communications.

I am working on the conference program for Fall 2007 VON. I am looking for start-ups (funded in the past 12 months), Disruptors and Innovators from the world of Internet Communications to invite to share their vision, ideas and innovations.

If you or someone you know should be seen and heard at VON, please contact me.

Tags: VON07, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 08, 2007

VON Europe Spring 20007 Spotlight: Fixed Mobile Convergence: Transforming the World by Bridging Connectivity / June 11th

Our Fixed Mobile Convergence Summit will be taking place on June 11th in Stockholm.

What makes WiFi, WiMax and broadband so exciting to integrate is the ability to offer any to any applications in new ways. Whether you are migrating cellular calls or providing data connectivity to a variety of devices, FMC is a key consideration. What implications should be considered in selecting edge devices? Are competing standards hurting interoperability?

Sessions at our Fixed Mobile Convergence Summit include:

UMA, IMS, FMC: What fits and what does not?
- Alan Duric, Co-Founder and CTO, Telio
- Veli-Pekka Kivimäki, Senior Project Manager - VoIP, Nokia
- Bill Leslie, CTO, LongBoard
- Philip Richards, Director of Product Management, NewStep Networks
- Claus Schmidt, Sr. Manager, Solutions & Business Development, Cisco
- Alessandro Stagni, Head of Offer Strategy, Italtel

Terminals for the FMC Era, Voice and Beyond Voice
- Einar Aaland, CTO, Owera
- Patrick Clough, iBand
- (M) Alan Duric, Co-Founder and CTO, Telio
- Janne Kari, Business Development Manager, Nokia Multimedia
- Roberto Pellegrini, Director, Marketing, Pirelli Broadband Solutions

Mobile VoIP: Breaking the Device and Network Lock-In
- Jonathan Christensen, Sr. Director, Skype

Ubiquitous Wireless IP Coverage - Fueling the FMC's Growth
- (M) Alan Duric, Co-Founder and CTO, Telio
- Vivek Khuller, President and CEO, DiVitas Networks
- Sheldon Renan, President, Wibiki

FMC: The Quad Play
- (M) Alan Duric, Co-Founder and CTO, Telio
- Erik Larsson, VP, Netcentrex Converged IP Communications, Comverse
- Derek Mitchell, Head of Signaling Product Management and Product Marketing, Dialogic
- Adi Paz, Senior Director, Product Marketing, RADVISION

General Session: The Pressure on Mobile Carriers: The Skype/Carter Debate
- Fred Blomstrom, Senior Adviser, Post- och telestyrelsen
- (M) Dean Bubley, Founder, Disruptive Analysis
- Mike Kellett, CEO, CallMenu International
- Ernst Langmantel, Director, Technical Division, Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications
- Rudolf Van Der Berg, Ministery of Economic Affairs

To register for this workshop, please click here

Tags: VoIP, VONEurope07, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

May 07, 2007

Proposal for IPv6 Day (again)

While it still might be both highly impractical and idealistic to think that we can empower a movement for what hopefully will be known as IPv6 day, for the sake of the future of the internet and for the future viability of IP Communications, the time has come to push for this to happen, and hopefully happen sometime in 2007. (I first proposed this back in 2002).

Collectivity we should pick a day, at some point in the near and foreseeable future and push everyone to reboot themselves and make it such that from that point forward, IPv6 will be supported on all networks which interact with the public Internet.

Some of the issues we face as an industry in traversing NATs and Firewalls and security could be more easily solved when/if this day happens.

I'm not sure an act of Congress will make this day happen in the United States any faster than getting the collective will of the people behind this action, but we should all be doing everything we can to make sure that IPv6 is supported across the public internet.

Thoughts/comments/suggestions?: please email: jeffp@pulver.com.

Tags: ipv6, internet, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Broadband Reports' VoIP Forum: Great Website for Consumer VoIP

Broadband Reports' VoIP Tech Chat remains one of the best places on the net to check the pulse of the latest/greatest happenings in consumer VoIP.

