Spring 2007 VON - San Jose, CA - March 19-22

Where the Industry Gets its Innovation!

von.com

Spring 2007 Video on the Net - San Jose, CA - March 20-22

The Next Wave of Disruption!

www.videoonthenet.com

December 21, 2009

Guest Blogger: FWD Nova Trial: HD Communications via a Web Model - By: Daniel Berninger

The FWD Nova Trial tests the utility of a web like business model for enabling HD communications. Telephone companies connect end points for a fee tied to the location of end points and the duration the connection. Browsing the web involves connecting nd points to a server for the cost of a broadband connection and a computer. No one considers the location of a web server before clicking on a link. The Nova Trial connects HD capable end points to a virtual location (the Nova). Two or more parties visiting the same Nova get connected to each other. Trial participation involves a one time $100 setup fee, but Nova owners incur no costs associated with the location of end points or how long one end point remains connected to another via the Nova.

Getting connected involves meeting at a Nova rather than dialing a telephone number. The telephone becomes a mechanism for accessing a Nova location rather than a destination, so one shares the location of the Nova rather than the device telephone number. Creating a Nova for a specific person, business, or family conversation gives communication a dimension of context absent from traditional telephone calls. Caller ID helps establish the context of a telephone call, but Caller ID does not always work and the existence of a telephone number makes unwanted telephone calls inevitable. Accessing a Nova may involve dialing a telephone number, an access number and code, a SIP URI, clicking a URL, a voice command, posting Twitter message, or any other means capable of connecting an HD end point and a Nova server via the Internet.

The Nova offer of unmetered, high definition, and contextual connections addresses a voice intensive need not met by existing communication options. HD offers an experience closer to in-person communication than a standard definition telephone call. Internet enabled options from email and instant messaging to Twitter and Facebook do not offer the same emotional connection as voice. Video options from the prohibitively expensive telepresence, championed by Cisco CEO John Chambers, to the relatively cheap casual video, associated with PC video cameras and free software (e.g. Skype), have their place, but the Nova gives stand alone voice a long overdue boost.

Setting up a Nova does not translate into communication until someone visits the Nova. Creating a Nova like posting a website arises from a "build it and they will come" attitude. Getting people to visit you at a Nova requires awareness of the existence of the Nova, a HD capable device, and navigating the device configuration obstacles. The latter two represent startup only obstacles. This mirrors the state of affairs in the early days of the web when there existed very few people with Internet connected computers and very limited web content. The hope is to replicate the virtuous cycle (new audience attracts new content and new content attracts new audience) that produced ten fold annual increases in the number of websites during most of the 1990's.

Nova startup costs are modest compared to the cost and complexities of connecting a computer to the Internet in the early 1990's. However, the current landscape is already crowded with a long list of options competing for the finite amount of time people devote to communication. Implementing a Nova represents a new option for anyone seeking the closest approximation to being there in-person. Even beyond the utility of high definition voice, the absence of usage based charges can mean leaving a Nova connection up all the time and a sense of presence not available by any other means. In any case and as with the early days of the web, the case for participating in the trial rests as much on the promise of a Nova based model as on the cost benefit merits of HD communications as it exists today.

Submit an application to participate in the trial via the web form at
http://www.siptosip.net/content.html

- - -

Daniel Berninger is CEO, FWD. His bio can be seen here.


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Posted by jeff at 11:04 PM | Permalink

December 09, 2009

Guest Blogger: Doug Mohney - Five reasons to get thee to the HD Voice Summit at 2010 CES

Five reasons to get thee to the HD Voice Summit at 2010 CES

By Doug Mohney, Editor-in-Chief, HD Voice News

On Wednesday, January 6, 2010, the HD Voice Summit at the 2010 CES will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Here are five reasons (and one bonus factor) to sign up today--

Reason #1 – Proliferation – HD voice is here and spreading around the globe a lot faster than many people think. Europe is implementing HD voice services on broadband and wireless services at a rapid clip. France Telecom has over 500,000 HD voice broadband users and has recently launched mobile HD voice service in Moldova; other carriers are following suit.

Numerous service providers in North America ranging from Phone.com to Optimum Lightpath have launched HD voice services this year. Ooma – yes, the guys with "The Talker" commercials – is quietly rolling out HD voice service on its second generation telo hardware in North America while 8x8 will have around 50,000 SMB phones using HD voice once it finishes its firmware upgrade by the end of the year.

Reason #2 - Policy & Politics. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is calling for comment on how to structure a regulatory path to move the legacy PSTN into an all-IP world and moving USF money away from "yesterday's communications infrastructure" and into broadband.

HD voice is bound to be on the list of "Must have" features for an all-IP voice network as the phone system moves into the 21st century and dumps outdated audio standards established in 1937. (Yes, 1937!).

Reason #3 – Technology: Just what defines HD voice? Is Skype's new SILK codec "more" HD than the established G.722 standard? How do those two play with AMR-WB, the emerging standard for mobile HD voice traffic? And how do you transcode and interconnect all of those formats with each other and the legacy PSTN? Panels will delve into the full technology chain of delivering HD voice.

Reason #4 – People. Over 20 of the top HD Voice "players" in the telecommunications industry will be participating in the HD Voice Summit, including Polycom CTO Jeff Rodman, Skype GM Jonathan Christensen, Ooma CMO Rich Buchanan, Ericsson VP Patrik Ringqvist, Panasonic Communications Company of North America President Bill Taylor, DSP Group VP Mike Rude, and GIPS VP of Engineering Jan Linden. There will literally be a couple hundred of decades of experience of IP communications experience in one room and you'd be well advised to listen to what they have to say.

Reason #5 – Focusing and Face-to-Face: Webinars have their uses, but there's a big difference between listening to one while you've got three to five windows running in your office and taking an afternoon to commit and focus on HD voice. And I've yet to meet the webinar that spurred spontaneous discussions among the participants during a session and in the hallway following the event.

What's more, you can follow up with the people and participating companies on the CES exhibit floor the following day, getting your hands on the products and people who are making HD Voice happen around the world.

The Bonus Factor -- Hammered by the recession and the "You shouldn't go to Vegas because it looks like you're having too good of a time" factor, most Las Vegas hotels are cutting rates and offering deals to get CES conference attendees in their rooms. Check out www.harrahs.com/geekout and the official CES hotel reservations page for some interesting comparison shopping.

For more information and to sign up for the HD Voice Summit at the 2010 CES, please visit http://www.cesweb.org/sessions/search/results.asp?categoryID=1882

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Posted by jeff at 01:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)

December 07, 2009

Introducing HD Telecom and the HDConnect Market Trial

HD communications luminaries including executives from Polycom, Dialogic, WydeVoice, and DSP Group will help launch the HDConnect Market Trial in Washington, DC on December 10, 2009. HDConnect will host a seminar on the emerging HD Telecom category and introduce the HDConnect trial from 10:00AM to Noon. (Contact Daniel Berninger -dan@danielberninger.com for logistics.) The choice of Washington, DC arises from a belief HD offers common ground in the telecom policy wars. It brings me back to Washington, DC for the first time since the FCC's 2004 adoption of the "Pulver Order" declaring FWD an unregulated information service.

HD provides a way for incumbents to reverse the decline of voice revenues and a basis for continuous improvement in telecom. It provides a way for everyone to start rowing in the same direction. Catching up with the rest of the world in broadband will not restore the country's telecom leadership credentials while a mandate embracing high definition very well could. The US can embrace HD now or create another category where the the country finds itself playing catch-up. HD already enjoys support in the rest of the world with France Telecom counting 500,000 customers and Orange making HD available to cellular customers in the entire country of Moldova.

The first generation of HD offers twice the fidelity of standard definition and the first substantial advance in voice quality since the 1950's. The effort involved in setting up HD rewards the caller with an experience that more closely approximates an in-person conversation. Voice communication remains a foundation for nearly all economic activity, so improving voice quality offers the same economic benefits motivating the Obama administration's embrace of broadband. Given half the world's oil consumption goes to moving people from one place to another, improving on standard definition telephone calls reduces the need for travel which in turn serves to reduce global
warming.

HD sets up a change in paradigm that goes beyond simply improving voice quality. HD finally ends the flawed assumption built into the PSTN of equality between all users and uses. Everyone in the world using a telephone suffers the same voice quality without regard to need or willingness to pay. President Obama does not enjoy better voice quality in conversations with world leaders than teenagers planning their social agenda. This is even true for the hotline between the White House and Moscow set up to reduce the threat of nuclear war. HD represents the first attempt to align service quality and need since the invention of the telephone. This in turn represents the best prospect for restoring growth of voice services which remain 2/3's of telephone company revenues.

The benefits of HD calling require both parties to have HD devices, where as, pitches for cheap minutes or cool devices need only address one side of a call. The HDConnect Market Trial addresses the two sided nature of the problem by framing the HD offer as a hotline. The PSTN equality assumption does to reflect a reality where the desire and
frequency of communication can vary dramatically. A lot of relationships are sufficiently strong to justify the time and money necessary to setup a HD hotline. HD typically gets mplemented as a VoIP service with global unmetered termination, so an HD hotline can prove the least expensive option in the case of heavy usage or international calling.

HD moved from being a secret to getting on agenda of every conference in telecom over the last twelve months. This counts as incremental progress, but the goal in 2010 is to convert the curiosity into deployment. The promise of HD deserves the attention of everyone in the telecom ecosystem from the incumbent wired and wireless service providers to the independents and cable companies to the telecom regulators and consumer advocates. December 10th happens to coincide with the 23rd Annual FCBA Chairman's Dinner at the Washington Hilton. The event provides the only time each year where the entire telecom policy community gathers in one place. HDConnect reserved a table at the event in hopes of hearing something other than business as usual.

Request meetings with representatives of HDConnect, more info about the trial, or RSVP for the December 10th HD Telecom seminar via email to Daniel Berninger - dan@danielberninger.com.

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Posted by jeff at 11:13 AM | Permalink

December 28, 2008

High Definition (HD) VoIP will be BIG in 2009

During my recent trip to Israel, I had a chance to sit down and catch up with my friend, Shabtai Adlersberg, Chairman and CEO of Audiocodes.

I have known Shabtai for more than a decade and I appreciated the support Audiocodes gave the VON events over the years.

One of the things we spoke about was my list of trends / predictions for 2009 and we both agreed that high definition (HD) VoIP would be big in 2009. We believe the time has come for HD VoIP to become part of our everyday lives and we are both looking forward to this becoming our reality.

We believe the time has come to eliminate the limitations that the PSTN enforces on traditional analog and digital telephones and the “3.4 kHz sound barrier”. The adoption of VoIP and broadband networks have given us the opportunity to break through this barrier with a whole new range of wideband and high-quality voice coding algorithms that make communications more efficient, more effective and more natural. The adoption of HD VoIP will empower carriers to differentiate their services with a much improved audio experience, which will increase customer loyalty and affinity. After all these years, HD VoIP will change the communications infrastructure with a platform that supports presenting sound the way it was meant to be heard.

Shabtai wasn’t the first person I spoke to about the promise of HD VoIP. In fact, this is a conversation I’ve had with quite a number of number of people in the past. But speaking with Shabati was refreshing for me and reminded me of the the promise of VoIP to have a positive affect in our everyday lives.

With the advent of the broadband internet, I believe the time is NOW for HD VoIP to finally happen. I fully expect HD VoIP to become the default method of communication regardless of the device being used. The technology platforms exist today to support HD VoIP across mobile phones, consumer VoIP and enterprise VoIP platforms. 2009 is a great time for the VoIP industry to work together and support this. I believe the widespread adoption of HD VoIP will mark the start of a renaissance in the VoIP industry and this is one of the things on my to-do list for 2009.

I look forward to watching HD VoIP become BIG in 2009.

DSC_1276.jpg(Shabtai Adlersberg, Chairman and CEO of Audiocodes.)

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Posted by jeff at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)

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.


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Posted by jeff at 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (61)

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

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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:

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October 30, 2007

Images from Fall 2007 VON: Day 1

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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.

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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.

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Posted by jeff at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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.

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Posted by jeff at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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.

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Posted by jeff at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

October 16, 2007

Images from VON Israel 2007: Day 2


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October 15, 2007

Images from VON Israel 2007: Day 1


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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:

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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: , , , 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.

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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.

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Posted by jeff at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

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: , , , Tom Evslin, Daniel Berninger, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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.



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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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Posted by jeff at 05:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

A Minute by any other name is still a Minute

Jacob Ner-David comments on the Fall of Sunrocket.

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

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.

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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.

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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.


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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:


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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)

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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.


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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.


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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.

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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

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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.

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Posted by jeff at 07:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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.

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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.

>

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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.


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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.


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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.

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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


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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.


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Posted by jeff at 06:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (87)

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.

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Posted by jeff at 06:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

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.

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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


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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. :-)"

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


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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.

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Posted by jeff at 06:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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 pĺ Innovation & Technology 2007

Ny Teknik: Sĺ lyckas du som entreprenör

Computer Sweden: Ip skakar mobiloperatörer

(Yes these stories are written in Swedish.)

Nicolai Wadstrom: Swedish Entreprenurial climate (in English)

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Posted by jeff at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

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


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Posted by jeff at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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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Posted by jeff at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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.


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

April 26, 2007

Photos from Innovation and Technology 2007:

(Photos by: Glenn Gaudet)

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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.

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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.


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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!

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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…

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Posted by jeff at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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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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: , , 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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.


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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.

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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.

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Posted by jeff at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

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.

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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.

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Posted by jeff at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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

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Posted by jeff at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

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, and I've pointed out the small companies with big visions who have yet to build a big brand, but who have much to offer. It is a reality of the IP Communications revolution that you don't have to be a big company to have something to offer the major phone companies.

Looking around the VON show floor, many of the companies that have grown up with us are now suppliers to the world's largest phone companies. While this didn't happen overnight, it happened at VON, and it happened because incumbent technology is often disrupted by innovative, enabling technologies.

2007 is a GREAT year to be part of the world of IP Communications.

Tags: , von07, , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

April 08, 2007

An RBOC's View of VoIP (From April, 1997)

This powerpoint presentation from Ed Balkovich of Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) is ten years old. This provides the Bell Atlantic Perspective from the early days of VoIP.

(Presentation is from Spring 1997 VON.)

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Posted by jeff at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 06, 2007

Verizon 2, Vonage 1. Middle of the 9th Inning.

This afternoon Vonage won a temporary reprieve in the Verizon case and can continue to sign up new customers.

Patent disputes are nothing new in the field of telephony. The earliest telephony patent dispute can be traced back to the world of Alexander Graham Bell.

It seems whenever there is innovation, change and disruption, there will be disputes about the underlying enabling technologies.

These battles do little to advance the Internet communications revolution. I value patent rights, but I hope and trust this fight does not curb innovation and progress in VoIP and other Internet communications products, services and applications.

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Posted by jeff at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doug Mohney joins the Blogosphere

Doug Mohney, Editor in Chief of VON Magazine just launched his blog. Doug, welcome to the Blogosphere!

Tags: , Jeff Pulver, VON Magazine, VON


Posted by jeff at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

April 05, 2007

Invitation to Blog: VON Europe Spring 2007

I wanted to encourage bloggers to come to and visit us at VON Europe Spring 2007 in Stockholm on 11-14 June. Quite a number of bloggers joined us for Spring 2007 VON and I would like to continue the tradition with VON Europe Spring 2007.

If you are interested in joining the cast of people blogging the event, please drop me a line and include a URL to your blog.

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

April 04, 2007

Looking forward to VON Europe 2007 in Stockholm - 11-14 June

I'm looking forward to VON Europe 2007 taking place 11-14 June in Stockholm and the opportunity to catch up with my friends from the European IP Communications industry.

In support of VON Europe, I will be in Stockholm three weeks from now and will be at two events on April 25th. I'm giving a keynote at Innovation & Technology in Kista Science City and then later in the day I will be giving a talk at a meeting of the Swedish Computer Society.

I first blogged about Kista Science City back in 2004 and I've been a fan of the work they have been doing ever since.

While I'm in Stockholm I hope to catch up with some members of the Swedish Podcasting community and will invite them to spend time at PodCamp Europe.

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Posted by jeff at 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 02, 2007

The Lighter side of the IETF: RFC 4824 “The Transmission of IP Datagrams over the Semaphore Flag Signaling System (SFSS)”

I have to give my friends at the IETF credit for this one - The Transmission of IP Datagrams over the Semaphore Flag Signaling System (SFSS). Nice to see the IETF share their sense of humor. :)

Just wondering who might have prior art here?

And I join Dan York in wondering who will be the first to implement VoIP using this medium.

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Posted by jeff at 02:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 29, 2007

Ofcom Releases Statement on VoIP Regulation - do I long for the Days of British Subjugation?

The UK's Ofcom issued its long-awaited statement on VoIP regulation, which becomes effective May 29, 2007. The full framework is available at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/voipregulation/voipstatement/voipstatement.pdf and the Ofcom statement can be found at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/voipregulation/voipstatement/

I submitted comments in the UK proceeding. I like to believe that that effort was worthwhile, and that Ofcom found value in some of the comments presented by members of the VoIP community. The Statement seems to suggest that Ofcom recognized the potential of VoIP to transform the ways in which we communicate and tried to balance the needs of the providers, innovators, and entrepreneurs with the goals of ensuring the social good and an informed consumer base.

The ruling lays out a code of conduct with which VoIP providers must adhere. It does not take immediate steps to require emergency service (999) access. Instead, Ofcom plans to take another look at this area later this year and consult on whether, and how, emergency services calls access might be made a mandatory requirement in the VoIP world.

The framework also explains Ofcom's current thinking on other VoIP related issues including naked DSL, net neutrality, approach to regulation of nomadic services and the European Framework Review.

Specifically, the new code of practice requires VoIP providers to make clear:

- whether or not the service includes access to emergency services;
- the extent to which the service depends on the user's home power supply;
- whether directory assistance, directory listings, access to the operator or the itemization of calls are available; and
- whether consumers will be able to keep their telephone number if they choose to switch providers at a later date.

If consumers choose to take up a service that does not offer access to emergency services or which depends on an external power supply, the code also requires VoIP providers to:

- secure the customer's positive acknowledgement of this at point of sale (by checking a box, for example);
- label the capability of the service, either in the form of a physical label for equipment or via information on the computer screen; and
- play an announcement each time a call to emergency services is attempted, reminding the caller that access is unavailable.

Recognizing that VoIP services have the potential to offer significant new benefits to consumers, including more competition and choice, lower prices and new services such as second lines and nomadic services, my first read suggests to me that Ofcom tried to strike a workable balance between promoting innovation and protecting traditional social goods.

Personally, I prefer the UK's approach to VoIP to what I have seen in the US over the past two years. It seems more thoughtful and better balanced, and seems to focus on what I think should be the central, perhaps only bona fide role for regulators in this emerging space -- ensuring consumers are well informed.

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Posted by jeff at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Decompressing after VON

Lx7.ca: Decompressing after VON

"It's taken a week for me to get enough distance away the VON event to write my thoughts and feelings on it. Partially because there was so much going on that I needed that time to sort it out, and partially for me to return to reality and actually write something that would be honest. Video on the Net was amazing! At so many levels it spoke volumes as to the future. Technology wise we're already there, the big issue is finding and developing quality content.

It is rather unlikely that so many content creators and innovators would have been at a technology trade show without the inspiration and efforts by guys like Chris Brogan and Jeff Pulver. Many of the featured podcasters in their booth at Network2.tv were their because of Network2's interest in their shows. What a surprise to meet and view content that actually mattered, that approaches the value and stickiness of good television. I'm still going through the laundry list of shows and people I met who had their content on display. And if there ever was a reason to cancel my cable, these shows would be the hook to make that happen."