I've been a member of the Broadband Reports VoIP Forum since February, 2003 and this site continues to represent a vibrant worldwide community of people who are interested in VoIP.

This is one of the only places I would recommend to someone who has consumer related VoIP questions.

Tags: voip, Broadband Reports, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 03, 2007

Jeff Pulver on the cover of Computer Sweden (April 27th issue)

Turns out that I made the cover of the April 27th issue of Computer Sweden as a result of my trip to Stockholm last week.

I'm looking forward to returning to Stockholm the week of June 11th for VON Europe Spring 2007.

Tags: VoIP, Computer Sweden, VONEurope07, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

VON Europe Spring 20007 Spotlight: ENUM and Peering Summit / June 11th

Our ENUM and Peering Summit will be taking place on June 11th in Stockholm.

The time has come for VoIP Islands to have bridges. In otherwords, the level of interoperability and the amount of subscribers / minutes associated with VoIP technology is significant enough that direct interconnection is happening. Using a variety of techniques companies are providing intereconnection and enabling end to end voip solutions. The sessions in this summit explore the current state of the market and speculates as to what the drives will be for further interconnection.

Sessions at our ENUM and Peering Summit include:

Peering and the Killer Aps, New Residential and Business Services
- (M) Eli Katz, Founder & CEO, XConnect Global Networks
- Rodrigue Ullens, Manager, Voxbone
- Boaz Zilberman, Founder and Chief Architect, Fring

Case Studies: Peering Success Stories
- Tony Holmes, CTO, BT Group
- (M) Natan Tiefenbrun, COO, XConnect
- Ben Van Leliveld, Netherlands JCC SIPExchange

ENUM Registries and LNP: Paths Towards Harmonization
- (M) Carl Ford, Community Developer and VP Content, pulvermedia
- Adrian Georgescu, Founder and CEO, AG Projects
- Albert Gouyet, VP, Product Marketing, Nominum
- Michael Haberler, Chairman, Internet Foundation Austria
- Gary Richenaker, Chief Architect, Telcordia Technologies
- Richard Shockey, Senior Manager, Strategic Technologies Initiatives, NeuStar

Making Cents of Peering - Peering and the Wholesale Market
- (M) Bob Emmerson, European Editor, VON Magazine
- Matthew Finnie, CTO, Interoute
- Steve Heap, CTO, Arbinet
- Jan Larsson, Strategy Manager, TeliaSonera International Carrier
- Etienne Pipers, Sr. Product Manager, VoIP, Belgacom International Carrier Services

Enabling Peering and Security
- (M) Alan Bugos, VP, Advanced Technology and Engineering, iBasis
- Seamus Hourihan, Vice President, Marketing and Product Management, Acme Packet
- Bogdan-Andrei Iancu, CEO, Voice System | OpenSER
- Sridhar Ramachandran, CTO, NexTone
- David Schwartz, Founder and CTO, Kayote Networks

To register for this workshop, please click here

Tags: VoIP, VONEurope07, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 01, 2007

Person on the Move: Lou Holder

My friend, Lou Holder who I know since our days at Cantor Fitzgerald Securities (1993-96), who was one of the first people to leave Wall Street and join Min-X (in 2000) which became Vonage (in 2001) has just left Vonage.

Lou writes: "Just wanted to personally let you know that I left Vonage on Friday to take a job as CTO of Narrowstep (NRWS.OB). They play in the IPTV space, so I'm sure I will still see you at VON. :-)"

---

I'm sure Lou will be responsible for some great technology innovations at Narrowstep.

Tags: Lou Holder, Vonage, Narrowstep, IPTV, Jeff Pulver

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

April 30, 2007

Still looking for Startups and Innovators:

Call for Startups and Innovators from the world of IP Communications.

I am working on the conference program for Fall 2007 VON. I am looking for start-ups (funded in the past 12 months) and Innovators from the world of IP Communications to invite to share their vision, ideas and innovations at Fall VON.

If you or someone you know should be seen and heard at VON, please contact me.

Tags: VON07, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Blogs / Press Coverage from Innovation & Technology 2007

On April 25th I was gave one of the keynotes at Innovation & Technology 2007 in Kista, Sweden. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk about: "How Disruptive Changes in an Industry can Create Opportunities for Startups."

Cucumbers blogg: Innovation & Technology 2007

Tankar om Innovation: Utflykt till Innovation Teknology 2007

Primelabs: Entreprenörskap i fokus på Innovation & Technology 2007

Ny Teknik: Så lyckas du som entreprenör

Computer Sweden: Ip skakar mobiloperatörer

(Yes these stories are written in Swedish.)

Nicolai Wadstrom: Swedish Entreprenurial climate (in English)

Tags: Innovation and Technology 2007, Kista, voip, Jeff Pulver `

Posted by jeff at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 29, 2007

My visit with Per Björklund and the Efftel Team

Last Wednesday when I was visiting Stockholm, I spent time with Per Björklund and the Efftel team prior to the commencement of the Swedish Computer Society's VoIP Meeting.

I've known Per since March, 1998 when he announced the launch of Telia Lite at Spring '98 VON. Telia Lite was the first advertising supported VoIP service.

These days Efftel is a leader provider in Scandinavia of hosted VOIP phone systems to Enterprises. They launched their service in March, 2005 and their core focus is the SME marketplace. I appreciated the opportunity to meet with the Efftel team and compare notes of their experiences in Scandinavia and what I understand was taking place in the North American marketplace.

After our meeting at Efftel, Per also hosted the VoIP Meeting of the Swedish Computer Society. I appreciated the opportunity to speak at the meeting and especially enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the audience during the time allocated for questions and answers.

I am looking forward to my return to Stockholm the week of June 11th for VON Europe Spring 2007, and I expect to see many of the people from the meeting also attend VON Europe.

Special Thanks to Per Björklund for his hospitality during my visit.

Per Björklund, Jeff Pulver & Hakan Lund @ Efftel

Tags: Efftel, Per Bjorklund, Stockholm, voip, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 28, 2007

Aswath Rao: Innovative Communication Devices

Aswath Rao: Innovative Communication Devices

I was just catching up on my email when I saw an email from Aswath about this blog post at almost the same time I also saw that Andy blogged about it.

I appreciate Aswath's follow up comments to my blog, VoIP is Core to the Future of Communications.

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"Finally, Jeff tells us that CEOs of some of the largest phone companies discussed with him regarding VoIP. He does not say what did they discuss, though one can be certain they discussed the set of new features they can introduce as they roll out the “Next Generation Network”. So I decided to call Jeff and tell him that he should be meeting with the CEOs of small device manufacturers like Uniden and CIDCO and generate an RFP (not like the one related to ATAs) that focuses on UI enhancements without much worrying about the transport technology (POTS or VoIP) and not depend on the service providers at all. Remember the refrain: “intelligence at the end”. As I was reaching for the phone, my boss walked in calling my name and saw my dazed look. He left my office murmuring something to the effect of daydreaming once again..."

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Tags: VoIP, Aswath Rao, Andy Abramson, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 27, 2007

Reminder: VON Europe Spring 2007 "Early Bird" Promotion Ends Today (April 27th)

The VON Europe Spring 2007 Conference will be taking place 11-14 in Stockholm.

If you are involved in the European IP Communications industry, this is the event for you to attend.

Register TODAY to take advantage of our special “early bird” pricing.

Tags: VoIP, VONEurope07, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 01:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 26, 2007

Photos from Innovation and Technology 2007:

(Photos by: Glenn Gaudet)

Tags: Innovation and Technology 2007, Kista, voip, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 25, 2007

Jeff Pulver - LIVE from the Swedish Computer Society - TODAY at 12PM EDT

My second live broadcast today. This time live from Stockholm, Sweden at the Swedish Computer Society.