--

Today marks a week after VON closed and I'm still decompressing after VON...

Tags: , Chris+Brogan, Lx7.ca, , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 26, 2007

Thanks to everyone who helped make VON07 happen!

Special thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of Spring 2007 VON / Video on the Net. This was a complete team effort, both from the pulvermedia perspective as well as from the team of speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and delegates who made up the attending community. We appreciate your on-going support.

On the personal side, I enjoyed seeing quite a number of new people join our community and I appreciated the chance to catch up with a number of them during the event.

Tags: , , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 22, 2007

Images from Spring 2007 VON (Days 2 and 3):

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Posted by jeff at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 21, 2007

Images from Spring 2007 VON (Day 1):

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Posted by jeff at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 13, 2007

Verizon vs. Vonage: pulvermedia Webinar - Thursday March 15th

On Thursday March 15th at 1 PM EDT pulvermedia is having a special webinar to discuss the recent court decision about VoIP. This discussion will provide the backdrop for the pending injunction hearing. Who stands to benefit and what happens next for the VoIP industry. The discussion that will last about 40 minutes will discuss the following topics:

What is the scope of the patents at issue and what was decided?

What is the impact if any on other VoIP providers?

What are the implications for regulators and legislatures?

Discussants:

- Jonathan Askin, Chairman VON Coalition

- Jim Kohlenberger, Executive Director, VON Coalition

- Ed Pennington Esq -- Bingham McCutchen LLP.

- Rob Bertin Esq - Bingham McCutchen LLP.


This discussion is a precursor to the meeting that will held at Spring VON in San Jose on March 19th at the end of the Spring 2007 VON Policy Summit. And all who register for this webinar are welcome to join us at this meeting and the VON Expo as our guests. With all that's happening in the marketplace its important to be at VON with the industry leaders to get your bearings and stay on course.


Click here to register for the Webinar.

Click here to register for Spring 2007 VON.

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Posted by jeff at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

March 12, 2007

The Pulver 100 of 2007:

The 2007 “pulver 100” identifies who we at pulvermedia believe to be the top privately held growth companies in the converged worlds of: Media, Internet, Communications and Entertainment (MICE).

The companies named to the 2007 pulver 100 are: 911 Enable, Abbeynet, AccessLine Communications, Aculab, Advoco Software AB, Agito Networks, Apparent Networks, Atreus Systems, Azimuth, blip.tv, BlueSlice Networks, Bridgeport Networks, brightcove, Brix Networks, BroadSoft, Cantata, Centile, Cicero Networks, Citel Technologies, Commetrex, Contigo, Dialexia Communications, Dialogic, DiamondWare, Digium, DiVitas Networks, Edgewater Networks, Empirix, Endeavor Telecom, Fonality, Fring, GrandCentral, Grandstream Networks, GUPP, HighDeal, Inclarity, Ingate Systems, Intertex Data AB, Intoto, Iotum, Iperia, iSkoot, Jajah, Jaxtr, Jungo Software Technologies, Kayote Networks, KoolSpan, Lignup, Longboard, M5 Networks, MailVision, Mediatrix Telecom, Meru Networks, MetaSwitch, MINO Wireless, NewHeights Software, Nextone Communications, NeuLion, Nominum, OnRelay, ooma, Owera, Pactolus Communications Software, Paradial, Personeta, Psytechnics, Quescom, Quintum Technologies, Rebtel, Revver, Ring Central, Sansay, Sightspeed, Sling Media, Snom Technology, Soma Networks, speedbit, SPIRIT DSP, Stickam, Surf Communication Solutions, Switchvox, Swyx, Sylantro Systems, SysMaster, talkplus, TalkSwitch, tekVizion PVS, Inc., Telchemy, Telepo, Tellme Networks, TelTel, Tilgin, Trinity Convergence, Truphone, U4EA Technologies, USA Datanet, veoh, Vivox, VOZ Telecom, XConnect.

I'm looking forward to seeing many of the CEOs of the Pulver 100 at a special lunch that I am hosting next Wednesday during Spring 2007 VON in San Jose.

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Posted by jeff at 07:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

March 08, 2007

Verizon 1, Vonage 0. End of the Seventh Inning.

While Verizon may have won in court today, this isn't the end of the battle.

As reported in MultiChannel News last month:

"Jeff Pulver, who helped created Vonage but didn’t stay with the company, said he didn’t believe a Verizon victory would spell the demise of Vonage. “They have proven that they are the Kleenex of voice over broadband. They are the team to beat,” he said. “Their model works wherever there is broadband.”

---

Coincidentally, yesterday was the 131st anniversary of the first Bell telephone patent. It forces me to consider how unfortunate it is that we are still wasting untolled resources fighting endless battles in the regulatory, legislative and judicial arenas, rather than in the marketplace. These battles do little to advance the Internet communications revolution. I value patent rights, but I hope and trust this decision does not curb innovation and progress in VoIP and other Internet communications products, services and applications.

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Posted by jeff at 06:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

March 07, 2007

Andy Abramson on his Conference 2.0 Life

Andy Abramson: Conferencing--Gearing Up and Winding Down and Staying Connected

"The arduous, not every mortal can do it, schedule of first quarter conferences will take yet another positive turn in about ten days when VON hits San Jose starting March 19th. There I'm on two panels there Peripheral Visionaries and the requisite Blogger Panel.

At VON, clients Fonav, GrandCentral, Nokia, SightSpeed, TruPhone and VoEX will be either speaking or exhibiting (and sometimes both) and I'll be busy with briefings, meetings and more as "conference life" and the Jeff Pulver fed "VON Blur" seems to take on a life of it's own."

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Andy - Looking forward to seeing you the week of March 19th at Spring VON.

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

March 06, 2007

Images from Dialogic's ONE Conference 2007:

On Tuesday I was in Miami to give a keynote talk at Dialogic's ONE Conference 2007.

Nick Jensen
Jim Machi


Online Videos by Veoh.com


I'm looking forward to seeing the Dialogic team at Spring 2007 VON.


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Posted by jeff at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 05, 2007

Heads up to the PR Community. Yes, I am attending Spring VON.

I know we are getting close to the commencement of Spring VON because I’m starting to receive emails that look a lot like this one:

>To: jeffp@pulver.com (note the lack of a well formed email address)
> Subject: Re: Meet with ABC_Company at Spring VON
>
> Dear Jeff,
>
>
>
> Are you attending Spring VON in San Jose, Calif., this year? ABC_Company
> will be at the show, and would like to schedule a briefing with you to
> go over our latest announcements. We will also be highlighting our
> __________Gateway and______ solutions, along with latest enhancements to our
> ____ Server.
>
>
> Please contact me if you would like to schedule a briefing. ABC_Company
> will be located in booth 999.
>
>Thanks,

(actual email received over the weekend. ABC_Company was used to protect the innocent. This letter is the fault of their PR firm.)

Sorry, but if someone is trying to get my attention, they should not use a form letter. They should also know my role at VON and not start off with the question, “Are you attending Spring VON in San Jose, Calf., this year? For the record, YES! I will be there.

Maybe one day the PR firms responsible for on-site activities at VON and Video on the Net will learn better, but until then I suggest they take another look at my recent blog post PR Pros Gone Wild" Continues....And My Top 10 Suggestions For Making PR More Effective at VON:.

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Posted by jeff at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

March 02, 2007

From New York to Boston to Mexico City and back to New York:

I spent most of this evening catching up from the email-lag that I had as a result from having too many hours "in-transit" the past couple of days.

Suffice to say when I left my home at 5am on Tuesday to catch the 6.30 am Delta Shuttle to Boston to speak at MIT, I didn't think much of the fact that I would be returning back home at 1.30am on Thursday morning. Looking back on Tuesday, I had a great time at MIT and it was cool to run into Brough Turner at Logan Airport as he was also on his way to speak at VON Mexico.

On Wednesday morning I did a live drive-time radio interview with Carlos Mota in support of keynote speech during lunch at VON Mexico. During breakfast with Richard Erb and Jason Chudnofsky, I took out my shiny new Sony TSC-T50 and took the following video:

I tried, but I couldn't get Richard Erb to say that we are in Mexico City for VON Mexico. :)

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Posted by jeff at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 28, 2007

Second Life Getting its Voice from Vivox

As Chairman and co-founder of Vivox, I've enjoyed watching the metamorphosis of Vivox into a company that is focused on being the "voice" in the world of MMOGs, where MMOG stands for "Massively Multiplayer Online Game." Just yesterday it was announced that Linden Lab will integrate the Vivox voice services into the fabric of Second Life. Second Life Residents will be able to speak with one another simply by walking up to other Residents and talking. There will be no need for a separate application, download, or login. Much like the experience of the Million Minutes program run this past fall by Vivox in-world when several Residents gathered around the microphones for group conversations. But now, no need to download a separate application. Spatial audio is also a feature and will allow residents to hear each other based on their positions - on their left, right, far away or nearby. Other capabilities will include controls for both Residents and land owners to manage participation in conversations, friends lists, presence, speaking indicators and tools that will allow people to stay connected in and out of world.

I’m looking forward to having this feature fully implemented on Pulveria.

Second Life plans to start a private Beta in the next couple of weeks.

This is a tremendous step for Second Life and for Vivox. Real time communication gives users a lot of choice and opportunities to connect. It will be great to see how Residents will use the technology for business, education and social endeavors. Stay tuned!



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Posted by jeff at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

18 Hours in Mexico:

Well...I'm now in Mexico. I'm looking forward to walking around the VON Mexico exhibit floor and speaking tomorrow at the VON Mexico conference.

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February 27, 2007

From NY to MIT to VON Mexico:

This morning I’m heading up on an early flight to Boston to speak on campus with students at the MIT Sloan Sales Club (E51-345 at 12pm) as part of their Executive Speaker Series. After my talk, I will be heading back to Logan Airport for a flight to Mexico City via Houston.

On Wednesday I will be in Mexico City attending and speaking at VON Mexico.

The start of what will be a very full day…

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February 26, 2007

Spring 2007 VON is just three weeks away; Get ready to NETWORK.

Over the years people ask me “How to get the most out of VON” and my response starts with “become an active member of the community.” This means not being a “hit and run” speaker or delegate but rather reaching out and introducing yourself to a member of the pulvermedia team and giving us a chance to get to know you.

While I do have a tendency to spend time at VON with people who I know, I also make it a point to meet as many new people as possible during each of our events. One reality of VON is that I do not have enough time to confirm every formal meeting request that comes in. This does not mean that I don’t want to meet with you, despite what your PR person/Admin may think. What they don’t know is that I am a big fan of unscheduled, ad-hoc meetings. Over the years, conversations that started in an elevator have turned into long term friendships. And despite the appearance of badge scanners in the booths on our show floor, if you intend on getting to know someone, please bring a new supply of business cards with you. You will not find a badge scanner in most of the places where you may end up doing the most productive business-to-business networking.

You have the next three weeks to check out our confirmed speakers and our exhibitors (including those in our new Video on the Net Pavilion) and decide on the people and the companies you want to get to know better. And when you see me on-site at VON, please don’t be shy. :)

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February 23, 2007

Dan York Reflects on Choosing Pyramids over Spring 2007 VON

Dan York: Dang... I could have been sharing the VON panel/conversation with Scoble, Arrington, Steve Rubel and more...

"Sometimes the choices you have to make turn out to be a bit bittersweet. For the past several years, I've routinely attended the Spring VON show in San Jose, CA. It's a great show for someone in the CTO space to see what's happening on the bleeding edge of telephony/communication... especially with regard to the carrier/service-provider space. The thing I always like about VON is that there's always these companies off in the little 10x10 booths doing really wacky things. And there there's the big open source presence as well."

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Dan - Looking forward to seeing you in Stockholm. Hope you enjoy the Pyramids. :)




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February 22, 2007

Robert Scoble and Mike Arrington sharing stage at Spring 2007 VON

Robert Scoble: Mike Arrington and me to share stage at VON

"Here’s a presentation I’m looking forward to. Mike Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, and me are sharing a stage at the Video on the Net conference...

...Here’s the details on our talk, which Mike and I just worked out yesterday:

TITLE: Collision: What happens when old and new media mix

DESCRIPTION: Mike Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, and Robert Scoble, Vice President at PodTech.Network, and videographer/interviewer on ScobleShow.com, get together to discuss with you their view of what’s happening in the online video world and how it’s colliding with bigger Web 2.0 trends like the widget explosion we’re seeing on blogs and social media sites like MySpace. PodTech, for instance, saw traffic go way up when it changed to a Flash-based player similar to YouTube’s. We’ll also talk about the collision of old and new media on the net and the disruptive aspects that we’re seeing in the online media space.

- - -

For me, the Mike Arrington/Robert Scoble “Collision” session taking place 2.15pm - 2.45pm on Wednesday, March 21st at Video on the Net is one of the "Must Attend" sessions of the conference. And right after Mike and Robert speak at Video on the Net, they will be joining the afternoon General Session at Spring 2007 VON together with Andy Abramson, Chris Brogan, Steve Garfield and myself.

And Mr. Scoble - thank you for putting in a plug for the contest.




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Posted by jeff at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 21, 2007

Guest Blogger, Alan Weinkrantz, talks about how he and his PR team are helping his agencyąs client and VON Exhibitor, Surf Communication Solution, prepare for a show like VON.

Spring 2007 VON / Video on the Net is now less than one month away. For us, itąs really about three weeks away because of the advance planning we have to do.

Weąll be supporting our client, Surf Communication Solutions with the objective of generating pre and post show media, analyst and blogger coverage. Weąll do this primarily by reaching out to selected members of this community in hopes of booking one-on-one appointments during the show.

Yes, we have a new product and even a very cool application story to talk about. And best of all, we are planning on having the companyąs President and CEO, Eyal Zagagi, with us on hand for meetings. I also realize that we are competing with other vendors, as well as all of the surrounding events during show itself, including the Video on the Net event.

I think the key to getting quality coverage and meetings at a show like VON is to demonstrate why your client matters in the grander scheme of the industry -- and how they lead and innovate.

In the case of Surf, we will be promoting a new fully-integrated PCI Express DSP resource board that actually delivers much of what Spring VON is all about: distribution of voice, video and data for enterprise telecom and CTI applications across converged networks.

I think the coolest about Surfąs product is not just what it does, but how itąs designed. Thatąs going to be part of our pitch: You have to see this thing to believe it.

Surf has this extraordinary patent-pending design featuring the SurfDocker modular plug-in. I am not engineer, but the best way to explain it is to see how the board carries up to four pairs of mixed types of DSPs and supports a variety of configurations to meet the application developerąs requirements. That is going to be part of our pitch. This thing is really an engineering marvel.

Surf also has a great relationship with Texas Instruments, and weąll be focused on the fact that just before VON, since they have been invited to demonstrate their video processing capabilities at the TI Developerąs Conference in Dallas earlier in the month.

We have a great technology, a practical case study, a great CEO and a very cool design factor.

All the makings of a successful VON Show -- right?

While we have big plans for Surf, we also have reasonable expectations.

Working a show like VON is not a one-time event. I know that journalists, analysts and bloggers are hounded by PR people like us and the vendors themselves.

So, I think part of the key to a show like VON is to manage your expectations. Even if you donąt get a chance to meet with everyone on your hit list, if your message is right, and your story is timely, over time you will succeed.

My advice is to give this process six months. Be persistent. Be relevant. And most of all, be patient. Your time will come if you stick to the basics, use a touch of creativity, and make a bit of your own luck.

PsssstŠ.wanna book an appointment with Surf at VON? Email me: alan@weinkrantz.com and I will be in touch...



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Posted by jeff at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

February 20, 2007

"PR Pros Gone Wild" Continues....And My Top 10 Suggestions For Making PR More Effective at VON:

Now that we are four weeks before Spring 2007 VON, this is the time our exhibitors' Marketing teams and their PR firms start to do a full court press on the bloggers, media and industry analysts in hopes of getting not only advance coverage for both VON and Video on the Net, but meetings in their booths.

We make the media list available to exhibitors because we believe it is important for them to communicate with the attending media and distribute their news, and of course schedule in person interviews in their booth. (And yes, there are also some journalists who we know are coming, but we don't publish their contact information at THEIR request).

In order to deal with the frenzy for getting attention, here is my top 10 suggestions for making your PR / outreach initiatives more effective:

1. Do your homework: Go through the list and see who is not only going, but determine who has covered your space or may have an interest in your space. Look for articles they have written about your company, your competitor and your market.

2. Try to avoid a canned pitch: If you are going to pitch, then selectively pitch and give them a compelling reason to meet with you above and beyond just meeting with your CEO or learning about the latest revision of your product.

3. Appreciate the fact that not everyone makes firm appointments. While VON continues to, it's still a manageable show for the media to "walk," be in the press room, attend our events, and get a macro sense for where the industry is headed. If someone does not make a firm appointment, just ask them to come by the booth when they can and leave it at that.

4. If you make an appointment, keep the appointment. I've had several journalists and analysts tell me of stories of making appointments with a CEO or VP level executive for a briefing, only to be cast aside when a major customer shows up in the booth. Treat the media as you would a major customer - and a long term one at that.

5. If you don't have any new "news," propose a briefing anyway. Sometimes meeting face to face means a lot. I am personally interested in not only the technology but the people behind the technology and the disruption we see at our shows. And given what VON is and has become, I am always personally thrilled to hear from journalists about interesting personalities behind the logos, the tradeshow booth, and the formalities of marketing.

6. Join the conversation: Find journalists, analysts and of course, bloggers who blog about VON. See Andy, Om and others who are actively listening and participating in the conversation. Have your CEO and CTO read and comment regularly and when appropriate with out it being a commercial pitch for your company. And...have you thought about a blog for your company?

7. Technology is one thing- but applications are another. If you have real life application stories, or a very cool customer using your technology, focus on that. In my personal travels around the world to the various VON events, I often see some of the coolest applications of disruption outside of the U.S. If it works in Italy, then it most likely works in the U.S. - just on a grander scale.

8. Check editorial calendars. Look for stories coming up in the media on issues current to VON and our industry: IMS, FMC, Video over IP. Where do you fit and what are you doing that is disruptive and moving the industry forward?

9. Offer the analysts current data and market trends that will help them make their reports more meaningful. Sure you are there for coverage, but it's a two-way street. If you can share your insights with analysts, they will come back to you in the future.

10. Manage expectations. Even when you do your homework you have to remember that the media cant answer every email or make every meeting. Like any form of marketing, PR is an investment in time, which can pay big time.

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And...if there any PR Executives with clients at our VON events who is reading this blog who would like to be a Guest Blogger and discuss about how YOU approach PR at our VON events, please drop me a line.




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Posted by jeff at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

February 19, 2007

Spring 2007 VON: Just One Month Away

The world of MICE (Media / Internet / Communications / Entertainment ) will be well represented at the San Jose Convention Center when Spring 2007 VON and Spring 2007 Video on the Net take place next month.

New at VON will be a number of things, including the introduction of the Video on the Net Pavilion in the Spring 2007 VON Exhibit Hall.

The Spring 2007 VON Conference themes include a core focus on: IP Voice, IMS, FMC and IPTV (Delivery of Services and Building IPTV Facilities.) These themes are reflected also in our pre-conference workshops: FMC, IPTV, IP Video and Communication Policy.

And I welcome the new voices that will be heard at the return of the Bloggers Plenary Session when we present: Andy Abramson, Mike Arrington, Chris Brogan, Steve Garfield, Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble and myself. This should be quite a memorable session. :)

And it seems that my outreach to startups and innovators was a success as there will be quite a number of startups attending VON and Video on the Net.

Looking forward to what will be a GREAT week in San Jose.



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Posted by jeff at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 16, 2007

Understanding the "Say Everything" Generation

New York Magazine: Say Everything

As younger people reveal their private lives on the Internet, the older generation looks on with alarm and misapprehension not seen since the early days of rock and roll. The future belongs to the uninhibited.

"...It’s been a long time since there was a true generation gap, perhaps 50 years—you have to go back to the early years of rock and roll, when old people still talked about “jungle rhythms.” Everything associated with that music and its greasy, shaggy culture felt baffling and divisive, from the crude slang to the dirty thoughts it was rumored to trigger in little girls. That musical divide has all but disappeared. But in the past ten years, a new set of values has sneaked in to take its place, erecting another barrier between young and old. And as it did in the fifties, the older generation has responded with a disgusted, dismissive squawk..."

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A friend of mine suggested that I pick up a copy of New York Magazine and read this cover story right after I started to wonder about when Service Providers would offer Innovative Services. But I was on the road and never got to it. Turns out that this very issue of New York Magazine was staring at me last night in my home when I was looking for something else, and I finally had a chance to read it..

This story should be a must read if you are in the business of: developing / selling / promoting "Innovative Communication Services" and want to do business with the "Say Everything" Generation. Or I guess you can ignore this story and attempt to continue selling to their parents and grandparents. The choice is yours.

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Posted by jeff at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

February 15, 2007

Time to Book your Hotel Room for Spring 2007 VON

Just heard from our conference operations team that there are just a handful of discounted hotel rooms available in San Jose for the people attending Spring 2007 VON and/or Video on the Net.

If you are planning on attending and would like to stay in San Jose and have not yet made your Hotel reservation yet, NOW would be a good time to do so.

See you in San Jose!

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Posted by jeff at 05:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 13, 2007

Aswath on PSTN vs. VoIP

Aswath: PSTN vs. VoIP - Kettle and Pot

'It really roils me whenever I read that VoIP can do something that PSTN can not. Here is a provocative thought – PSTN is also IP. Since IP allows for any technology on the “sub-network”, why can’t PSTN be considered a “sub-network”?'


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Posted by jeff at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

iotum Talk-Now Preview (Available Again)

Cinematographer Alec Saunders from Iotum has just posted a new iteration of his Talk-Now Preview.

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

Speaking at Dialogic's ONE Event 2007

I'm looking forward to giving a keynote at Dialogic's ONE Event 2007 on March 6th in Miami.

Dialogic's ONE event provides an opportunity to "network with Dialogic executives, product specialists, and other partners to gain technical knowledge and obtain insights into technology transitions."

I believe the last time I spoke at a Dialogic customer event was back in 1998. It has been awhile.


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Posted by jeff at 07:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 11, 2007

Luca on Why VoIP has Succeeded:

Luca Filigheddu: 10 reasons why VoIP has succeeded

Luca writes: "It's not usual for me to compile this kind of lists, anyway here's a listing of the most important reasons I think influenced the wide diffusion of VoIP worldwide. I've been part of this revolution, so I believe it can be wise and useful to stop for a while and think of why we've arrived here.

This listing comes entirely from my experience, having been involved in the VoIP world for over seven years, as engineer and manager. As usual, of course, comments and critics are appreciated."

Luca's Top 10 Reasons why VoIP has Succeeded:

10. The Internet
9. SIP
8. G723, G729
7. Competition
6. Vocaltec
5. Dream of calling for FREE
4. Asterisk
3. Jeff Pulver and VON
2. Skype
1. Broadband

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Agree? Disagree? Looks like we have another topic to discuss in the Wednesday General Session at Spring 2007 VON with: Andy Abramson, Mike Arrington, Chris Brogan, Steve Garfield, myself and Robert Scoble.


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Posted by jeff at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

February 07, 2007

Paul Kapustka: AT&T’s ‘Free Call’ Bill: $2 Million

Paul Kapustka: AT&T’s ‘Free Call’ Bill: $2 Million

"Guess who got stuck with a big bill for all those “free” international calls touted by outfits like FuturePhone? None other than AT&T, which has filed a lawsuit in Iowa claiming that “deceitful and unlawful schemes” like FuturePhone’s caused a jump from $2,000 per month to $2 million per month in the fees billed AT&T by an Iowa rural telco."

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Once again, when something seems too good to be true, sometimes it is.

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Posted by jeff at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Q. And How do customers at large see Communications functionality?

These past few days I've been spending time thinking about: service providers, customers and new services. While there is a part of me that wants to believe that one day customers will self empower themselves with "roll your own" custom services, even if this was made possible, chances are that less that 1% of the user population would take advantage of the platform. But with the advent of the ability to use tools to in effect "socialize the service", I imagine it would be possible for the community at large to in effect "Digg" the service and perhaps this is a way that "cool new services" eventually evolve and propagate. But I digress.

So today I'm thinking at loud about the customer side of the question, and by that, I don't mean the VON community, but how customers at large, see communications functionality. How can they envision the power of new apps?

I would argue that most people see communications very simply. In fact, I could also argue that the biggest advance in "communications sensibility" in the last 20 years has been the association of fashionability with communications, adorning what was always seen as a basic utility. That's led to the cell phone replacement cycle (which has been a lucrative phenomenon for the whole food chain), the importance of cameras, services like ringtones and ringback tones, and the startlingly-large industry of cell phone embellishments like cases and paste-on jewels. The biggest enhancements to basic functionality have been instant messaging (text, picture, video) and message storage, things that are simple to explain and understand.

I've come to believe, over the years, that most people just can't "grok" or even "Digg" (for lack of a better term - it seems appropriate) more complex or intelligent communications functionality. They just want to communicate, mostly with the same people, at the time and place, and with the media, they choose. If this belief is true, then it makes sense that enhanced messaging, cell phone-photos and video, etc., will continue to be augmented as a source of revenue - that's where the research and development will go, versus other service types that continue to come up at our VON events discussions over the years.

So where are sources of opportunity, in terms of enhancing service? One might argue that they lie in the areas of vanity and fear.

Vanity: Fancier cell phones. Cell phone accessories. Even more strange-looking Bluetooth headsets. iPod tie-ins. Better pictures. Celebrity tie-ins. Pop-culture apps, like something tied in to "American Idol," beyond just voting via text, and so on.

Fear: Kid-monitoring. Access controls on cell phone web-browsers. Location services. Elder alerts. Enhanced versions of OnStar (which, by the way, I think was a brilliant app - and it never seems to make money!). Emergency broadcasts to cell phones. And more presence + location based service apps in the future.

I'm looking forward to continuing this discussion next month in San Jose at Spring 2007 VON. I will add it to the topics to be covered in the Bloggers Panel / General Session.


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Posted by jeff at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

February 06, 2007

How do service providers go about *learning* what customers want?

And even if service providers know, is the customer's need in line with the company's need? One might argue that the service provider's main objective is to achieve reliable, recurring revenue with a relatively low duty cycle - which may or may not be in sync with what customers actually want. The best way to fulfill the service provider's typical objective is to come up with more things to charge for which might sound neat, but which most people will rarely use even though they continue paying the bills.

Great example: One well-known local provider's cellphone-video service. This rents for $15 a month, and I'll bet maybe 5% of people who pay for the service, use it. When you're in the store, buying the phone, it all sounds great, and once they've got you down, it's troublesome to eliminate the charge. In fact, on a basic level, it is quite possible that few people really need, want, or use this service.

Meanwhile, the network is full of dead spots, which even a sense-blind carrier must *know* people want fixed. BUT, there is no return to the carrier for fixing the dead spots, except maybe some fewer complaints from the regulators - and there are hundreds of lawyers on staff who get paid anyway, whether or not they're handling complaints. And there's no downside for having the dead spots, because customers accept them and pay for service anyway.

In the United States, this is what our "mobile phone" experience is all about.

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Posted by jeff at 07:28 AM | Permalink

February 05, 2007

This Just In: KPN will be 100% VoIP by 2010

Special Thanks to Dave Burstein for the heads up.

"TELEPHONE OF THE KPN STARTING FROM 2010 ONLY BY VOIP

The Netherlands telecommunications company KPN wants to be
traditional telephone network in the year 2010 completely to switch
off, reported German Press Agency. The telephone calls are to then
run exclusively over Internet minutes (IP), said the boss of the KPN
Festnetzsparte, Eelco Blok, the ~Srestaurant week~T. A complete door
from the conventional Telefonie would be a radical, but consistent
step in view of the general trend to supply each kind of data - also
television programs - in the IP procedure. Thus the Telekom
infrastructure does not change fundamentally, numerous jobs for any
more is not used.

In Germany something similar initiates itself, however rather in
secret: Under the designation NGN (NEXT generation network) some
Arcor or Hansenet/Alice customer is already tied up by Voice of over
IP instead of over classical exchange technique - usually even
unknowingly, as the computer magazine reports c't in its Monday
appearing expenditure 4/07 in the article ~Sparting from the
telephone network~T. In addition, the German Telekom cannot apparent
extract itself from no more the suction of the IP technology and sees
its welfare on a long-term basis likewise in the conversion of all
nets to IP technology. (gr/c't)"

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Just saw that Richard Stastny also blogged about this.

The transition of the PSTN at KPN by 2010 is not really news for many of the people who have been attending the VON Events over the years. But it is nice to see what was predicted to become a reality.

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Posted by jeff at 07:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sitofone is now Mobile

Luca Filigheddu: Sitofone goes Mobile

Just saw this on Luca's blog:

"I'm happy to announce that Sitofono goes mobile for US and Canada users.

This means that you can now point your mobile phone's browser at www.companyname.sitofono.com, insert you mobile phone number in the edit box and call the company which owns that Sitofono from your mobile phone completely for FREE."

In addition, any Sitofono's customer in US and Canada can now make unlimited FREE calls worldwide from their mobile phone by using their Sitofono.

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FREE calling on mobile phones in the USA and Canada. Now that's something I can get used to.

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Posted by jeff at 06:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yes, FuturePhone is No More.

GigaOM: FuturePhone, a Thing of the Past?

"After getting some New York Times1 recognition for its free international calling plan, it looks like FuturePhone is no more. A visit to the company’s website pulls up a red banner announcing This Service is No Longer Available, and a call to the company’s international access number, 712-858-8883, gets you a message saying “we’re sorry, this service has been disconnected.”

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Hope you enjoyed the free phone calls while they lasted.

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Posted by jeff at 06:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

February 04, 2007

Jeff Pulver Channeled via Tom Evslin: "Voice is just an Application"

Tom Evslin: Voice 2.0 – Fuggetaboutit!

"There isn’t gonna be a new killer voice application! Old friends from my VoIP days aren’t gonna believe it’s me saying that but (with lots of hindsight) it’s the truth. New phones? Yes! Different pricing? Yes! New features? Sure. Major new capability? Nope!

My friend Jeff Pulver has been right about almost everything to do with voice on the net and now video on the net. But I think he’s wrong (as I was) when he looks for major functional innovation in the delivery of voice communications."

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Not to burst any Voice 2.0 bubbles here, but I agree with Tom on this. On many levels "Voice is just an Application." Here lies both the beauty and the beast.

While Andy wants to believe this is a fundamental marketing issue, the fact is that what we have been lacking all along is the "change agent" that turns something into something that we can't live without. These are products/services that become nouns in our everyday life. Skype is the closest thing the consumer VoIP industry has that represents such a change agent, although it was the advent of Vonage that drove the worldwide Cable companies to adopt their own voice over broadband strategies.

I remain bullish on the ability for the startup Mobile VoIP community to deliver an application that becomes a change agent for the space. But only time will tell whether or not this is a practical reality.

So maybe Tom and I were just dreaming when we were looking for those killer IP Voice Applications/Services all those years ago. I do believe the advent of IP Communications had a profound effect on the future of the communications sector. I still would like to believe we will one day see a new generation of applications (other than voice), enabled because of the existence of an IP layer which will redefine the way we all communicate.


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Posted by jeff at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Q. When will Service Providers offer Innovative Services?

A. Only when they have to. Or in other words, when their customers demand it.

Between the words of Aswath, Andy and Mr. Blog, it seems that some of my friends are starting to realize something that I've been in search of since 2002.

Over these years, while the enabling communication services platforms have continued to evolve, the reason innovative services were not deployed has nothing to do with how difficult they were to deploy, but rather a lack of consumer demand. Just because someone provides a great toolkit does not mean that there is someone else who is excited to use the applications that are created from leveraging the tools.

So if someone from within this community is expecting service providers to leverage the tools and applications that they have built, they need to lead the way, validate the consumer demand and find a friendly network which is willing to be used in such a way to showcase the innovation. From there, traction is a necessity so when there are thousands, then tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and then eventually millions of people subscribing to the innovate “purple” service, someone from the outside will pay attention. Yes, I am exaggerating a bit here, but the point it is that unless the "cool new service" proves it has the traction, it will never move from the PowerPoint slide decks from the innovators into the marketing materials of the relevant service providers. With service providers, for the most part, the services offered are the ones needed to satisfy the perceived needs of their targeted mainstream customers.

A long time ago I suggested that the RBOCs (when there were RBOCs) should consider empowering consumers to upload scripts that managed the call flow logic of residential phone calls. A concept that was difficult but possible back then, and much more doable today, but I don’t expect to ever see such a service become available to the mainstream consumer because most people don’t know and don’t care what this means and there isn’t anyone out there today promoting the benefits of why consumers should want to have control of their call flows. So, guess what? Nothing changes.

Yes, in some markets it is possible to create a new breakfast cereal and get people to eat it, but that is the exception, more than the rule at least in how most consumers react to new communication services.

These days, Ringtones remains a huge multi-billion dollar business but it was a business that happened by accident, and not one that was initially driven by the cellular providers. And with the advent of Camera Phones, five years ago, I never would have guessed that a factor I would seriously take into consideration when purchasing a new cell phone was: the pixel resolution of the camera; did it come with a built-in flash?; And how much internal storage capabilities did it have?

I just found my notes that I used during for my talk at Fall 2002 VON that are relevant for this discussion. For people who were not involved in the IP Communications industry back than, 2002 was not a great year for many of us. In fact, back then it took a lot of courage back then to stay the course and follow the dream of what IP Communications would evolve into. Four and a half years later, my wish list referenced below still remains very much “a wish list.” (And yes, I have been pushing for Voice over WiFi since 2002)

Notes from Fall 2002 VON: Carpe Diem!

In the weeks leading up to Fall 2002 VON I spent a lot of time looking at the state of where thing were, worried about what to say about where things are going, and what I realized is that the same fundamentals that made it clear that the Internet would absorb voice as just another application still remain.

”Our industry doesn't need hype to survive. No one doubts the future of communications is IP communications and I believe that IP Communications is unstoppable. But what the industry still needs are customers, and to get customers we should consider starting with a clean sheet of paper. Why a clean sheet a paper? Looking at our recent past, gateways to the PSTN provided bridges but not much innovation and in fact created bottlenecks. The opportunity we have is to enhance communication between people and we should not be limited by dialing locations and phone numbers. To date, we have been limited in our thinking based on what previously existed rather than what was possible. We were limited by the artificial barriers of being as good as the PSTN when in fact we could always (in theory) deliver something better. We need to be able to build and create without regard to legacy protocols and legacy requirements. Having a clean sheet of paper would give us the opportunity to have a fresh start and to try again to take advantage of IP. It is up to us as an industry to harness the real power of IP and convert its potential energy into kinetic energy. As an industry we still need to take chances and we must continue to experiment.

In the October 2002 issue of Red Herring I found the following quote which seems to make this point: "When Visionary people use different technologies as interchangable parts, unexpected and important combinations results. The Wright Brothers used bicycle parts to build their airplane."

We can't be afraid to take chances and make mistakes. We still need to stumble across our future together and dare to be different and dare to make the mistakes that will turn into tomorrow's inventions and innovations...We need to become viral again! We as an industry need to go back to a time when internet telephony was viral and people were scared of our power, of our future. The community building power first demonstrated by iPhone back in 1995. For 2003 another viral opportunity exists, this time look for the growth of dedicated consumer electronic devices that deliver VoIP over WiFi. Our future is bigger than the past, 95% of what Communications will be was developed in the last six years. Looking at my wish list of what I believe the Industry needs, my short list includes:

- A royalty free, single variable bit rate adaptive codec from dialup to broadband.
- Low cost, low end IP edge devices.
- Service Providers to deploy an architecture that distributes service execution.
- Take advantage of the great QoS available today on the Internet's backbone.
- IPv6 needs to be supported and rolled out.
- The Purple Minutes battle cry has yet to be truly heard.
- Drop the IP in front of IP Communications since we really represent the future of the Communications Industry.

Carpe Diem!

Seize the Day!”

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My words of advise to everyone delivering APIs and platforms for service providers in 2007: Carpe Diem! Seize the Day!


Tags: , , , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)

February 02, 2007

Reminder: Spring VON "Early Bird" Promotion Ends Today

The Spring 2007 VON Conference will be taking place March 19-22 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA.

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

Delegates who register for Spring VON can also attend Spring 2007 Video on the Net.

Register today to take advantage of our special “early bird” pricing. (Offer ends tonight)

Tags: , , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 07:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

January 31, 2007

Spring 2007 VON Conference Spotlight: Telephony's IPTV Workshop: Redefining Video

Join Telephony at Spring VON 2007 for a full day of expert insight into the ever-evolving world of IPTV. Telephony's IPTV Workshop will deliver attendees a series of in-depth, interactive keynotes and panel discussions that explore the IPTV phenomenon from multiple angles and analyze the best technology, business and content strategies for service providers. You'll hear from service providers that have deployed IPTV (and those just entering the fray), network infrastructure vendors and other technology developers, and representatives from the video programming and content sectors.

Be part of the discussion and learn where IPTV is going--and why it's an increasingly critical part of service provider strategies.

Telephony's IPTV Workshop will provide a clearer picture of how IPTV will shape the future of telecom for service providers, as well as technology and content developers.

Spearheaded by Telephony' editorial team, this summit will feature keynote speakers and panelists with real-world IPTV experience and will highlight successful domestic and international IPTV strategies. Through interactive sessions, Telephony's IPTV Workshop will explore:

Personally I'm glad to have Telephony bring its keen IPTV knowledge base into the overall VON experience.

For a full workshop schedule and additional information, visit http://telephonyonline.com/iptvworkshop/schedule/. To register for Telephony's IPTV workshop and Spring VON, click here.

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Posted by jeff at 07:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

January 29, 2007

Spring 2007 VON Conference "Early Bird" Rate ends Friday (Feb 2nd)

If you are planning on joining us in San Jose at the Spring 2007 VON conference, please remember to register by Friday, February 2nd to take advantage of our "Early Bird" prices.

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Posted by jeff at 06:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 26, 2007

Esme Vos: Burda DLD conference 2007: videos of my favorite presentations

Esme Vos: Burda DLD conference 2007: videos of my favorite presentations

"The DLD website has videos of all presentations. My favorites are Hackers Inc., Disruptive Connections and Where are the Editors. You can find the videos here: http://videos.dld-conference.com

The best moment in Hackers, Inc. is when Pablos Holman shows how he hacked into Jeff Pulver’s voice mail. He had Jeff stand up and identify himself to the audience. Apparently it is quite easy to hack into voice mail and other “secure” services.