Click here to join the chat room.

Tags: Internet TV, ustream.tv, Stockholm, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How Disruptive Changes in an Industry can Create Opportunities for Startups:

At 11.30 CET (5:30 AM EDT) today, I will be answering the question: “How Disruptive Changes in an Industry can Create Opportunities for Startups” at the Innovation and Technology 2007 conference.

During my talk, which I hope to broadcast live on Ustream.tv, I will be looking at the effects of VoIP as a disruptive change agent.

I will also review my short list of rules on How Anyone can Disrupt a Marketplace:

- Find Your Space. Identify the Disruption

- Believe in Yourself, Your Mission and Your Vision.

- Understand that Business Plans and Business Models evolve.

- No experience Needed. Just because it hasn’t been done before doesn’t make it impossible or wrong, Stay the course and avoid hiring people whose past prior experiences would introduce the words “No” and “Can’t” too early into your startup. Out-of-the-Box Thinking is ok and should be embraced.

- Support Community. From the “Bottom-up.”

- Be aware of Lobbyists and Patent Attorneys. Watch out for disrupted companies to attempt to apply old legacy rules and regulations against a new innovation that did not exist when the rule/regulation/law was conceived of. Be aware of large companies that attempt to take the obvious and patent it. Speak up whenever needed.

Tags: voneurope07, Stockholm, voip, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 01:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 24, 2007

XConnect Raises $12 Million

Great to see that XConnect raised $12 million in a round that included: Accel Partners of England and Venrock Associates of the US, together with Grazia Equity of Germany and Bridge Capital Fund of Japan (an affiliate of Nikko Antfactory).

In a prepared statement, Eli Katz said "Our federated peering services enable service providers and carriers to deliver compelling new VoIP services and features on a cross-network basis while simultaneously reducing the capital and operational costs inherent in the PSTN model that it is replacing. This investment from a syndicate led by global Tier 1 VCs underscores the importance of peering and registry services in enabling the industry-wide migration from the legacy PSTN to the new generation of IP Communications."

And I would have to agree.

Congrats to Eli Katz and his team!

Tags: XConnect, Eli Katz, VoIP, Israel, Jeff Pulver.

Posted by jeff at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 23, 2007

Next Stop: Stockholm

In about an hour I will be taking a flight from New York to Stockholm.

On Wednesday I will be giving a talk at the Innovation & Technology conference in Kista Science City and then later in the day I will be giving a talk at a meeting of the Swedish Computer Society. Please drop me a line if you will be at either one of these two meetings.

On Thursday morning I will be flying to Tel Aviv for a few meetings and will be heading back to New York on Friday morning.

If I can make it happen, I hope to have a live "podium cam" and will try to broadcast one or both of my talks live from Stockholm. I don't know if it is going to work, but I'm going to try…

Tags: voneurope07, Stockholm, voip, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Free World Dialup and Verizon's patent on "name translation"

I am at a loss to explain how the patent office granted Verizon a patent on "name translation" given the extensive coverage of Free World Dialup (FWD) as the first instance of Internet to PSTN calling in October 1995. Daniel Berninger dropped by pulver.com last week to remind me about the accomplishments of FWD between September and November 1995. Daniel and I met when he volunteered to help with FWD while still at Bell Labs. Implementing name translation was one of the many challenges overcome before FWD went live. Absent name translation, calling someone requires knowing and entering the 12 digit IP address of the destination device.

Verizon's patent claims (listed below), causing Vonage so much trouble, describe the general process of name translation implemented by FWD during the Autumn of 1995 and every VoIP service through the present. The claims describe a "server" that matches a call setup "name translation" request received from a "calling device" regarding "information relating to call routing via a public switched telephone network." The server applies an if-then-else type logic and forwards a reply specifying the destination "numeric Internet protocol address" to the calling device via the "public packet data network" (i.e. the Internet).