The panel on Disruptive Connections was also very compelling: Hjalmar Winbladh (Rebtel), Jeff Pulver (VON), Marko Ahtisaari (Blyk), Alexander Straub (Truphone). The “disruption” consists of the launch of new services (like Truphone and Rebtel) that allow people to make very cheap calls on their mobile phones. Winbladh and Straub called the mobile operators’ roaming charges “highway robbery”. They also touched upon the arrival of ubiquitous Wi-Fi as a way for people to use unlicensed spectrum for voice and data services."

IMG_0614.jpg

(photo by: David Isenberg)

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Posted by jeff at 02:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 24, 2007

Reminder: Spring 2007 VON "Early Bird" Pricing ends February 2nd

The Spring 2007 VON Conference will be taking place March 19-22 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA.

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

Delegates who register for Spring VON can also attend Spring 2007 Video on the Net.

Register today to take advantage of our special “early bird” pricing. (Offer ends Feb 2nd)

Tags: , , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 23, 2007

Images from: DLD 07 - Day 2

The highlight of the Monday morning General session at DLD 07 which I will never forget took place during the "Hacker, Inc," presentation when Pablos Holman announced and then demonstrated to everyone in the audience that he was able to hack into my mobile phone and listen to my voice mail.

I especially appreciated the opportunity to be a part of the "Disruptive Connections" session which included a discussion of the current state of the mobile VoIP industry. Some great dialog took place amongst the panelists and the audience...and I enjoyed the opportunity to continue the discussion throughout the entire day.

Yesterday morning I volunteered to join one of the teams which played water polo with our clothing on (in the pool) during the "BUNTE DLD NIGHTCAP" at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. This was also an experience which I will never forget. :)

All in, the past couple of days at DLD have been two of the best days I have ever spent networking amongst people whom I always had wanted to meet as well as an opporunity to catch up with friends from past VON events.

Tags: , , , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 03:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 16, 2007

Iotum Talk-Now Preview on YouTube

I just spent the past hour meeting with Howard Thaw and Alec Saunders from Iotum. While we were meeting, Alec mentioned that he just posted the following video on YouTube.

If you would like to join their "technology preview", just visit: http://www.iotum.com/blackberry

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Posted by jeff at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Invitation to Blog Spring 2007 VON:

Fellow members of the VoIP Blogosphere:

I wanted to encourage you to come to Spring 2007 VON in San Jose, March 19-22.

A number of bloggers will be speaking at this event including: Andy Abramson, Jon Arnold, Peter Csathy, Carl Ford, Erik Lagerway, James Rafferty and Alec Saunders.

Bloggers attending VON will also have access to Video on the Net.

If you are interested in joining the cast of people blogging at our event, please drop me a line and include a URL to your blog.

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Posted by jeff at 08:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The MICE Revolution continues at Spring 2007 VON and Video on the Net:

Back in September, right after Fall 2006 VON and Video on the Net I first wrote about the new MICE space as in: Media / Internet / Communications / Entertainment. It turns out these are the industry sectors served by VON and Video on the Net. Taking stock in where we are today, there is no doubt in my mind that 2007 will be known as the year where MICE roared.

When I look at the future of communications, it isn't about voice alone, and it is not about video alone. It is about what happens when both applications are viewed as part of the large Internet communications possibility. It is about voice AND video AND the host of evolving and interconnected applications as disintermediated Internet-delivered applications, rather than as siloed services. It is about what happens now that Moore's Law and Metcalfe's Law kick-in and we create a "system" and a new synthetic environment that will change forever the ways in which we all interact.

The reality is that the world of “Video on the Net” shares common DNA with the world of VON, both from a technology, people and a public policy perspective. There is no doubt in my mind that just how certain public policy issues challenged the early days of VON and the eventual adoption of VoIP, as the world of “Video on the Net” starts to grow up and challenge the status quo across the broadcast, cable and TV industries, this emerging industry to have to deal with similar types of challenges when existing laws are attempted to be leveraged by the incumbents as a means to slow down the Video on the Net revolution even while these same companies adopt some of the same underlying technologies.

I am especially looking forward to our next VON and Video on the Net events. Both events will be taking place March 19-22nd in San Jose. Register by February 2nd to take advantage of our special "Early Bird" rates.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in San Jose.

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Posted by jeff at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 15, 2007

In search of the oPhone:

Doc Searls: Wanted: an oPhone

"It is time for an equipment maker to not only make an open phone that is open to all kinds of development, but to turn their carriers into "dumb pipes" for their own good."


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

January 14, 2007

Ken Camp isn't pulling any iPhone Punches...

Ken Camp: iPhone? iThinkNot

Ken starts off: "I really haven't written much at all about the iPhone announcement. Ted caught my utter lack of excitment, but I'm going to elaborate a bit in this one post, and capture some links to others who both care more, and have more to say than I. In fact there are so many, I'm just going to grab a few..." and if click this link you can see where he takes his discussion.

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Posted by jeff at 09:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

January 13, 2007

Jacob Ner David on CES: "The Song Remains the Same"

Jacob reflects back on his first trip to CES:

Jacob Ner David: It All Remains the Same - CES Review

"OK, so this was my first CES. I had attended Comdex many times (what do you say about a dead trade show -- May It Rest In Peace?), and for many years was a regular speaker at the VON conferences hosted by my friend Jeff Pulver. But this was first time at the fabled CES -- where all the latest gadgets and doodads get released, and in the demise of Comdex and E3 everybody was supposed to converge on Las Vegas.

And so they did...But what of CES itself, you ask -- did I learn anything new? Did I see any extraordinary developments coming down the pike for the technology industry? I am sad to say, no. What I saw was same old same old. On every level. Down to worst aspects of trade shows -- yes, the "booth babes." No, I am not referring to the Adult Entertainment Expo happening literally next door (that's a whole other subject), but rather to the need for seemingly self-respecting serious companies to feel the need to bring themselves down to the lowest level -- mainly because for most, in this day of instant journalism and constant communication, there really isn't anything new to say."

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Posted by jeff at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tom Evslin on the iPhone, Apple and Steve Jobs:

Some of the best stories I've read this week on this subject include:

- Apple Fails to Reinvent Telecommunications Industry – Too Bad

- Apple’s iPhone Strategy - Machiavellian or DOA? – Readers Comment

- Steve Jobs and the Orifice


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Posted by jeff at 08:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Paul Kapustka: For Incumbents, SIP is the future

GigaOm: For Incumbents, SIP is the future

"...Just more confirmation that VoIP is replacing POTS in big steps now, fueling demand that requires infrastructure players to beef up their IP voice smarts, usually by snapping up the smaller fish."


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Posted by jeff at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 12, 2007

Did AT&T Miss Opportunity to Launch the AT&T iPhone?

Given all of the related news surrounding the Cingular rebranding as AT&T, why didn't AT&T use the launch of the Apple iPhone as a rebranding opportunity for AT&T?

Just wondering...

Tags: , , Apple, AT&T, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Reminder: Spring 2007 VON "Early Bird" Pricing ends February 2nd

The Spring 2007 VON Conference will be taking place March 19-22 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA.

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

Delegates who register for Spring VON can also attend Spring 2007 Video on the Net.

Register today to take advantage of our special “early bird” pricing. (Offer ends Feb 2nd)

Tags: , , Jeff Pulver

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

January 11, 2007

Another FREE Phone Calling website: AllFreeCalls.net

AllFreeCalls.net is offering free phone calls from the USA to over 30 countries.

No special software needed. Just a working telephone.

To get started, dial +1.712.858.8094. When their gateway answers, enter 011 then the country code and the number you want to reach.

We are living in some pretty interesting times when even "free" continues to have competition.

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Posted by jeff at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)

Good thing I didn’t file a trademark on iPhone back in 1995…

Now I’m not a lawyer and I don’t play one on TV but back in February 1995, I started the iPhone mailing list as an activity in support of VocalTec’s software product, Internet Phone. Back then I was a full-time “"Communications Enthusiast” and filing a trademark on the invention of the name never crossed my mind. And in fact, if anything, iPhone should have been owned by VocalTec. Just as a point of reference, back in those days, I used to host the iPhone user directory.

A quick Google on the terms “iphone +Pulver” currently yields 74,900 hits.

This said, back in July 1996, Intel launched the “Intel Internet Phone” and this was also known as the Intel IPhone.

After all these years, until this week I had thought the term “iPhone” had become a generic noun used in our Internet culture to describe various Internet communication applications. The term iPhone had never been used in the past to describe a cell phone. However, I will leave this discussion for the courts

Tags: , , Apple, Cisco, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Images from CES 2007 - Day 3:

On Wednesday I spent time in the Divx area at the South Hall of the LVCC where I found JetSet featured on Network2. I also saw Nontourage and Ben from Neo-Fight. When I was leaving CES, I couldn't help but notice the Vonage booth so I stopped in and said hello.

"Instant Journalism" @ CES Press Room
USB Guitar
Steve Woolf, Chris Brogan, Zadi Diaz, Ben Cote
Doc Popular
Danielle Wagster
Irina Slutsky
Ben Freedman
Genevive Gutierrez and friend
Nontourage

Lou Holder, Vonage


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Posted by jeff at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

January 10, 2007

Is the Apple iPhone Evolutionary or Revolutionary?

Yes, Steve Jobs has delivered the consumer electronics device of 2007 at MacWorld. And from the reaction of Wall Street analysts and the business media, the launch of the Apple iPhone has been very well received.

On the surface, the Apple iPhone is a great-looking phone, and the user interface will no doubt revolutionize the way all of the leading wireless phone vendors around the world approach the market.

But, when I look at the Apple iPhone, I expected more. Maybe I was looking for a PDA that was also an iPod and a phone. Apple has a great opportunity to not only revolutionize the mobile phone industry, but to also embrace the world of "disruptive communications," but could Jobs have pushed even further? I wanted to see Apple announced their default SIP and/or Asterisk client for the iPhone.

I have to ask, why not announce the Apple iPhone as an "open" device which happens to be available today to Cingular customers? It was a great move on their behalf to make sure the iPhone was a dual-mode WiFi/GSM phone, as to launch a phone in 2007 that is NOT a dual mode phone would have been a fundamental mistake.

Steve Jobs has the power to disrupt an industry. Outside of the world of computing, during the past few years, he has challenged the status quo in both the Music industry and in Hollywood. And yesterday, he decided to take on the wireless world. But in the world of mobile phones, only time will tell if Jobs has chosen evolution over revolution.


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Posted by jeff at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

January 09, 2007

Day One at CES 2007:

I spent day One of CES 2007 at the Sands Hotel, mostly looking for alternatives to the large amount of Plasma screens, iPod accessories and portable media devices that were being showcased at the LVCC. There were a lot of interesting audio/video innovations showcased within the various TechZones.

Last night I dropped by the Verizon party and spent time with a number of people including Verizon's CIO Shaygan Kheradpir who had has team give me a personal demo of their new IPTV implementation for FIOS which I have to say looked great. Afterwards I once again dropped by Bloghaus CES and caught up with the people responsible for: Geek Entertainment TV, French Maid TV and The Scoble Show.

The following are some of the pictures I took on Day One of CES 2007:

Skype Phone
Skype Phone

AKSYS
Eric Galcher and Alan McNaughton
Chris Brogan
"Product Innovation Leaders?"
GIMP.TV
"The Spider"
WidgetStation (A Widget Clock)
GUPP (Lightweight GSM/SIP Phone)
Dave Halpert and Mike
"Internet Emmy Awards"
Peter Stern, Time Warner Cable
Shelly Palmer
Israel Mirsky

Iain Molland, Vividas
Andrew Wallenstein, Hollywood Reporter
Jonathan Askin and Jason Krikorian, Sling Media

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Posted by jeff at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

January 07, 2007

The 2007 pulver.com "World Tour" starts today...

In just a few hours the 2007 pulver.com "World Tour" kicks off with scheduled January stops in:

- Las Vegas: CES
- Munich: DLD
- Davos
- Orlando: CFCA Conference
- Washington, D.C.: 2007 Congressional Internet Caucus.

2007 looks to be one of my busiest years...ever!

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Posted by jeff at 07:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

January 05, 2007

Somehow my video made it to YouTube: Most Viewed (Today) in Science & Technology

I just noticed that my video promo for Spring 2007 Video on the Net made it to YouTube's Most Viewed (Today) in Science & Technology.

Thanks for Watching!

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Posted by jeff at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

January 03, 2007

Spring 2007 VON Conference Update: (March 19-22nd in San Jose)

The following people will be with us in San Jose sharing their perspectives on the state of the IP Communications industry at Spring 2007 VON Conference, taking place March 19-22 at the San Jose Convention Center:

- Andy Ory, President and CEO, Acme Packet

- Siroos Afshar, Senior Technical Consultant, AT&T Labs

- Shabtai Adlersberg, President and CEO, AudioCodes

- Eugene Roman, Group President, Systems & Technology, Bell Canada

- Mike Volpi, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Routing and Service Provider Technology Group, Cisco Systems

- Chris Fine, Vice President, Global Technology Division, Goldman, Sachs & Company

- Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures

- Peter Barrett, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager of Engineering, Microsoft TV Group

- Jeff Ganek, Chairman and CEO, NeuStar

- Zohar Zisapel, Chairman of the Board, RADVISION

- Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype and “The Venice Project”

- Jeffrey Citron, Chairman and Chief Strategist, Vonage

Click here to review ALL of the people speaking at the Spring 2007 VON Conference

Just added: Conference delegates who register for Spring VON can also attend Spring 2007 Video on the Net.

Register today to take advantage of our special “early bird” pricing. (Offer ends Feb 2nd)

Tags: , , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Back to work; Getting Ready for 2007

Now that it's "Back to Work", my personal focus moves to Spring 2007 VON and Video on the Net, taking place in San Jose March 19-22nd which is just two and a half months from now.

On the road to San Jose, pulvermedia is producing a couple of events, including the VoIP TechZone @ CES as well as VON Mexico.

Tags: , , , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 02, 2007

Some of my favorite Blog Pics/Memories of 2006 (part 2):


(Photo Credits: Jeff Pulver, Steve Garfield, Jacob Ner David, Chris Brogan, Geo Geller)

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Posted by jeff at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some of my favorite Blog Pics/Memories of 2006 (part 1):

Looking back at 2006 it was a pretty amazing year. Below are some of my favorite blog pictures from 2006. While they may not all be great photos, they all reflect great memories...

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Posted by jeff at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

January 01, 2007

The World According to Google…VoIP down 12% during 2006

Back in 2004 I started to track the buzz around VoIP based on the number of web hits the term “VoIP” had on Google.

In January, 2004 a search on the term “VoIP” yielded 2.3 million hits. In January 2005, a similar search yielded 17.7 million hits. In January 2006 such a search yielded 172 million hits. I just searched “VoIP" and the search yielded only 151 million hits.

While I wasn’t expecting to see VoIP sustain a 900% growth rate year after year, I was surprised to see VoIP’s Google popularity down 12% compared to where it was just a year ago. This said, given the amount of consolidation that took place within the worldwide communications industry during the past twelve months, a 12% reduction in websites that refer to VoIP seems pretty much in line with where things should be.

viz.png
Google Trends search on "VoIP" - 2004-2006

(special thanks to Christopher Penn for the suggestion for this graph)

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Posted by jeff at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

December 26, 2006

pulvermedia Congrats Lavalife and Steve Smith for winning CIPA Silver Award!

Congrats to Steve Smith and his team for at Lavalife for winning the 2006 Silver Award for Innovation at the Canadian Information Productivity Awards ceremony.

We appreciate Steve's statement: "I also have to say a word of thanks into Jeff Pulver and his team at PulverMedia. It was at their VON trade shows that I learned much of what I needed to know for this project, and where I made all of the key connections to vendors and partners."

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Lavalife's Winning VoIP Application: "By converting billions of minutes of IVR Personals traffic from legacy telecommunications infrastructures to VoIP and processing them centrally, the new solution replaced 25 platforms in cities across North America. In one fell swoop, the new solution reduced costs and improved efficiency in a number of categories and also removed long-standing technology constraints, enabling the business to expand into new geographic areas. Today, all traffic is captured locally by a telco and delivered centrally to Lavalife’s IVR applications as an inbound VoIP stream over a private IP network. The systems are generic servers, with no proprietary hardware components or associated custom low-level software...The solution has produced equipment savings estimated at $3.8 million. Approximately $250,000 in hardware costs and $400,000 in software costs replaced almost $4.5 million worth of production hardware."

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If you would like to learn how to save millions of dollars building your own VoIP applications, join us at Spring 2007 VON taking place March 19-22nd at the San Jose Convention Center.

Tags: , ,, , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

December 18, 2006

Spring 2007 VON Lineup Update:

I’m happy to announce that the following people have been confirmed to give an Industry Perspective at the Spring 2007 VON Conference, taking place March 19-22, 2007 at the San Jose Convention Center:


- Andy Ory, President and CEO, Acme Packet

- Siroos Afshar, Senior Technical Consultant, AT&T Labs

- Shabtai Adlersberg, President and CEO, AudioCodes

- Eugene Roman, Group President, Systems & Technology, Bell Canada

- Mike Volpi, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Routing and Service Provider Technology Group, Cisco Systems

- Chris Fine, Vice President, Global Technology Division, Goldman, Sachs & Company

- Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures

- Peter Barrett, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager of Engineering, Microsoft TV Group

- Jeff Ganek, Chairman and CEO, NeuStar

- Zohar Zisapel, Chairman of the Board, RADVISION

- Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype and “The Venice Project”

- Jeffrey Citron, Chairman and Chief Strategist, Vonage


For more information, please visit the Spring 2007 VON Conference Schedule. Registration for Spring 2007 VON Conference & Expo is now open. Register today to take advantage of our special “early bird” pricing.


Tags: , , Jeff Pulver


Posted by jeff at 06:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jajah offers Free Telephony in Germany and Austria

Jajah is announcing on Monday that it has partnered with 3 major European media companies: Pro7Sat1, Bild-T Online, and News Austria. While "free" calling in Europe isn't something really new - it was pioneered by friends at Telia Light back in November 1998, this version of the "free" model might have some lasting legs. It seems that these three companies have integrated the jajah application into their own web properties and will offer free telephone calls in their countries. The three sites are co-branded and "Powered by jajah" - with jajah supplying the technology and telephony infrastructure.

It will be interesting to see how this variation of the "Free" business model works out. It seems the calls will be subsidized with unobtrusive banner type ads that are placed around the application. 

So it seems that in December, 2006, Meg Whitman's October 2005 quote ""In a few short years, users can expect to make telephone calls for free, with no per-minute charges, as part of a package of services through which carriers make money on advertising or transaction fees..." becomes a reality. At least for now. At least in Germany and Austria.

In related Jajah news, Jajah will be offering free phone calls, conference calls, sms and scheduled calls to 3.5 billion in 80 countries on Christmas Day. Free World Dialup might have been the first to offer this, but it great to see others like Jajah carry on with this "tradition."

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Posted by jeff at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

December 12, 2006

VOIPBLOG.IT also likes those RADVISION Videos…

VOIPBLOG.IT: Radvision, Video-chiamate da PC a 3G

As more people discover the RADIVISON videos, more people will learn about PC to Mobile 3G calling. Seems RADVISION has found a great way to market their platform.

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Posted by jeff at 06:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 11, 2006

2007: The VON Road Ahead

VON World Tour

Last week in Atlanta was the last stop in the 2006 VON World Tour. During 2006, our VON events took place in twelve different cities:

Mexico City (VON Mexico 2006), San Jose (Spring 2006 VON), Toronto (VON Canada 2006), Shanghai (VON China 2006), Moscow (VON Russia 2006), Stockholm (VON Europe Spring 2006), Tel Aviv (VON Israel 2006), Tokyo, Boston (Fall 2006 VON), Rome (VON Italy 2006), Berlin (VON Europe Autumn 2006), and Atlanta (VON Enterprise 2006).

Just visiting my blog and finding the relevant pages brought back some great memories from each of these respective events.

All in, 2006 has been a great year for our VON events. At a time when there was worldwide consolidation in the telecommunications industry, our VON events grew. Both in number and in size.

And I'm looking forward to 2007 when we will continue to grow our Global, Pan-European and National (in-Country) events.

After ten years of being involved in the world of IP Communications, one thing is for certain...and that's consolidation and change is always in our future and the pulvermedia team who is responsible for producing VON is well positioned to reflect those changes as people morph their companies to compete. We are there to serve our customers, to serve our industry and to drive community around the world.


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Tags: , , , VON Enterprise, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Ted Wallingford Dissects my 2007 Predictions:

Ted Wallingford: 2007 Predictions, My thoughts, and a VON Enterprise tidbit

"We live in a world where unified communications hasn’t quite come to pass. We all talk about it; we all want it. But there are barriers to the grand scheme that frustrate us. Devices that create software platform conversion problems. A lack of thru-sales for the applied technologies that drive the unification process (case in point–at last count, UTStarcom has 2, count them 2, Americans pushing SIP phones). And, of course, the ever-present telcos and equipment makers who have their own walled-gardens to protect."

Tags: , , , Atlanta, VON Enterprise, Ted Wallingford, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Luca Filigheddu also likes PC to 3G Calling:

Nice to see that Luca is also a fan of PC to 3G Video calling.

And with regard to their videos on YouTube he wrote: "Simply Fantastic. They made the point with a bit of humor. Very good move."

Of course, I would have to agree here.

And if you haven't taken a look at these videos, please do. They might just bring a smile to your face. :)

You need to watch the following RADVISION video all the way to the end to see where the CTO really is. :)


[PC to 3G Calling in a Business Environment. Or what I call: "Where is that CTO?"]

Enjoy!

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Posted by jeff at 06:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

December 10, 2006

The "To Standard or Not to Standard" Discussion Continues...

Ten days ago, Kfir Pravda was a guest blogger and shared his thoughts on "To Standard to Not to Standard,"

Looking back at the comments on my blog this month, it seems that this blog entry has taken on a life of it's own with regard to the comments shared.

If you have an opinion in Standards debate, please feel free to share it. This is one of the topics that will be discussed at the Spring 2007 VON Conference.


Tags: , , , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 05:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

December 09, 2006

Calysto's Tradeshow Vibes: VON Enterprise 2006

"Everyone knows Jeff Pulver throws a good party and the first ever VON Enterprise was just that - an oversized networking event complete with free food and alcohol. The only difference was the hall included a mini-exhibit floor (with 15 companies and three industry associations) and attendees were not falling over drunk.

VON Enterprise was nowhere near as grand at pulvermedia's Fall VON and Spring VON events, but it hit the mark by attracting IT managers from small and medium businesses in the southeast region. Attendees we talked to felt the sessions provided great information, especially during the question and answer segments. One participant observed that the show was ideal for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) that want to engage in dialogue with other companies that are implementing or have implemented IP networks and solutions. It allowed attendees to get the real scoop on the pros and cons of leading industry products and applications.

The dual breakout sessions covering technology and business issues were well attended about 40-60 people per session. From a technology standpoint, the show covered everything from 3G video conferencing and fixed mobile convergence to dual-mode phones and SIP trunking. While the technical education was valuable, several attendees really appreciated the discussion on ROI and business model issues related to VoIP and IP network implementations.

Although the majority of the show presence was regional, there were a few out-of-town and even out-of-country visitors. Even Jeff Pulver seemed surprised by the distances people had traveled to attend the first ever VON Enterprise here in Atlanta. He mentioned attendance from countries such as Brazil and Argentina. The VON name and reputation clearly helped to draw attendees to his event.

Exhibitors were pleased with the small floor layout, saying that potential clients were easy to attract, and almost all attendees walked the entire floor (which of course was no great feat since it encompassed a 1600 square foot area). All the exhibitors we talked with were also happy with the quality of attendees from a potential sales lead perspective. Apparently, there were many senior level IT executives and decision makers perusing the available technologies.

Media presence at this show was weak with VON Magazine and eWeek being the only trade publications providing any sort of industry coverage. The low media turnout was not very surprising given the size of the event, but that certainly should not be a consideration if you are planning on participating at this event next year. If you are looking to target senior-level IT managers with SMEs in the southeast region, trying to decipher which IT solution is the best for their company - VON Enterprise is a great fit.

VON Enterprise has made plans to return to Atlanta in 2007. While that may be a good thing for the local enterprises looking to learn more about IP Communications, it may not be ideal for vendors, especially those trying to target SMEs across the United States. We feel pulvermedia would be better served if they moved this event to different cities around the country. They might decide to settle down once they gain critical mass.

All in all, VON Enterprise was certainly a success. Good sessions, good networking opportunities, good leads and good food. What else can you ask for?"

(from Calysto PR Vibes)

Tags: , , , Atlanta, VON Enterprise, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Seems someone else also liked those RADVISION Videos:

TubeSlam!: What PC-to-Mobile 3G Video Means for Paid Content

"As an observer of the videoconferencing space, I’ve known about this feature from Radvision; the news to me is Jeff Pulver evangelizing the service to industry insiders. Good ideas eventually find their way to the marketplace but it’s the visionaries and credible early adopters like Pulver who convince key decision makers. PC-to-mobile video is an obvious idea — whether it is Radvision or someone else that executes — that will come sooner than later. The time is ripe with cellular operators looking for returns on their massive 3G investments."

(The videos are at the bottom of his blog entry)

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The core audience of VON Enterprise 2006 was Senior Management involved in Corporate IT. So I'm not sure how any "industry insiders" saw the demo. But maybe a few did, and more will in time.

With regard to the RADVISION PC to 3G Mobile demo, it happens to also work the other way. I have done a couple of demos where someone who had a 3G Mobile phone called me. If I were a 3G mobile operator looking for a new revenue stream, I would look no further than finding a way to embrace that. :)

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Posted by jeff at 07:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

December 08, 2006

So I am playing with SightSpeed...

Ken, Luca, It's true. I now have a Sightspeed account.

I needed to prepare a holiday video greeting to send to some friends in Norway. Being away from the pulver.tv studios and having only my Sony Vaio available, I decided to download the latest version of Sightspeed and give it a try. So I did...and I was able to create a 30 second personal holiday video greeting and send it to my friends.

Another great use for SightSpeed: Personal Holiday Greetings!

Tags: , , , , Visual Communications, Sightspeed, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 07, 2006

RADVISION's PC-to-Mobile Commercials: Available for Viewing on YouTube

A friend of mine told me about the following commercials that RADVISION produced to help promote the concept of PC-to-Mobile 3G calling. If you are in need of a smile in your day, please take a look at the following:

(Connect Family and Friends)

(Business Environment)

(Maintain Close Visual Contact)

(Expanding Communication Boundaries)


Tags: , , , PC-to-Mobile, RADVISION, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 06:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 06, 2006

eWeek Story on VON Enterprise 2006

eWeek: VOIP Costs Dip, as Fixed-Mobile Convergence Looms

"As voice over IP completes its first decade, the technology has become firmly established in corporate voice, data and video communications networks.

Now the eyes of the VOIP community are turning to what might be the next big thing on the horizon, FMC (fixed-mobile convergence), or the ability of cell phones and VOIP devices to send and receive voice and video calls—even though significant technology hurdles stand in the way.

"[FMC] is a good cool thing. I hope it happens in our lifetime, but if it does, it means we have a secret sauce for seamless roaming," said Jeff Pulver, chairman of Pulvermedia, which sponsored the VON Enterprise conference here, at which his remarks came.

In a demonstration that such convergence might not be too far off, Pulver initiated at the show a video call from his laptop PC to the cell phone of a worker at the offices of Radvision in Tel Aviv, Israel. The call worked and Pulver's Radvision contact appeared in a video screen, although the video quality was not completely life-like...

...TDM switches five to seven years from now will be end-of-lifed. It's not that they're not any good, but IP has become the way we are," Pulver said.

He warned, however, that all the capabilities that VOIP offers should be exploited. "We need to use VOIP and leverage it, or it will be disrupted," in the same way that VOIP has proved a disrupting force to conventional telephony, Pulver said."

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Jeff Pulver

Lev Gonick, CI of Case Western Reserve University

Mark Bailey, Manager of IS, Thiele Kaolin Co.

(Photos by: Stan Gibson)


Tags: , , , Atlanta, VON Enterprise, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

VON Enterprise 2006 in Atlanta: The Start of Something GREAT

Turns out that pulvermedia has an event that services the IT/Enterprise space...and it is called: VON Enterprise. Since arriving in Atlanta on Monday, I have enjoyed taking in the buzz surrounding our new event and speaking with quite a number of senior IT executives from Enterprises from not only across the United States, but from all over the world.

I had some fun yesterday morning when I spoke at VON Enterprise 2006. I took some time to reflect back to my days of working in Corporate IT at Cantor Fitzgerald Securities back in 1993-96 and reminisced about what it was like to work inside of "systems" in what was for me a pretty large organization.

During my talk, I addressed the current state of the VoIP industry and I gave a live demonstration of RADVISION's PC to 3G Mobile phone application. I included the demo because I thought it was real important to showcase a state-of-the-art application that will be used in the future by many people. Communicating from a broadband PC to someone on a 3G phone just works.

Every vendor who was part of our exhibitor showcase benefited from the traffic that was generated by those who came out to visit with us. And in speaking with our exhibitors, VON Enterprise delivered the right audience for them.

Special thanks to all of our speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and to everyone who came out and helped make VON Enterprise 2006 happen.

Below are some pictures taken yesterday at VON Enterprise 2006. In 2007 VON Enterprise will be back and will be returning to Atlanta.

(photos by: Bill Sell)

Tags: , , , Atlanta, VON Enterprise, Jeff Pulver

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

December 05, 2006

2007 Predictions for the IP Communications Industry: Coffee Talk with Jeff Pulver

It seems to be that time of year again; the time for people to share their predictions for the year ahead. After reviewing my accuracy for 2006, the following are my predictions for 2007:

First some trends affecting the worldwide VoIP Industry:

- While the hype surrounding Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) will grow during 2007, the FMC marketplace will continue to stagnate until such time that software becomes widely available for dual model phones that offer seamless roaming across unaffiliated wifi/wimax hotspots.

- Despite the point above, during 2007, voice over broadband service providers will continue to announce their mobile strategies.

- Enterprises will start to federate their communication networks.

- Growth will continue in IP Peering between service providers.

- “Disposable Numbers” will become a fad adopted by social networkers.

- Abuse of publicly available “click to call” services will suffer the scrutiny of local consumer services groups.

- Despite the continued growth of the cable operators’ market share in the worldwide voice over broadband marketplace, we will continue to see entrepreneurs attempt to launch independent voice over broadband service providers.

- Visual Communication services will matter in 2007.

- VoIP public policy concerns will continue in geo-political pockets around the world, and we will see a growing divide between countries that enable Internet communications and countries that stifle innovation.

- The PSTN starts to morph into the IP-based public communications network of the future.

- Cable Operators will start to deploy solutions that connect their voice subscribers to 3G Mobile Networks.

- TDM services will continue to be “end-of-lifed”. All Telecom operators will be IP-based within 5-7 years.

And now for some trends affecting the world of TV, Film and Entertainment:

- 2007 will be the year of Internet TV. Every TV network, film studio, and content creator will start to adopt a direct to the Internet and direct to the pda strategy.

- 2007 will be the year we hone in on viable revenue models for Internet-delivered TV.

- As the revenue models gel, both content creators and advertisers will begin to recognize the value of direct to the Internet as a better means of advertising and catching eyeballs through Internet-delivered content.

- Users will also recognize the value of the Internet as a better means to access content than traditional broadcast and cable delivery systems.

- We’ll see the next iteration of Internet-based place-shifting occur in video delivery.

- The battles over digital rights and copyright protection may begin to be resolved.

- Although regulators and legislators will begin to better appreciate the power of IP technology to dramatically improve emergency response and disabilities access capabilities, Lobbyists and Policymakers and traditional telecom and video providers in the US will continue to try to apply legacy rules and regulations on Internet based applications, be it voice, television or radio. See the first significant regulator attempts to regulate indecency and other content on the Internet.


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Posted by jeff at 01:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Catching up with Ted Wallingford...

After watching the latest episode of Heros, I went downstairs at the VON Enterprise conference hotel in Atlanta and ended up spending some time with a few of the other people speaking at and exhibiting at VON Enterprise 2006, including Ted Wallingford.

Seems that Ted was only trying to have a little fun with me when he blogged about VON Enterprise 2006 a couple of weeks ago.

We had a fun conversation about a number of things including how presumptuous some people can be at times when they blog about someone and just assume that the person in question is going to read their blog entry and respond to the blog posting. (I suggested that in those situations email might be a little more effective.)

Special thanks to Ted for joining us on Monday and providing the Introduction and Welcome to the pre-conference day at VON Enterprise 2006.


Tags: , , , Atlanta, VON Enterprise, Ted Wallingford, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 01:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 04, 2006

Next Stop: Atlanta

In a few hours I will be taking a flight from New York to Atlanta for my last conference related trip of the year. I am looking forward to speaking at and attending VON Enterprise 2006.

Tags: , , , Atlanta, VON Enterprise, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Looking back at my 2006 Predictions for the IP Communications Industry:

It seems to be that time of year again; the time for people to share their predictions for the year ahead. After reviewing the results from my foggy crystal ball, I will share my predictions for 2007, but not until taking a look at how my Predictions for 2006 held up:

Looking back at some of my 2006 predictions, it seems that some were correct while others were more optimistic than I had originally thought.

Some of my predicitions for 2006:

1) Broadband penetration will continue to snowball in the US, but not at a pace fast enough to raise America's mediocre global standing in broadband penetration. We, however, begin to appreciate the benefits of Metcalf's Law, as broadband penetration snowballs and opens the door for an unprecedented surge in creativity and uptake of new Internet applications. (Unfortunately this was true)

2) Lobbyists and Policymakers in the US will continue to try to apply legacy rules and regulations on Internet based applications, be it voice, television or radio. (happened)

3) In the US, the remaining "Baby Bells" will grow up and hold a virtual "family reunion" of sorts, which will, in effect, establish "Walled Gardens" in their collective broadband product offerings. Expect other incumbent operators around the world to join this implicit cartel. In parallel, Wireless Operators worldwide will continue to roll out their 3G strategies and grow their own Walled Gardens, leaving both academics and the Internet pioneers wondering "what ever happened to the dream of the Arpanet?" (AT&T is trying to merge with BellSouth and Net Neutrality became a HUGE issue during 2006.)

4) The FCC will attempt to extend its definition of indecency laws to the Internet, Cable and Satellite networks. (Lucky for us this did not happen.)

5) (A) As filmmakers start to feel comfortable with the concept of going "direct to the Net", 2006 will be the year when this starts to become the norm, rather than the exception. (started but still early)

(b) Look for "Television" shows to premiere first on the Internet and then appear on Broadcast TV, Cable or Satellite. (didn't happen as fast as I expected it would)

(c) Look for more TV shows to be become downloadable for viewing on personal communication devices. (happened)

6) VoIP peering will continue to happen between carriers, but the business models driving peering will not be worked out until 2007 or beyond. Look for Enterprises to explore the benefits of federating their communication networks. (2006 Happened as expected)

7) There will be at least two major acquisitions in the billion-dollar-plus price range, matching or exceeding eBay's purchase price to acquire Skype. Major media and Internet companies will announce blended, transformational IP-based communications plays. (YouTube was acquired by Google and Facebook is still in the wings)

8) Hurricanes such as Katrina and other natural disasters in the U.S. and around the world will compel the U.S. and other governments to look to the Internet and IP-based communications as the vehicle to improve emergency response and post-catastrophe communications. (while this didn't happen, progress is being made.)

9) The Internet application providers, such as Google, yahoo!, eBay, Amazon will increase their presence and influence in DC and on communications policy. (should have happened.)

10) The sides in the communications policy wars will become more apparent, with Internet Access Providers on the one side and Internet Application Providers on the other. (Net Neutrality Anyone?)

11) Governments around the world will look harder at VoIP regulation, with an eye towards imposing social obligations such as emergency response, lawful intercept and disabilities access. We will see a deepening divide between those countries that nurture the emerging industry and technology and those that stifle innovation by imposition of unnecessary, overly-broad and economically-debilitating one-size-fits-all regulation. (unfortunately true)

12) Look for the support of "voice" to become part of the eCommerce strategy for many Websites. (happened)

13) Wireless will continue to replace wireline at a faster pace and may also continue to outpace the growth of consumer voice over broadband services sold to consumers. (happened)

14) ENUM continues to happen around the world and the US will still lag behind. (unfortunately true)

15) The RIM (Research in Motion) patent challenge will become a boon for integrated IP Communication enabled devices. (RIM market share continued to grow in 2006.)


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Posted by jeff at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

December 03, 2006

Jeff Pulver Profile in International Herald Tribune

A few weeks ago when I was in Berlin getting ready for VON Europe Autumn 2006, I sat down with Kevin J. O'Brien of the International Herald Tribune. The result was the following:

International Herald Tribune: Voice over Internet: A 'founder' takes stock and looks ahead

'Jeff Pulver, a pioneer and promoter of Internet telephony, paused halfway through a sun-dried tomato and basil pizza to consider one of his favorite catchphrases - disruptive technology - innovations that can turn markets upside down and business strategies inside out...'


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Posted by jeff at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Fixed Mobile Convergence Challenged: In Search of Seamless Wi-Fi Roaming

This morning I’m looking ahead to my talk in Atlanta on Tuesday at VON Enterprise.I have been thinking about where Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) is as 2006 is coming to a close and could not help but notice the continued hype surrounding the topic.

I am amazed how often “people” just assume with the growing availability of Dual Mode phones and the growing widespread availability of public Wi-Fi hotspots means that therefore Wi-Fi VoIP is a “major threat” to the established cellular industry and future 3G deployments. In fact, according to some business reporters and bloggers, Wi-Fi VoIP is already a done deal. There is no doubt in my mind the advent of the availability of dual-mode phones from major suppliers (like Nokia) means that people believe in the vision. However, other than using such devices in a “fixed mobile environment” like an Enterprise Campus or a home, until such time that seamless roaming is available across unaffiliated wi-fi hotspots, the hype surrounding these phones will never be realized. Did I just say never? I guess I just did.

There should be no doubt about the potential threat to mobile operators when software that offers seamless mobility across unaffiliated wi-fi hotspots is widely available and supported on devices that range from dual-mode phones and PDAs to notebook PCs and Macs. Of course there is that other assumption that the hotspots actually will have the capacity and bandwidth available to support multiple Wi-Fi phone calls, but no one ever really talks about that. And then there is the issue of using an IP enabled devices in a hotspot that require the use of a browser to authenticate an edge device. But these are all just some of the details that those who write about the hype of FMC just overlook. For most people it is easier to talk about the threat to the wireless industry rather than to address the realities of today.