FWD's PC to Phone implementation involved extending the capability of VocalTec's Internet Phone via Vocaltec's published API. Callers needed only the standard Internet phone software. Connection to the PSTN was accomplished by FWD provided software and FWD voice modem firmware downloaded and installed by volunteers. FWD utilized the Internet Phone network of Internet Relay Chat (IRC) servers for the name translation function (i.e. providing the call device with "information relating to call routing via a public switched telephone network".)

The IRC server's reply of a "numeric Internet Protocol address" to the calling device (i.e. calling party's PC running Internet Phone) involved a conditional analysis in order to match the request to the appropriate destination FWD server. In other words, the IRC server operated in FWD's architecture in the manner described in the '711 name translation patent two years before Verizon's application.

I could have applied for a patent on the name translation function in October 1995, but I viewed the not inconsequential cost of the FWD project as a contribution to the public domain. I even published a book "The Internet Telephone Toolkit" with a detailed description of FWD written in January 1996, two months before Eric Voit filed the patent application for Verizon. Nothing in the description section of Verizon's patent would surprise members of the IPhone email discussion list I managed, yet the prior art disclosure does not reference FWD or the IPhone mailing list.

In November 1996, I gave a presentation to the VoIP Forum in Dallas. The meeting included participation from Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Nokia, Motorola, and Vocaltec for the purpose of making ITU H.323 the basis for a VoIP open standard. How do these companies feel about the Verizon's assertion it owns the idea of name translation? How did Verizon accomplish this when the notion of name translation in H.323 traces back to the original ITU working group in 1993?

It seems something must have gone wrong somewhere for an asset of the public domain to end up in a patent. Please let me know if you have ideas or want to volunteer in an effort to restore VoIP name translation to the public domain.

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Patent - 6,104,711 - Enhanced internet domain name server
See number search at http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm

District Court found Vonage infringed on Claim 20 of the patent '711.

15. A method comprising:

receiving a name translation request at a server coupled to a public packet data network;

executing a conditional analysis in response to the name translation request;

if the conditional analysis produces a first result, translating a name included in the name translation request into a first destination address;

if the conditional analysis produces a second result, translating the name included in the name translation request into a second destination address; and transmitting a response message containing the first or the second destination address to a calling device for use in establishing communication at least partially through the public packet data network.

20. A method as in claim 15; wherein:

the first and second destination address includes a numeric Internet Protocol address; and the second destination address further includes information relating to call routing via a public switched telephone network.

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Tags: Vonage, Free World Dialup, Verizon, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Reminder: VON Europe Spring 2007 "Early Bird" Promotion Ends on Friday, April 27th

The VON Europe Spring 2007 Conference will be taking place 11-14 in Stockholm.

If you are involved in the European IP Communications industry, this is the event for you to attend.

Register today to take advantage of our special “early bird” pricing. (Offer ends on Friday, April 27th)

Tags: VoIP, VONEurope07, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

April 22, 2007

In support of Mobile End User Empowerment

As I’m leaving for Stockholm tomorrow afternoon to spend a couple of days this week in Sweden in support of VON Europe 2007, I decided to take another look at some of the companies that we will be spending time with in June.

Over the years, during my talks at the VON events, I have been pretty vocal about recognizing the power of an IP based platform to enable services which were never before practical or possible. And since we are talking IP, it doesn’t matter if the transport is broadband, wireless or Wi-Fi. As long as there is an available IP layer, IP communications can be leveraged, embraced and experienced.

When referring to end user empowerment, I like to point to the choice people make when they deciding where to purchase to purchase a cup of coffee. For example, if someone doesn’t drink their coffee black, and they are the kind of person who likes to have something added to it, while there are some people who prefer to have others put milk or cream into their coffee for them, I find that most people are happier when they are in direct control of the results. This is why I prefer places like 7 Eleven where I can put in the amount of cream I’m looking for rather than a place which puts in the cream for me. And whether it is delivering to me my morning coffee or delivering to me a communication service, I believe that in the end, it is the customer who should be empowered with the ability to direct their own communications future. The time has come to assume more knowledge by the End User and embrace today’s communication technologies and platforms to help drive a better communications tomorrow.