Eventually it is quite possible that the widespread availability of public Wi-Fi will mean that in the future consumers will have a choice of whether to pay for data services on their mobile phones or choose to take advantage of Wi-Fi hotspots to use PCs, PDAs and other IP supported devices. But who says that people will be using these devices as a replacement /substitute for their mobile phones? Seems like just another assumption.

Sure, it is easy to get sucked into the mythology of the hype surrounding Fixed-Mobile Convergence, but I do have to ask the question of “who are the buyers for the service?” and outside of the early-adaptor geek population, “how many consumers end up with these converged communication devices?” and while I’m at it, “how many people will choose to talk on these devices rather than use them for email, instant messaging and access to the web?” The people who answer these questions correctly will no doubt have their pulse in the future multi-billion dollar FMC marketplace.

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Posted by jeff at 07:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

December 01, 2006

VON Enterprise: December 4th-6th in Atlanta, GA

VON Enterprise will be taking place December 4th – 6th in Atlanta, GA at the Cobb Galleria. I'm looking forward to being in Atlanta next week.

I just took another look at the community registered for the event and I’m happy to report there are delegates now registered from 25 Countries and 37 States. The majority of the registered delegates are senior executives in their respective organizations.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone who is planning on joining us in Atlanta next week.

Tags: , , , Atlanta, VON Enterprise, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 05:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Guest Blogger: Kfir Pravda - "To Standard or not to Standard?"

So you gathered a bunch of telecom freaks, rented a basement, and saved some budget for cold Pizza. You are going to conquer the world with your amazing application that changes the way people consume media and communicate - forever. Chambers is going to beg you for a job, and the guys with the funny name from Estonia will have wished they stayed in P2P file sharing applications when you're done.

Now is the time to get down and dirty with the little details - such as - are you trying to build a whole new ecosystem, or ride on the waves of others?

More specifically - are you going to create your own proprietary protocols, or base your product on open standards?

One of the biggest mistakes is to think that this is a technical question that an engineer should answer. The truth is that this question is mainly a business and strategic one. It pretty much depends on the way you see your future - do you want to be an ant in the grass, with a chance to become the next big thing that captures the market? Or would you rather ride on the back of the elephant, with a chance to play a major part in an industry created by others (with deeper pockets)?

I have to say that there are a lot of pros in going standard. First of all, you can reduce your development time by using the accumulated knowledge of the industry. The knowledge you can tap when working in a standard environment will always exceed any amount of engineers and technology experts you can possibly hire.

Second, in case your application is based on a Network Effect, like most of the communication products, you can rely on the marketing dollars of others to educate the market. Then, you just need to find a niche where you gain cash and exposure (in a way, the "crossing the chasm" concept).

Third, you might be able to shorten the time to exit. If you base your products on standards, a company which is interested in buying you will have a much easier life in integrating your products in their organization and product line (based on the assumption it also works on standard based products).

Well, this would have been a great post if those annoying guys from Skype didn't come with their amazing application. You see - they did it all on their own, and at the end of the day - made my mother use VoIP - before any other SIP based product. They focused on user experience, and still managed to beat the rest of the VoIP techies to the desktop.

If so, maybe the standard world isn't that great? First, it takes ages to draft standards. Then, the standard bodies are dominated by the big players, which make the life of the little guys harder - as they have different agendas then helping a young start-up to rise. And last but not least, it is not trivial to find a niche in a standard based industry, especially for a small company. When standards reduce technical competitive advantage, marketing dollars kicks in - an area in which a small company will usually loose to the big guys.

So, here is the question: If you would develop a new video conferencing application, the next VoIP system, or any other communication related product - what will be your choice? To Standard or Not To Standard?

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Kfir Pravda is an independent consultant, who facilitates cooperation between media and technology companies. On top of his day job, he heads the marketing group of IMTC (www.imtc.org), and loves crime movies and whisky. He can be reached at: kpravda at gmail.com.

Tags: , , , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 05:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

November 30, 2006

New York Times: Here’s My Number (for Today)

New York Times: Here’s My Number (for Today)

"...Some people have found a way to avoid compromising the sanctity of their cellphone without committing the modern sin of being unreachable. Instead of giving out her cell number, Ms. McClain has recently been dispersing what has become known as a “social phone number.”

This is a free number that is as disposable as a Hotmail address. A handful of Web sites are creating these mask numbers, which can be obtained in nearly every area code (users can either have a number in their own region, or make it look as if they have an office in New York City when they are actually operating out of rural Maine)..."

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Not a new concept at all within the world of IP Communications, but it seems that 2007 will be the year that "disposable phone numbers" may really take off in the US.


Tags: , Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 08:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

November 27, 2006

VON Enterprise: December 4th-6th in Atlanta, GA

VON Enterprise will be taking place December 4th – 6th in Atlanta, GA at the Cobb Galleria. The Cobb Galleria has been the location of several Fall VONs during the past 10 years, most recently back in 2002.

I just took a look at the community registered for the event and I’m happy to report that while quite a number of the people attending will be from Georgia, there are delegates registered from 22 Countries and 36 States. The majority of the registered delegates are senior executives in their respective organizations.

I will be speaking late morning on Tuesday, December 5th and will cover the future of IP Communications in the Enterprise. The last time I was in Atlanta was November, 2005 to speak at the annual gala event hosted by the Atlanta Telecom Professionals. ATP is one of the sponsors for VON Enterprise and I appreciate their continued support.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone who is planning on joining us in Atlanta next week.

Tags: , , , Atlanta, VON Enterprise, Jeff Pulver

Posted by jeff at 12:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 25, 2006

Mobile Radio Technology: Looking at 100 Years of Voice over Radio

Did Video really kill the radio star? I don't think so. And I don't think that the advent of VoIP is a big threat to the future of Ham Radio. Donny Jackson explores this issue and more in his story published in the November, 2006 edition of MRT (Mobile Radio Technology)

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MRT: Amateur-radio community celebrates 100 years of voice over radio


"Before the advent of Internet chat rooms, amateur radio — or ham radio — provided a way to communicate with kindred spirits in other parts of the country. Before voice-over-IP applications let users talk worldwide for little or no money, amateur radio was the cost-effective method to talk overseas on a regular basis. Before cellular technology became commonplace, portable amateur radio units were the only way to make phone calls from a car.

As the amateur-radio community celebrates 100 years of voice over radio (see timeline), ham enthusiasts happily recount their first encounters with the technology and what attracted them to it — typically as excited teenagers...

...On the surface, easy-to-use VoIP applications might appear to be the biggest threat to amateur radio because they also enable low-cost global voice communications.

One person who does not believe this to be the case is the “Godfather of VoIP,” Jeff Pulver. The chairman and founder of pulver.com and developer of multiple VoIP-related entities, Pulver is an avid ham operator who believes the camaraderie associated with amateur radio cannot be replaced by any other technology, including VoIP.

“I really don't think that one is disruptive to the other, just like television did not put radio out of business and the advent of the Internet did not put TV out of business,” Pulver said.

But amateur-radio operators often are some of the first to experiment with new communications technologies. In fact, when Pulver first started in Internet telephony in 1995, he said 20% of the participants used their ham-radio call signs as their online aliases. And Pulver's amateur-radio experience has impacted his VoIP development efforts in other ways, he said.

“I'm a bottom-up community person,” Pulver said. “And the success I've had in nurturing and helping grow the voice-over-IP industry I directly relate to my childhood and longtime commitment to amateur radio because [of] the feeling of commitment and feeling of community I understood and grew from. I apply that same spirit to what I do every day.”

Although some contend that the existence of well-funded research-and-development labs for commercial communications companies limits the value of individual work, Pulver believes it is important that the FCC continue to provide spectrum that encourages individuals to experiment with communications. In particular, the “white spaces” in the TV band (see “FCC makes first decision on ‘white spaces’ spectrum” on our Web site: www.mrtmag.com) would be an ideal setting for such work.

Intrado's Meer echoed the sentiment, noting the need for spectrum pioneers could use to develop “new, wild ideas” in communications.

“I worry about the amount of research that's going on or not going on,” Meer said. “We don't really have the kind of raw scientific development that we had during the Cold War, or even in times before that.”

Meanwhile, the amateur-radio community continues to use its existing spectrum to experiment with the latest technological breakthroughs beyond traditional long-distance, analog voice communications, ARRL's Sumner said.

“That's just a small part of what hams are doing,” Sumner said. “What we're doing with software-defined radio and with different digital protocols really does extend the capabilities of today's amateur radio stations well beyond what our predecessors could do.”


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Posted by jeff at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

November 24, 2006

Jon Arnold takes a fresh look at Vonage and Telio

Jon Arnold: Vonage and Telio - Quarterly Results Comparison

Bottom line from Jon's Perspective: "...Vonage can still be a good story, but in my mind, Telio is a good story today, and one that I think will unfold more favorably if they continue to execute well."

Tags: , , , Jon Arnold

Posted by jeff at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

November 20, 2006

Preview of Spring 2007 VON Lineup:

I’m happy to announce that the following people have been confirmed to give an Industry Perspective at the Spring 2007 VON Conference, taking place March 19-22, 2007 at the San Jose Convention Center:

- Shabtai Adlersberg, President and CEO, AudioCodes

- Eugene Roman, Group President, Systems & Technology, Bell Canada

- Mike Volpi, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Routing and Service Provider Technology Group, Cisco Systems

- Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures

- Peter Barrett, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager of Engineering, Microsoft TV Group

- Jeff Ganek, Chairman and CEO, NeuStar

- Zohar Zisapel, Chairman of the Board, RADVISION

- Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype and “The Venice Project”

- Jeffrey Citron, Chairman and Chief Strategist, Vonage


For more information, please visit the Spring 2007 VON Conference Schedule. Additional names will announced as they are confirmed.

Registration for Spring 2007 VON Conference & Expo is now open. Register today to take advantage of our special “early bird” pricing.


Tags: , , Jeff Pulver


Posted by jeff at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

VON(R) Named Top Overall Event in the Trade Show Industry By Tradeshow Week

Pulvermedia Receives Honors in Two Top Categories, Plus Two Listings on Tradeshow Week's Fastest 50 List

Spring VON, in San Jose, has recently been named the 2006 Top Overall Trade Show by Tradeshow Week (TSW), which is the global exhibition industry news magazine published by Reed Business Information. Additionally, both Spring VON and Fall VON were named to Tradeshow Week's Top 50 listing. TSW provides this annual award to tradeshows that demonstrate growth.

In its description of the winners, TSW states, "It is not mere serendipity that led Spring VON, in its very first year in TSW Fastest 50 contention, to be named the 2006 overall fastest-growing show, and fastest-growing tradeshow."

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November 15, 2006

Registration now open for Spring 2007 VON Conference. March 19-22 in San Jose, CA

Registration is now open for Spring 2007 VON which will be taking place March 19-22nd at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA.

Our preliminary conference schedule has been posted. Delegates attending the VON Conference will also have access to the sessions taking place at Spring 2007 Video on the Net which will be taking place next door at the Marriott in San Jose.

If you are not from the San Jose area and would like to stay at a nearby hotel, now would be a great time to book your hotel room.

Spring 2007 VON is going to be a GREAT event. Hope to see you in March in San Jose.

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November 14, 2006

2006: A Great Year for VoIP and our VON Events

2006 has been a transformational year for VoIP and our VON events. During the year we have seen the continued adoption of VoIP into the global communications ecosystem. Looking ahead, it is just a matter of time before all of the telecom operators of the world make the switch to IP based communication services. (This is a growing multi-billion dollar opportunity for the VoIP Equipment space.) The world of Enterprise PBXs have already made the switch and VoIP has become a core technology in both Wireless and Broadband communication platforms.

During my recent road trip to Italy, Israel and Germany I gave a number of speeches and interviews which focused on the future of VoIP and the continued evolution of IP Communications. While I may not be fluent in Italian, Hebrew or German, the one language we all had in common was IP. Ten years into the IP Communications revolution it was a great experience being in these countries and taking in these events first hand.

On the pulvermedia front, 2006 was the year that we took the chance and expanded globally and established a number of partnerships which resulted in co-producing country specific VON events in such places as: Mexico, China, Russia, Israel, Japan and Italy. This is in addition to producing our global industry events in San Jose and Boston and our pan-European events in Stockholm and Berlin. Plans for our continued expansion in 2007 are already underway.

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November 12, 2006

IHT: Waiting for Skype to pay off for eBay

International Herald Tribune: Waiting for Skype to pay off for eBay

'Jeff Pulver, a U.S. entrepreneur who organizes conferences on Internet telephony, said Skype's business was taking shape and had improved under eBay.

"Whether they figure out a way to make money out of it, I don't know," said Pulver, whose three-day VON conference on Internet telephony, known as voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, opened in Berlin last Monday. "Whoever ends up on top, though, VOIP is here to stay."

Judging by the numbers, Skype has continued its meteoric rise. The number of registered users, those who have downloaded the free Skype phone software, more than doubled to 136 million by Sept. 30 since the sale to eBay. That is more than half of the world's roughly 206 million broadband Internet users, according to International Data Corp. Each day, 250,000 people download Skype, compared with 130,000 before the sale.'

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November 09, 2006

Another Look at the VON Europe Expo Floor:

Yesterday VON Europe 2006 Expo continued in Berlin with a strong showing.

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

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November 08, 2006

Schuyler Deerman @ VON Europe 2006

Last night Schuyler Deerman attended our VON Party in Berlin and took the following pictures:

(photos by Schuyler Deerman)

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VON Europe Autumn 2006 Expo Opens with Plenty of Buzz:

Yesterday our VON Europe 2006 Expo opened up in Berlin with a strong showing. Our exhibitors demonstrated the latest in software, infrastructure, testing and management tools designed to enable voice and video to be delivered via IP. The buzz continued as the Expo Theaters kicked off the on-show-floor education programs with Nokia discussing mobility issues and Sonus discussing IMS architecture. Both sessions drew standing room only crowds. Many pre-planned and impromptu meetings took place both on and off the Expo floor.

(posted while in transit to New York @ 35,000 ft over the Atlantic)


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November 06, 2006

Memories of Berlin...in the Rain

I was in Berlin for about 24 hours. Most of it was spent indoors. While visiting Berlin I had the chance to visit two airports and one convention center. The grey skies of Berlin were the memory I had of the city from my last visit and that memory just lingers on. At least the rain had stopped by the time I left for the ICC this morning and the commencement of VON Europe Autumn 2006.

James Enck

(posted in Frankfurt enroute to Tel Aviv)


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Posted by jeff at 07:13 AM | Permalink

VON Europe Autumn 2006 will be Starting Soon...

I'm looking forward to the commencement of VON Europe Autumn 2006 in a few hours.

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

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November 04, 2006

Next Stop: Berlin

In a few hours I will be taking a flight from Tel Aviv to Berlin for the third leg of my road trip. I am looking forward to catching up with friends in Berlin tonight and speaking at VON Europe Autumn 2006 on Monday. On Monday afternoon I will be returning to Tel Aviv to speak Telecom Israel 2006 on Tuesday.

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Posted by jeff at 07:53 PM | Permalink

November 02, 2006

Visiting with Kayote Networks and XConnect in Jerusalem:

During the past week in Israel I've meet with quite a number of companies across the world of: Media, Internet, Communications and Entertainment (MICE). While many of the meeting were with stealth mode startups, when I was in Jerusalem I also had the chance to catch up with both Kayote Networks and XConnect.

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Posted by jeff at 01:36 PM | Permalink

Reminder: Still Looking for Startups and Innovators: Deadline Tomorrow (Nov 3rd)

Call for Speakers for Spring 2007 VON and Spring 2007 Video on the Net. Deadline is November 3rd.

I am personally working on the conference programs of both VON and Video on the Net. I am looking for start-ups and innovators to invite to share their vision, ideas and innovations with our conference delegates.

Between March 19th to the 22nd San Jose will be buzzing with executives from the world of Media, Entertainment and Communications as both Spring 2007 VON and Spring 2007 Video on the Net will be taking place.

Spring 2007 VON will be covering the state of IP Communications with a specific focus in the areas of: IP Voice, IPTV, FMC and IMS.

Video on the Net will be taking a look at the effects of the broadband Internet on the future of TV, Film and Broadcasting. Please see our Fall 06 schedule to get a feel for the sessions from our most recent event.

If you or someone you know should be seen and heard at VON and/or Video on the Net, please pitch me with the topic(s) and speakers between now and November 3rd.

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Posted by jeff at 05:20 AM | Permalink

November 01, 2006

RADVISION: Making VoIP Fun Again

This morning I spoke at a RADVISION customer event in Tel Aviv where I shared my perspective on the state of the VoIP Industry and had a chance to share my personal experience on using their PC to Mobile 3G software. I also took the opportunity to talk a little about the future evolution of Video on the Net.

One thing that I didn’t say but I realize now upon reflection is that RADVISION is a company that has made VoIP fun again for myself. There is something very cool about being part of a PC to 3G mobile phone call. And now that I’m in Israel, I now can be on the receiving side of an incoming PC video call from the States since my friends at Orange Israel were kind enough to lend me a SIM card for the duration of my trip.



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October 30, 2006

John Quarterman: Everything on IP

Perilocity: Everything on IP

"Jeff Pulver approves this message:

...in time all global telecommunications will become Internet Protocol (IP) based.

...

I don't know what's more remarkable: that someone clearly says what is the case,or that a newspaper got it right.

Then there's the corollary: dropping long distance rates incented telcos to abrogate net neutrality, so that they can get their monopoly back without having to come up with new value added services to make money."

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October 27, 2006

Cernio: VON Italy Report

VON Italy Report

"The VON Italy has been a great happening, with more than 2000 visitors and lots of exhibitors. Jeff presented his vision to the Italian audience, reminding us that the "V" of VoIP actually stands for "Video". It seems to us in Abbeynet that V stands for a lot of "things". And that IP is not the transport layer "over" which we put "things"."

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Giacomo Vacca: Back from VON Italy - Pulver's Perspective

Giacomo Vacca: Back from VON Italy - Pulver's Perspective

"Before talking about TV over IP, his new (very concrete) vision, Jeff underlined the relevance of dual mode phones to improve users’ reachability. I have been one of the few people who showed their Nokia E61 when Jeff polled for it (but I saw a lot of advertising for this model in Rome)."

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October 25, 2006

Live from Rome: VON Italy 2006

VON Italy 2006 is underway. Earlier today I shared my perspective on the current state of VoIP and spoke about the future of VoIP, including the evolution of Video on the Net. Over 2,000 people are expected to attend VON Italy during the next two days. Just this morning, well over 1,200 people had already checked in and were attending the sessions and visiting the exhibit floor as I was writing this blog entry.

Special thanks to Daniel McVicar who provided a video clip for my presentation this morning. And here is the promised plug for Late Night Mash. :)

DSC_0023.JPGDSC_0031.JPGDSC_0038.JPGDSC_0045.JPGDSC_0048.JPGDSC_0050.JPGDSC_0053.JPGDSC_0059.JPGDSC_0061.JPGDSC_0066.JPGDSC_0067.JPGDSC_0070.JPGDSC_0076.JPGDSC_0077.JPGDSC_0078.JPG

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Posted by jeff at 06:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

VON Italy 2006 will be Starting Soon...

I'm looking forward to the commencement of VON Italy 2006 in a few hours and the opportunity to start catching up with some of my friends from the Italian IP Communications Industry.

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

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October 23, 2006

Next Stop: Rome!