During the past year I have gotten to know a number of startups focusing in the Mobile IP space and have had meetings with companies like: Rebtel, fring, Truphone and a number of others, including a few mobile IP companies startups that are still in “stealth mode.” In each of these cases, these are companies that empower mobile users to do things with dual mode phones which could be considered disruptive from the perspective of a mobile carrier. And I think that as an industry we should be embracing more entrepreneurs to come forward with their own vision and continue to help reshape the communications industry.

When people from the States evaluate the disruptive power of Mobile IP Applications, it can be hard to understand and appreciate since 3G isn’t widely available yet in the States. And from the perspective of someone whose mobile experience only includes GPRS services, some of these disruptive offerings will appear limited in nature.

This weekend as I was catching up on my Blogosphere reading, I noticed a few recent blog posts about mobile applications which appeared to be factually correct, but looked at these applications from only the narrow perspective of price and local GPRS network coverage.

When it comes to usage, prices and specific value it is not surprising different countries have unique characteristics, same as each user has their own preferences. For example, in Europe, 3G coverage is widely available and offers relatively high quality. I expect we will we see more and more 3G flat rate data plan being introducing into the market (in the UK for example: 3, T-Mobile, Orange), thus many European subscribers will use these applications mostly over 3G. In the States, Wi-Fi might be more appealing for users as it is more wide spread while 3G does not really exist and data rate prices might be higher.

But even more than just the price & data network concerns; I think it is important to note that cost saving is not always the PRIME value for ALL users of these mobile offerings. While I’m pretty sure there are many people who are happy to talk & chat for free over flat-rate data plans or Wi-Fi, the value these companies offer is beyond saving money, it also includes handset functionality and user experience. For example, fring enables users with native IM functionality including VoIP & Chat with other fring users and with many IM applications and also provides real-time presence & native SIP integration from any standard SIP provider. While each of these companies still have much to work on and improve, they are all getting mostly positive feedback from their users and in support of what they are contributing to this new communications revolution.

Tags: Stockholm, Sweden, fring, Rebtel, Truphone, Mobile VoIP, VoIP, VONEurope07, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 18, 2007

In Search of Startups and Innovators:

Call for Startups and Innovators from the world of IP Communications.

I am working on the conference program for Fall 2007 VON. I am looking for start-ups (funded in the past 12 months) and Innovators from the world of IP Communications to invite to share their vision, ideas and innovations at Fall VON.

If you or someone you know should be seen and heard at VON, please contact me.

Tags: VON07, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Looking forward to visiting Stockholm next week

Next week I will be in Stockholm for a couple of days.

On April 25th I will be giving a keynote talk at the Innovation & Technology conference in Kista Science City and then later in the day I will be giving a talk at a meeting of the Swedish Computer Society.

At the Innovation & Technology conference I will be talking about "How to Disrupt and Industry" and will take a look at how the advent of VoIP has helped change the face of telecom during the past 11 years.

Tags: voneurope07, Stockholm, voip, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 05:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just added Click-to-Call to the pulver.com home page

I agree with Luca Filigheddu on the benefits for Click-to-Call.

The pulver.com home page is now being powered by Sitofono. Hope this helps reinforce his points.

Tags: voip, sitofono, Luca Filigheddu, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 15, 2007

My week in VoIP:

A look back at my VoIP blogs from the past week:

- When Arbitrage is a Good Thing, or at Least a Wake Up Call -- The Dispute Over Access Charges for Conference Call Traffic Terminating in Iowa
- IP Communications: Part of the Fabric of our Lives
- Most Business Reporters Don't Appreciate the Power of "Voice as an Application"
- Looks like the Nokia N95 will be missing VoIP Functionality in the UK
- Atlanta Asterisk Installation Festival (with a Ham Radio tie-in): April 28th at Georgia Tech
- Looking forward to meeting the IP Communications Startup Class of 2007
- Giving jaxtr a try
- VoIP is Core to the Future of Communications:

Tags: USF, jaxtr, N95, Nokia, asterisk, FCC, VoIP, AT&T, intercarrier compensation, Qwest, Sprint, Access Charges, Iowa, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Andy Abramson - Catching Up With Jeff: The Power Of Voice and More

Andy Abramson summarizes his comments about some of my recent VoIP blog posts.

Tags: voip, IP Communications, Andy Abramson, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kfir Pravda on jaxtr

After I wrote about jaxtr, a few friends of mine have been trying jaxtr. This includes my friend Kfir Pravda, who is based in Israel and has an interesting perspective to share.

Tags: voip, jaxtr, Kfir Pravda, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

VON Israel 2007: Rescheduled for 14-15 October

VON Israel 2007 which was originally taking place 4-5 June, will now be taking place 14-15 October.

My plans are to still visit Israel in early June and I will be heading from Israel directly to Sweden where VON Europe 2007 will be taking place 11-14 June. While I'm in Tel Aviv I expect to have a pretty hectic schedule as I will be spending time catching up with the startups and innovators in Israeli Hi-Tech.

Tags: VONEurope07, VONIsrael07, Tel Aviv, Israel, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 01:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 13, 2007

IP Communications: Part of the Fabric of our Lives

Ten years ago, VoIP was a rising star in the technology world, challenging and full of opportunities to change the way we thought about communications. It was discounted by some as a novelty, and touted by others as the future of communications. In subsequent years, many VoIP innovations "just happened" and became embedded in products and services we use, and maybe we take some of it for granted.

For example, over the past 10 years, the world phone companies have been investing millions and cumulatively billions of dollars in upgrading their PPE (Property, plant and equipment) to leverage VoIP. The day will some come when all TDM switches are phased out and the only way to wire a central office will be by using IP Communication enabled equipment.

Since the late 90s, almost all of the consumer "long distance" calls placed over the PSTN have been outsourced to companies like ITXC and iBasis for call termination. Long before "consumer voip" happened, the technology was being used on a daily basis by consumers.

And then we have the classic "push-to-talk" functionality, which has been popularized by the wireless industry. This functionality was made possibly because of VoIP led innovations.

Gaming is another example. During my vacation, I.ve been spending time at Pulveria in Second Life and enjoying the embedded VoIP services that Vivox offers (disclosure: I'm Chairman). VoIP is a core technology for many game developers and having a voice experience is just a natural extension for many people involved in the world of massive multiplayer online games.

VoIP has improved over the years, and as with the examples above, I look forward to seeing how companies will embed VoIP technology elsewhere into our lives to improve the quality of communication. Ten years later, it feels like this is only the beginning.

font size=1>Tags: voip, IP Communications, von, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 12, 2007

Most Business Reporters Don't Appreciate the Power of "Voice as an Application"

Based on what I'm seeing being written in the news, business reporters who are looking for comments from me should first read "A Concept Misunderstood by Wall Street: "Voice" and "TV" as an Application" prior to trying to contact me.

What business reporters new to this space fail to understand is that from an Industry Perspective, opportunities in VoIP and IP Communications in 2007 have never looked better. So also take a look at VoIP is Core to the Future of Communications: prior to our talk too.

Tags: Vonage, Verizon, VoIP, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Looks like the Nokia N95 will be missing VoIP Functionality in the UK

Andy Abramson is reporting that the UK Carriers are using their power to make sure that by the time UK consumers get their hands on a Nokia N95, some of it's features will be disabled.

This unfortunate reality does not surprise me. We have already seen this happen in the United States with Cingular and the Nokia E61. The Nokia E61 is a very cool phone. The Nokia E62 just isn't.

Nokia had an opportunity to be the worldwide leader in dual mode phones and the worldwide enabler of the disruption of the wireless industry. Looks like they won't be enabling consumers in the UK with the ability to seamlessly use both WiFI and cellular services.