Tonight I’m taking a flight from New York to Rome for the first leg of my road trip. I am looking forward to speaking at VON Italy 2006 on Wednesday. I arrive in Rome late tomorrow morning and hope to spend some time while in Rome playing the role of tourist.

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Jeff Pulver: All telephone communications will become IP based

Every once in a while, I actually get quoted in context and it seems my words were undersood when I spoke last week in Barbados at the Information Society of Barbados (ISB) Conference..

I was invited to speak about the state of Voice over IP. I used the opportunity to share some of the thoughts that I will be sharing later this week in Rome at VON Italy 2006.

The following story ran today in the Barbados Advocate:

Jeff Pulver: All telephone communications will become IP based

By Randy Howard

"GLOBALLY renowned thought leader, author, entrepreneur and true pioneer in the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) industry, Jeff Pulver, is of the opinion that in time all global telecommunications will become Internet Protocol (IP) based.

Pulver was delivering his feature address at last week's Information Society of Barbados (ISB) Conference held at the Sherbourne Conference Centre. He made the point that when VoIP (the routing of voice conversations over the Internet or through any other IP-based network) was first developed, and was being used by many individuals for the purpose of evading tariffs on long distance phone calls, the international telecommunications community viewed the technology as being disruptive, and therefore petitioned against its use.

In his opinion, this industry has spent too much time and energy on creating rules and regulations to govern the use of VoIP as opposed to embracing the technology and developing it and making it available for wider use in the community. Pulver made the point however, that despite these objections, the use of VoIP continued to grow at a rapid pace, and the threat of this wide spread use resulted in telephone companies in the United States dropping to their overseas rates, particularly to their major trading partners.

He argued that the development and evolution of the technology, which essentially cannot be brought to a halt, will lead to a major change in the way that those around the world communicate. He stated, however, that this does not mean the death of telephone companies, but rather that these companies will have to embrace the technology and use it as the basis for their services."

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Reminder: Still Looking for Startups and Innovators:

Call for Speakers for Spring 2007 VON and Spring 2007 Video on the Net. Deadline is November 3rd.

I am personally working on the conference programs of both VON and Video on the Net. I am looking for start-ups and innovators to invite to share their vision, ideas and innovations with our conference delegates.

Between March 19th to the 22nd San Jose will be buzzing with executives from the world of Media, Entertainment and Communications as both Spring 2007 VON and Spring 2007 Video on the Net will be taking place.

Spring 2007 VON will be covering the state of IP Communications with a specific focus in the areas of: IP Voice, IPTV, FMC and IMS.

Video on the Net will be taking a look at the effects of the broadband Internet on the future of TV, Film and Broadcasting. Please see our Fall 06 schedule to get a feel for the sessions from our most recent event.

If you or someone you know should be seen and heard at VON and/or Video on the Net, please pitch me with the topic(s) and speakers between now and November 3rd.

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October 19, 2006

Why 3G Video Calls are Useful:

Luca Filigheddu recently shared his perspective on 3G Mobile and talked about when he would use and appreciate PC to Mobile video calls, by stating:

"...I'd use it as a PC user, but I'm not willing to revive any video call on
my mobile a part from particular and circumscribed situations..."

This is exactly what I thought Mobile Video calls (PC to Mobile or Mobile to Mobile) are meant for, and expect that most people have such special moments and occasions few times a week.

But since New York is not a 3G City, I emailed a few friends who live in the 3G world to get their perspective and one of them just emailed me the following:

"Most People have such special moments and occasions few times a week.

I know for me, having my 8 1/2 year old son calling my 3G mobile when I am
abroad telling me about what happened to him at school and asking where am I
now - is exactly such special occasion worth a video call to my 3G.

For me being somewhere special or experiencing something unique is such a
"3G video moment" when I would like to call my friends or family at home and
PC "Video-pals" to share."

So I have to ask, what would more do you need to call it a useful service?

The Pc to Mobile promise, is all about making everybody with a PC, Webcam and internet access, part of the 3G video community, and having a critical mass of Video-Pals 3G phones can communicate with.

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Posted by jeff at 06:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

October 17, 2006

Luca is looking forward to VON Italy:

Luca Filigheddu: VON Italy Next Week

"A last minute guest-star ? Dina Kaplan from Blip.tv. She'll give a speech entitled: "The video revolution: The Next Generation Television". Who knows, maybe I'll review her presentation by a videoblog... :-)

I look forward to meeting many of my readers attending VON Italy."


I'm also looking forward to my visit to Rome and VON Italy.

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October 16, 2006

My recent "WOW" Moment: The PC to Mobile 3G Experience

RADVISION + Orange Israel = A "Wow" PC to Mobile 3G Experience

During the past week I had a number of 3G Mobile Video conversations with friends in Israel despite the fact that I'm in the States and I do not have access to a 3G Network. Turns out that all I needed was a PC and a video camera and some software from RADVISION and they took care of the rest.

PC-to-Mobile 3G is a Very cool experience. I especially enjoy the opportunity to see live streaming mobile video being delivered via the Internet to my desktop from a camera phone connected to a 3G network.

RADVISION's technology platform empowers consumers like me with the ability to be a 3G contact with someone even though I don't have a 3G handset or even 3G local services. Basically, once I downloaded RADVISION's software client and "subscribed" to their service, I was able to call someone with a 3G phone.

Just yesterday I also experienced my first 3G Mobile to PC Video Call which was equally exciting. It is great to see this kind of functionality becoming commercially available.

RADVISION's technology platform represents both mobile VoIP and mobile "Video on the Net" and is another example of the blurring of these two worlds. Suffice to say there is a lot of technology running "under the hood" that is powering this platform.

It was thanks to the technology developed by RADVISION and their relationship with Orange Israel that I was able to be part of a historic call with Israel's Minister of Communications. Last week, I called Minister Atias from my PC in New York when he was in a Sukkah in Jerusalem using a 3G Camera Phone. Our conversation took place in the presence of the Israeli media.

Click here to watch a video our conversation.

[Minister Atias talking to Jeff Pulver (look at the video image)]

Now, if you happen to be in Israel and if have an camera phone and you are an Orange customer and would like to get a personal demo and see for yourself how it works, please email: jeffp@pulver.com with the subject: "RADVISION/Orange Demo."

It is demonstrations like this one that make me smile as I for one can appreciate how far the world of IP Communications has evolved over the years.

I might mention that I am looking forward to welcoming RADVISION's Chairman, Zohar Zisapel who is also chairman of the RAD Group to San Jose where he will be joining us at Spring 2007 VON.

Related Links: The Marker and NetoNews.co.il


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Posted by jeff at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (33)

My next European Road Trip: VON Italy, The TV Festival, VON Europe Autumn and more

In a week I will be leaving for Rome where I will be speaking at VON Italy 2006 on the morning of October 25th. From Rome I will be heading over to Tel Aviv where I will be meeting with start-ups and speaking at a few conferences, including The TV Festival in Rosh Pina and well as Telecom Israel 2006 in Tel Aviv. On the morning of November 6th, I will be the opening speaker at VON Europe Autumn 2006 in Berlin.

Later this week on Thursday I will be in Barbados speaking at the ISB Conference.

2006 has been an amazing year for the worldwide growth of our VON events and I am looking forward to our continued growth in 2007 and beyond.

Links:
- NRG Online

-Barbados Advocate

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Posted by jeff at 06:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

October 15, 2006

Now even FREE Phone Calls has Competition. Introducing futurephone.com

futurephone.com is offering free phone calls to over 50 countries: (ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BANGLADESH, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, BULGARIA, CANADA, CHILE, CHINA, CHRISTMAS ISLAND, COCOS ISLANDS, COLOMBIA, CYPRUS, CZECH REPUBLIC, DENMARK, ESTONIA, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, GUAM, HONG KONG, HUNGARY, ICELAND, IRELAND, ISRAEL, ITALY, JAPAN, LUXEMBOURG, MALAYSIA, MEXICO, MONACO, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NORWAY, PANAMA, PERU, POLAND, PORTUGAL, PUERTO RICO, RUSSIA, SAN MARINO, SINGAPORE, SOUTH KOREA, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TAIWAN, THAILAND, TURKEY, UNITED KINGDOM, US VIRGIN ISLANDS, VENEZUELA)

No special software needed. Just a working telephone.

Just dial +1.712.858.8883, When the gateway answers, enter 011 then the country code and the number you want to reach (mobile users, do not hit SEND - the call will go through on it's own). For Canada dial 1 plus the area code and number.

We are living in some pretty interesting times. Now even "free" has competition.

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Posted by jeff at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)

October 10, 2006

In Search of Startups and Innovation:

Call for Speakers for Spring 2007 VON and Spring 2007 Video on the Net

I am personally working on the conference programs of both VON and Video on the Net. I am looking for start-ups and innovators to invite to share their vision, ideas and innovations with our conference delegates.

Between March 19th to the 22nd San Jose will be buzzing with executives from the world of Media, Entertainment and Communications as both Spring 2007 VON and Spring 2007 Video on the Net will be taking place.

Spring 2007 VON will be covering the state of IP Communications with a specific focus in the areas of: IP Voice, IPTV, FMC and IMS.

Video on the Net will be taking a look at the effects of the broadband Internet on the future of TV, Film and Broadcasting. Please see our Fall 06 schedule to get a feel for the sessions from our most recent event.

If you or someone you know should be seen and heard at VON and/or Video on the Net, please pitch me with the topic(s) and speakers between now and November 3, 2006.

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Posted by jeff at 07:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 09, 2006

Jon Arnold’s “Bootleg” Herding Cats Video from Fall 2006 VON Party

After seeing yesterday’s Collection of Bootleg Herding Cats Videos from our Fall 2006 VON Party, Jon Arnold reminded me of the images from Fall 2006 VON he took and the bootleg video that he shot at the party using his Nokia N90.

And he is correct, his video from the N90 is just as good as the video taken by the other videographers (or is that now camera-phone-graphers?)

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Posted by jeff at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Looking forward to VON Italy 2006

In a couple of weeks I will be heading to Italy for VON Italy 2006. I am looking forward to my first trip to Italy and being in Rome to give the opening talk at VON Italy. While I am in Rome I will be meeting with members of the Italian IP Communications Industry and I will be doing a few scheduled interviews with the local media.

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October 08, 2006

Herding Cats: "Bootleg Videos" from Fall 2006 VON Party

The Herding Cats have been the "house band" of pulver.com since we met the band in a bar in Pioneer Square in Seattle on the night of April 11, 2002.

Together we have traveled the world and their music and style of play have brought smiles to the faces of thousands of my party guests over the years.

It turns out that when Steve Garfield and Chris Brogan came to my Fall 2006 VON party at the Roxy last month, they forgot to check their cameras at the door, which was a great thing since they were able to capture some of the music and atmosphere from the party in the video clips highlighted below.

Chris Brogan: Herding Cats - Sept 13 at the Roxy - Boston, MA

Steve Garfield: Herding Cats: We Are the World

Steve Garfield: Herding Cats: Live at the Roxy, Boston

Steve Garfield: Herding Cats: Champagne Supernova Cover

Chris Brogan: Herding Cats- Ayelet Yagil's Mom Cut


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Posted by jeff at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)

October 07, 2006

Congrats to Ted Wallingford on his new book, VoIP Hacks

Ted, Congrats on the publishing of your second O'Reilly book, VoIP Hacks.

"Interested in saving money, increasing productivity, or just impressing your friends? If so, then VoIP Hacks can show you how. This practical guide offers dozens of clever tips, tricks, and techniques for working with VoIP, the cool technology that makes phone service via the Internet possible. Hack your way to the phone service of the future-today!"

Go ahead, and order your copy of VoIP Hacks today.


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Posted by jeff at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 05, 2006

Vivox: Reaching out and Connecting residents of Second Life to the Outside World

Vivox, a provider of voice services to virtual worlds and a company that I am a co-founder of and currently chairman of, is once again blurring the line between what is reality and what is virtual. Vivox is now giving away a million minutes of voice time free to residents of the virtual world of Second Life.

The giveaway will let Second Life residents make calls from within Second Life to any phone, including mobiles and landlines, in North America, as well as take advantage of Vivox's proximity services in Second Life, where up to five avatars standing near a Vivox virtual microphone are automatically conferenced together. The promotion just started is running until November 1st and has several in-world partners including: Pulveria, Electric Sheep, Illusion Factory, Jnana, Millions of Us, Sarg's Slides, Uvvy

Details regarding the Vivox Million Minutes Giveaway can be found on the Vivox Million Minutes Promotion page.

Pulveria

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Posted by jeff at 08:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

October 03, 2006

“Parents Just Don't Understand" (the remake)

While I did not intend to be (so) grumpy in my recent blog posting, I have found it interesting the way some people have reacted to it, others have referred to it and at least in two cases, have used it out of context. (see: Andy Abramson, Om Malik, Alec Saunders, David Beckemeyer, Phone Boy, Ted Wallingford, Pat Phelan, Lonely Bloggers, James Robertson, Justin Rudd, Charles C)

Yes, in the Blogosphere your opinions count, your voice matters and you are always at liberty to stand on your soap box in your virtual version of Speakers' Corner in England's Hyde Park and speak your mind. Please do. And yes, “bloggers are consumers too” so there are times when we speak from the perspective of being a future prospective customer (whether or not we match the “target demographic”) and we are there to just “offer advise.” And no, while my blog post was not directly toward anyone specific, there were at least three people who thought it was. (What ever happened to email in the world of web 2.0? I find it amusing that some people would rather post a blog entry of their reaction to something rather than engage in a direct email conversation about it.)

And to the PR folks, as far as I’m concerned, while “being understood” matters a lot, so does being able to sell your product or service. In the end, it is up to the people to decide what is a hit and what is a flop despite whether or not the critics like it or not. Yes it is great if you can get the attention of the “right people” and use them to build the momentum for the product launch. This works especially well for companies who are going with a “viral marketing strategy.” But in the end, even if the targeted “opinion leaders” do “get it”, you need to make sure that you are also being understood within the demographic known as your targeted customer base. Most startups don’t fail because of their technology, but rather their lack of ability to sell it.

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Posted by jeff at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

October 01, 2006

With Some Startups, "Parents Just Don't Understand"

After spending the past week reading various perspectives on some of the recently funded (mostly) mobile focused VoIP startups, I find it amazing how some members of the Blogosphere feel as if they have an inside track to the future success of one or more of these startups. As if what they have to say about a company actually meant something more than just words. Now while I am sure the marketing and PR folks at these startups are now more than ever concerned about getting to the "right side" of whom they believe are the opinion leaders in certain parts of the Blogosphere, at the end of the day it is up to the customers of the company to determine whether or not the product or service is a success and not a blogger.

If members of the Blogosphere are interested in having their opinion mean something significant, may I suggest they apply for a job at their local VC firm and see what happens? Or even better, if they discover a better way at solving a problem than currently exists, why not start a company that solves that problem and then go out and raise some money themselves? Turns out that criticizing a vision is easy if you don't have one to share yourself and but even more challenging if you do.

Given that we are now living in the "second wave" of the IP Communications industry, I have to believe there are reasons why some of these companies got funded. Given the relative size of the fundings, there were some "very smart people" working in the background in each of these cases that helped make this happen. And to be venture backed means the investor is willing to take significant risk for a significant reward. Just remember, if these companies where all so clearly winners from the start, they would not be funded with “Venture Capital.”

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Posted by jeff at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

September 29, 2006

Nice to see SighSpeed on TRL!

Congrats to Andy Abramson and the team at SightSpeed for MTV's decision to use SightSpeed on the Video Wall used in TRL.


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

CIO Today: Video over IP: The Next Battleground

Video over IP: The Next Battleground

The FCC, which regulates broadcast and cable television, might try to regulate Video over IP personal networks because they are "TV-like," said VON founder Jeff Pulver. "There are ways to fight this," he added. "Don't let regulation get in the way of your innovation."

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Posted by jeff at 06:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another Look at Rebtel:

Google Video: A Conversation with Greg Spector from Rebtel

Friends of mine have pinged me during the past few days asking me “so what is so cool about Rebtel?” Now while I find Rebtel’s current offering of what Om calls "Callback 2.0" interesting and innovative, what hooked me about the company when I met with them back in August was their the team and their vision for SIP and what I would call "consumer empowered fixed mobile convergence.”. It turns out the folks from Rebtel are well positioned to be one of the companies that provides communication services inside of hot spots to the millions of dual-mode SIP enabled handsets that Nokia (and others) are planning to sell over the next 12-18 months. While some friends who service the mobile side of the industry have been trying to sell products targeted to mobile operators to help switch a subscriber's call seamlessly from GSM to Wi-Fi and back again, Rebtel is able to offer consumers a similar sounding service without the need to own such hardware.

With their current service offering, Rebtel is using SIP URIs to manage the legs of their customer’s phone calls. Now imagine what happens when one of their customers who switched from using a regular cell phone to using a dual-mode phone is connected to a wi-fi network and wants to place an outbound phone call? Rebtel gets to deliver the call and avoid having any mobile connection charges for at least one leg of the call. This becomes the next phase of mobile disintermediation.

I found a video from an interview that Rebel’s Greg Spector gave back in July. To hear a hint of what Rebtel’s post "Callback 2.0" strategy is, fast forward the video to the 18 min 25 sec and watch the interview until 20 min, 20 sec. During this time frame, Greg talks at a high level about their Wi-Fi / SIP strategy and suggests Rebtel as a service provider for Wi-Fi Hotspots for the millions of people who will have Nokia dual-mode phones in the near future (like my Nokia E61).

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September 28, 2006

pulver.tv: Jon Arnold on Fall 2006 VON

pulver.tv: Jon Arnold on Fall 2006 VON

Jon Arnold dropped by the pulver.tv studio on the exhibit floor at Fall 2006 VON and shared his feedback about his experiences at Fall VON. The person asking Jon the questions off camera is pulver.tv's Jennie Bourne.

Jon - this should count as one of your first video podcasts! :)

Jon Arnold

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2006 VON Road Trip (continued): VON Italy and VON Europe Autumn

While I stayed in the States in September, I will be on the road again in October and November. From a VON perspective I am looking forward to my first visit (ever) to Rome where I will be speaking at VON Italy 2006 on the morning of October 25th. Twelve days later, on the morning of November 6th, I will be the opening speaker at VON Europe Autumn 2006 in Berlin.

During October I will also be speaking at the ISB Conference in Barbados as well as in a couple of different events in Tel Aviv.

2006 has been an amazing year for the worldwide growth of our VON events and I am looking forward to our continued growth in 2007 and beyond.

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September 26, 2006

The rant trap shares VON notes

Just found this blog entry from a search on technorati.

A shout out to the "38 year old guitar playing software selling poker playing gym going" blogger at "the rant trap." :)

The snazzy footwear of Counterpath

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Isn't it Ironic?

I have to admit that I find some humor in Mike Arrington's post about Jajah's "exceptional new consumer service that will let many cell phone users access Jajah’s very low calling rates through their cell phone" yet he admits that "the tricky part, of course is getting the software installed properly on a phone to begin with (something I can’t test right now because I’m in Taiwan and because my phone, the hated Motorola Q, uses the even-more-hated Windows Mobile OS)."

Sounds like Mike should give Rebtel a try. No special software needed. Works on all mobile phones.

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Congrats to Rebtel on Raising $20 Million. Let the revolution begin!

Congrats to Rebtel for raising US$20 million dollars from Index Ventures and Benchmark Capital.

Ever since I met with Hjalmar Winbladh and the Rebtel team in Stockholm back in August, I knew that they were onto something special. Hjalmar's presentation at our Fall 2006 VON Conference was one of the "wow" moments of Fall VON.