Given the reality of how much money Nokia makes on an annual basis from companies like Orange UK and Vodaphone UK, if I worked at Nokia and had the sales responsibility for say the Vodaphone account, I would do whatever my customer asked of me to keep and protect their business. And if someone assigned to my own team was responsible for a new product offering which could be perceived as being disruptive to the core business of my customer, it might just make for a very lively internal meeting. And then just imagine being the person responsible for the N95 with all of the cool WiFi VoIP and having to deal with all your own carrier sales departments.

Seems that the Nokia N95 will be available with the complete function set until such time that significant customers speak up and ask for the “disruptive functionality” to be dealt with in their country.

Try as hard as they must, there is no escaping the reality of the coming disruption of the UK cellular industry and the emergence of a significant role that publicly available WiFi will continue to have. At the moment, all of this just means that Nokia might not be the vendor who ultimately benefits when Fixed Mobile Convergence happens in the UK.

Tags: Andy Abramson, N95, Nokia, FMC, TruPhone, vodaphone, voip, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

April 11, 2007

Looking forward to meeting the IP Communications Startup Class of 2007

A world with pervasive broadband offers amazing opportunities for startups to take advantage of.

I see wonderful opportunities for people to figure out presence. I see new challenges to be taken up against the incumbent communications systems that continue to be part of our everyday lives. I look forward to watch entrepreneurs take on the software challenges that will move the communications space forward.

And just wait until the major Telcos of the world start to fully embrace IP Peering. ENUM is already happening and will continue to happen (albeit slower) in some parts of the world than others.

I also believe in the future of Mobile VoIP. Fixed Mobile Convergence can happen. I've met some vendors who might just be the ones to make it a reality. It is just a matter of time, because it WILL happen.

Enterprise VoIP is just barely scratching the surface of what is possible. Sometimes, revisiting the oldest ideas using new technologies has the greatest opportunity to disrupt a marketplace.

As I work on Fall VON 2007, I am looking forward to engaging the IP Communications Startup Class of 2007, and learning how they plan on taking on this exciting marketplace. Are you in the class of 2007, or an alum of another exciting batch of disruptors? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Please drop me a line.

Tags: voip, startup, ipcommunications, voip, ENUM, FMC, presence, von07, von, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 10, 2007

Giving jaxtr a try...

I noticed that my friend Jacob Ner David is trying out jaxtr so I thought I would also give this voip widget a try. jaxtr seems like an interesting application. And I must comment that I was quite impressed with the speed in which they turned around an email relating to a support issue I had.

So please feel free to give this widget a try and please feel free to share your thoughts.

Get jaxtr | Login

Tags: voip, jaxtr, Jacob Ner David, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

April 09, 2007

VoIP is Core to the Future of Communications:

As I decompress from our recent VON Conference, one thing I want to make perfectly clear, is that VoIP and related technologies will only continue to grow and evolve over time and that while my own personal interests may have expanded, my interests and belief in the disruptive power of IP Communications remains quite strong. In fact, stronger than ever. I’ve waited a long time to see what happens when the world gets pervasive broadband and what happens to communications after 10 years of Moore’s Law and Metcalf’s law. The reality is that the communications landscape of 2007 is so, so different than what it looked like back in the Spring of 1997.

Looking around the marketplace, as best as I can tell, there is not a phone company in the world who doesn’t have a strategy in place where they are embracing IP based communications in their present and future network designs. During the past six months I’ve met the CEOs of some of world’s largest phone companies (both wireless and wireline) and VoIP was the topic that got me entry into their boardroom and was the point of our strategy discussions. And over the next 5-10 years, BILLIONS of dollars will be spent in the building of these IP Communications networks. And in many cases it is the vendors who are at VON who will be the beneficiaries of this business.

Over the last few VONs, I've walked the show floor with friends who represent some of the largest phone companies, a