Rebtel is one of the most exciting startups that I have gotten to know this year. While on the surface they may appear to some people to be a “mobile arbitrage play”, there is a lot more going on under the hood that meets the eye. The team of people at Rebtel are both revolutionaries and visionaries and they fully understand the value of “voice as an application” and underlying power of SIP and IP Communications. Simply put, Rebtel is well positioned to become a major force in the emerging world of consumer empowered Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC).

Rebtel’s current go-to-market strategy is to leverage what’s out there today: 2 billion standard mobile phones that consumers know how to use. No special downloads required. The catch? leverage “bucket pricing plans“ by getting consumer to place local phone calls in order to speak with friends and family members across national boarders. While “distance is dead” in the world of the Internet, Rebtel has removed distance from the consumers of mobile phones.

Skype leveraged the PC and broadband. Similarly, Rebtel is leveraging mobile phones and operators’ local minute bucket plans. And they’ve built a 100 percent SIP infrastructure prepared for the future evolution of mobile/wireless communications.

The team at Rebtel is trying to build something that lasts; something that drives fundament change. Just like their wireline cousins, mobile operators are best positioned to be wireless access providers. Wireless operators should not be able to claim ownership of someone or their devices. They should be happy just being access providers.

One of the challenges that any startup faces is being understood. And I find it fascinating how some friends in the blogosphere hear about a new company and make certain underlying assumptions about them and never actually look deep under the hood. I guess they must be jaded. Or tired. Or both. In fact, I'm still trying to understand how someone could compare Rebtel to say Mint Telecom. The consumer economics associated with Rebtel and Mint Telecom are diametrically apart. As far as I understand Mint, if I have 20 International friends with Mint I would pay: (7+(2*20)) or $47 USD/m without even placing doing one call. If I have the same 20 friends listed with Rebtel and I don't call one week, I would pay...nothing. A huge difference if you ask me.


Hjalmar Winbladh

Jonathan Askin caught up with Hjalmar after his talk at Fall 2006 VON and filed this interview for pulver.tv


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September 24, 2006

Catching up with the VONosphere

Drop by the VONosphere Video Archives to catch up with Paul Kapustka and our VONosphere episodes.

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September 23, 2006

Adobe, SIP and Flash: News at 11

During the past 24 hours, a number of people have shared their thoughts about the story that Om broke yesterday morning.

- Tom Keating: Adobe Flash Goes VoIP
- Phil Wolf: Adobe flashes on VoIPifying the web
- Tech Dirt: Embed Your Own Headline Here
- Luca Filigheddu: VoIP news update...VOW!
- Phone Boy: VoIP in Flash? Now That's Hot!
- Bruce Stewart: Flash to Speak VoIP?
- Russell Shaw: Deja view: I saw Adobe Breeze VoIP back in April 2005
- Alec Saunders: Just Add Voice
- Andy Abramson: Om Busts Another One, Keating Add More

From my perspective, it is pretty simple. The evolution of Flash to support SIP is an innovation which has the potential to forever change the way many consumers will take advantage of IP Communications in the future.

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September 22, 2006

Ted Wallingford's VoIP Blogger Quiz

Ted Wallingford: Which VoIP Blogger are You?

Somehow, everytime I take the quiz it keeps on returning: Jeff Pulver.

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Another "It Happened at VON Story" - Flash in the VoIP Pan

GigaOM: Flash in the VoIP Pan

Om, if you only knew. :)

[Edit - for more of the story - see the Tom Keating interview.]

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September 19, 2006

pulver.tv: Jonathan Askin Interviews Rebtel's Hjalmar Winbladh

Regular readers of my blog may remember the trip I took about a month ago when I went to Stockholm to meet with Rebtel.

Last week Rebtel CEO Hjalmar Winbladh was at Fall 2006 VON and gave an Industry Perspective.

Shortly after his talk, pulver.tv's Jonathan Askin caught up with Hjalmar.

pulver.tv: Jonathan Askin Interviews Rebtel's Hjalmar Winbladh

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September 18, 2006

Another Look at Pulveria

Last Tuesday towards the end of my opening keynote of Fall 2006 VON/Video on the Net, I introduced the audience to Pulveria, pulver.com’s new Second Life conference space.

While I was giving my keynote, David Siegel captured video of what it looked like from inside of Second Life.

And while Miller Copeland visited last Tuesday, he took pictures of the facility which are now available for viewing on flickr.

During my talk I forgot to acknowledge Vivox whose technology made it possible for me to communicate between both the real world and Second Life as well as well as The Electric Sheep Company who helped us build Pulveria.

And now that Pulveria has launched, I am looking forward to hosting additional lectures and events in our new conference facility.


Comments from the Blogosphere regarding Pulveria:

Miller Copeland: "If you get a chance to stop by Pulveria, by the way, do make sure to take a minute to wander the facility; it's a spectacular build, architecturally-speaking, a grand mesh of navigability and stunning visuals, a combination rare to come by in the grid.

David Siegel: "The best part of the experience for me was after the keynote talk. Just like in a real conference, several people lingered in the back of the room and started chatting.

Steve Smith: "We may be a ways from the Star Trek holodeck, but the technology available today is starting to be usable for real life purposes. Very cool.

Alec Saunders: "Perhaps the most intriguing part of the speech was the switch, momentarily, to Second Life, where the whole speech is being broadcast live to avatars in the conference center on Pulveria, Jeff’s Second Life island."

Jon Arnold: "The really cool thing is that Jeff actually conversed with one of these avatars in real time during his preso, which all of us could see and hear. For those of you who need something more that what real life has to offer, this is a pretty neat way to put your imagination to work in a virtual world."

BL Teens Blog: "Towards the end of Jeff's speech, all about technology, he turned to show a large screen to his side, which showed the Second Life conference room! It was at that moment that the guy sitting next to me, turned to me and said, "I think we're in the wrong room." He was right -- what Jeff was showing on the screen was an auditorium full of people, while I was sitting with just one other person. We wandered out and down the stairs until we found the auditorium to hear the end of the speech. As my mother pointed out, my sense of direction is so bad that I can even get lost in cyberspace!"

(Photo by Steve Garfield)

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September 17, 2006

Andy - "Hawaiian Shirt Tuesday" at Fall 2006 VON Worked! And Thank you!

As Andy Abramson noted, his suggested fashion statement for Tuesday @ Fall 2006 VON was taken to heart by a number of the people who were at Fall 2006 VON.

In the end over 150 members of our VON community joined in the wearing of a Hawaiian shirt in Boston. The community represented a cross-section of people including: bloggers, speakers, conference delegates, visitors to the exhibit hall, exhibitors and in the case of Truphone, an entire exhibiting team (albeit they choose Hawaiian
swimming trunks). It was an honor to be able to celebrate the occasion with so many people. Special thanks to Andy and to everyone who participated in the event.

And as Andy mentioned, last Tuesday evening I was part of a “Fireside Chat” with Level 3 CEO, Jim Crowe which took place at the Harvard Club. I’m sure it wasn’t something seen everyday, but the staff at the Harvard Club did not take issue with me wearing my Hawaiian shirt to dinner.

Jeff and the Truphone Team (Thanks for the new E61!)
Jim Crowe
Andy Abramson and Jeff @ The Harvard Club

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September 16, 2006

Alec Saunders: This Was the Best VON Ever

Alec Saunders: For the Record, This Was the Best VON Ever

"For the record, this VON was the best VON I have ever attended.

From the opening buzz around iotum at the voice over IM panel on day-1 right through the exhibits, presentations, panels and social gatherings …. the message was clear: VON is where VoIP, Voice and Vision, happen!

For iotum, it was a stellar show - the fruit of three years of hard work - and a lot of behind the scenes good faith, planning, preserverance and vision that is slowly coming to reality."

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September 15, 2006

Jon Arnold's Photo Blog of Fall VON

Fall VON - Photo/Video Highlights

"Jeff gave several examples of how video and broadcasting are quickly becoming Net-centric. He's just gotten into Second Life, and here's a shot of avatars watching Jeff present in his virtual world call Pulveria. The really cool thing is that Jeff actually conversed with one of these avatars in real time during his preso, which all of us could see and hear. For those of you who need something more that what real life has to offer, this is a pretty neat way to put your imagination to work in a virtual world."
Conference Facility at Pulveria in Second Life (photo by: Jon Arnold)

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Images from Fall 2006 VON: Day 4


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September 14, 2006

Images from Fall 2006 VON: Day 3

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September 13, 2006

Images from Fall 2006 VON: Day 2


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September 12, 2006

Images from Fall 2006 VON: Workshop Day

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September 11, 2006

Welcome to Fall 2006 VON!:

Yesterday vistors to the Boston Convention Center had a chance to preview the look and feel of Fall 2006 VON. Fall 2006 VON starts later this morning and a VON event has never looked better. :)

Fall 2006 VON will be our largest and most active VON event in our history and I'm equally excited and proud of the launch of our new Video on the Net conference, a new event that spells "VON" for the world of media and entertainment.

I am looking forward to: the seeing the people, attending and speaking at the VON Conference, walking our exhibit floor and just being here 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 2006 VON!


Video on the Net Set
Waiting for 9AM on Tuesday
Exhibits Under Construction

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September 09, 2006

Andy Says: "Tuesday is Hawaiian Shirt Day"

Taking a line from the movie "Office Space" Andy Abramson modified it slightly and has declared Tuesday as "Hawaiian Shirt Day" at Fall VON.

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Getting Ready for Fall 2006 VON:

Later today I am leaving on an afternoon jetBlue flight for Boston and once I’m in Boston I am planning on catching up with a PodCamp tonight.

As I'm getting ready to leave for Fall 2006 VON, I find myself feeling very positive about the state of the worldwide IP Communications industry. These past twelve months have been quite amazing. Despite the consolidation that the communications industry has experienced, our VON events and our industry continue to grow. In fact we are expecting a record number of visitors to experience the Fall VON Expo. And VON continues to be an international travel destination. At last check people from 69 different countries were registered to visit with us in Boston.

During the past 10 years, it has been great to watch VoIP grow up and become "mainstream" in the way the technology is being used across the communications industry. The advent of the adoption of concept of "Voice as an Application" has changed the way we communicate forever. There is no turning back to the analog ways of the past and a new communications/computing industry has grown up which leverages the possibilities that are only possible because of Internet Protocol (IP). In turn the IP Communications industry has become a multi-billion dollar marketplace with great continued opportunities for growth, especially as the umbrella of IP Communications extends across the world of wireless, wireline and broadband communications.

As I look to the future, the overall prospects for Voice on the Net have never been greater and the opportunities in the emerging world of Video on the Net feel deeper and stronger than what was present at the first VON we had at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in San Francisco in April, 1997.

As our Fall 2006 VON Week starts to unfold, I'm looking forward to greeting the people who will be visiting to network, sell, buy, learn, invest, develop partnerships and strike deals. I am looking forward to catching up with some of the VON Alumni spending time with us in Boston as well as meeting some of the newer players who are attending VON for the very first time.

During the past week, I've been using pulverati to keep tabs on the VON buzz in the blogosphere and I've been a daily visitor to the VONosphere to keep track of the latest news in the IP Communications space.

Safe travels to Boston Let the “VON Blur” begin!
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Aswath Almost Scoops My Talk at Fall 2006 VON

Aswath Rao: PSTN is Alive and Well, Thank you very much

It turns out that last weekend Aswath did not take much of a vacation over the long Labor Day holiday. Instead he was on-line and tried to read-between-the-lines of something I mentioned in passing. I’m remiss that it took me a week to acknowledge his words, but so it goes when I’m a just days away from VON and my mind is wrapped up in thinking about my opening speech and the future of VoIP.

Aswath, as far as I can tell, while “PSTN replacement services” will be offered by many, they will, in the end, be implemented best by the existing owners of the PSTN. This in turns mean to me the PSTN is NOT going away and that the future PSTN is going to be IP based. And as the incumbent service providers of the world invest in new IP Communications infrastructure, billions and billions of dollars will be spent supporting the IP Communications Industry. And yes, we need a new name for the future PSTN, since calling an IP based PSTN the “Public Switched Telephone Network” would be a misnomer, especially since I expect the new PSTN would support multimodal communications, and not just “telephony.”

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September 08, 2006

Mercator Capital's Fall VON 2006 Preview:

I just received a copy of Mercator Capital's September Newsletter and I couldn't help but notice their write up of Fall 2006 VON. After reading it I reached out to Mercator and asked for permission to include the following in my blog. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Boston!

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Fall VON 2006 Preview


Pulvermedia’s VON conference marks its 10 th anniversary in Boston, and the Fall show runs from September 11-14. Ten years is a very long time in the IP world, and this particular show will be notable for both looking ahead and reflecting on how far things have come since the very first VON in 1996. Jeff Pulver is a leading bellwether and advocate of all things IP, and he’s had ongoing success in his many ventures and initiatives that cover the gamut in this space.


The VON conference is Pulver’s anchor event, and Jeff recently noted on his widely followed blog (http://pulverblog.pulver.com/) that both Spring VON and Fall VON made the list of the fastest growing trade show in Tradeshow Week magazine. Aside from VON, Jeff has built a mini-empire with various media properties, including regional VON events around the world, VON Magazine, and budding enterprises such as podcasting and videocasting.


Aside from marking VON’s 10 th anniversary, Fall VON 2006 is also important for its updated focus. To date, VON conferences have been built around Voice over IP, and over the years, VON has become the premier event for VoIP. Recognizing that VoIP has evolved from fiction to fact, Jeff has been introducing more content related to video and broadcasting in recent shows. Fall VON 2006 marks the debut of their first show with a full program of content focused solely on video. In addition to the regular VON program, Video on the Net will have its own program that looks at the disruptive impact that IP is having on the broadcasting sector.


So now, the “V” in VON appears to be just as much about video as voice. VON is still the go-to show for VoIP, and Video on the Net is hoping to do the same for its space. Video has been a minor component of previous VONs, but in the past year it has become clear that IP is starting to impact broadcasting much the way it has already done for the telecom sector. If anything, the impact is going to be greater since the stakes are high for both the transport channels and the content. Voice is a fairly one-dimensional application when compared to video, and the issues are far more complex, especially on the content side.


There will certainly be much to explore at Video on the Net. With IP being a more mature technology today, the groundwork has been laid and things are evolving now at a rapid pace. One need look no further to how quickly YouTube has become a household name in just a few months, and already, media companies have sprung up to produce content that is exclusive to the Internet. Conventional broadcasters and content producers are waking up to the fact that changes are coming quickly and that the Internet is posing the same kind of threat – or opportunity, depending on your view – that television posed for the film industry in the 1950s.


And if voice and video are not enough reason to follow this conference, Fall VON also presents a number of other tracks that are highly relevant in their own right. While Video on the Net addresses the overall broadcasting sector, it is not just about IPTV, which itself is an important movement just gaining momentum. Video on the Net will look at television, but as one of several elements of broadcasting. IPTV is really a separate topic because it pertains to the path telcos are taking to compete against the bundles being offered by the cablecos. On this front, the Pulver organization has partnered with Telephony Magazine to produce an IPTV Summit.


Moving further out, Fall VON has three additional tracks that focus on more vertical aspects of the IP communications space. Expo Plus targets enterprise IP, so this is the place to see how both large and small businesses are deploying the various flavors of IP. Drilling down a bit further, they have partnered with Wainhouse Research to bring their Collaboration Service Providers Summit under the VON arena. Collaboration and conferencing applications are becoming important productivity tools with IP, enough so that VON feels it warrants a dedicated focus. And finally, we have Open Source, which seems to have become a staple of all IP shows in the past year. Pulver has done a lot to build ties with this community, especially Asterisk, and has developed a standalone track on Open Source IP PBX.


VON usually attracts big names and bright lights, and the Fall show has a full roster of thought leaders from both Tier 1 service providers and leading edge disruptors. One could argue the show is trying to be too many things to too many people, as VON has never covered such a broad range of topics. There may be some truth to that as it will be impossible to take in everything unless you’re sending a large team. You won’t be able to take in the totality of IP communications this well anywhere else, and if there was ever a time to explore the IP community, this is it.


As always, Mercator will be present at VON, meeting with current and prospective clients. If you’d like to get together at the show to discuss M&A, funding requirements, company strategy, or just industry trends in general, please contact Mike Myshrall at mmyshrall@mercatorcapital.com to arrange a meeting.

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Click here to subscribe to Mercator's monthly newsletter

Source: Mercator Capital - IP Communication Newsletter
(reprinted with permission.)

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Watch “PR Professionals Gone Wild” @ Fall 2006 VON!

These days it seems as if the PR Industry is out of control, or at least the segment of the PR industry doing work for the exhibitors and speakers who will be with us in Boston next week at Fall 2006 VON.

While I have dealt with a few relentless PR people in my time, the level of competition within the industry from all of the companies vying for media attention appear to be at an all-time high. This VON more than ever it seems that the “pitch force” is out strong trying to get stories placed on behalf of their clients. After being on the receiving side of some of these pitches, it is pretty evident that this is a quantity and not a quality approach. I wonder if it is asking too much if the PR professional representing a client in our industry actually has some basic level understanding of what IP Communications is and where their client sits within the IP Communications ecosystem?

Things have gotten so bad with complaints from the media that we now maintaining two press lists for VON: Our official “Press & Analyst” list and then a second “shadow press list” that is our own internal list of business press & media that will be at VON but specifically asked not want to be solicited by the PR community leading up to the event. (Sorry but this list is off limits to everyone.)

Having to maintain a “shadow press list” is in complete contrast to the few people who will remain nameless but always try to be on our official press list so they can get solicited by the PR community. These are people who live a virtual existence so they don’t actually attend any events. ;-)

The good news from all of this is that the state of the IP Communications Industry has never been better and that there will be a lot of buzz coming from Boston next week at Fall 2006 VON. :)

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AOL's AIM Phone Line Developer Program: Significance Explained in the Blogosphere

While AOL's announcement yesterday of the AIM Phone Line Developer Program was picked up by quite a number of news outlets around the world and added to the growing buzz of Fall 2006 VON, those looking for insight regarding the significance of the AOL's announcement had to visit the blogosphere to get it.

It was great to see the sharing of the collective knowledge and insights from: Jon Arnold, Jim Courney, James Enck, Mark Evans, Mathew Ingram, Alec Saunders, Bruce Stewart and then for Andy Abramson and help connect the dots for us. :)

Looks like one of the underlying themes at Fall 2006 VON will once again be "purple!"

I expect AOL's announcement to carry forward into the discussion at our opening plenary session on Monday night when Carl Ford will be moderating a discussion between: AOL, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! and Skype on "IM: The State of Presence." Speakers include: Ragui Kamel, Sr. Vice President & General Manager, AOL Voice Services, America Online; Mike Jazayeri, Product Manager, Real-Time Communications & Google Talk, Google; Dan Casey, Director, Windows Live VoIP and Messenger Product Management, Microsoft; Nitzan Shaer, Director, Mobile Devices, Skype; Jeff Bonforte, Director of Voice Product Management, Yahoo!

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September 07, 2006

AOL’s AIM Phone Line Developer Program: An example of the VON Community@Work

Since 1996 the evolving IP Communications industry has gathered at pulver.com events to gain industry insight and answer the questions: “what is now?, what is new?, where are we going? and who’s making it happen?” Throughout the years we have played the role of “connector” and did whatever we could to help advance the industry. Over time we have seen startups get funded and turn into market leaders and market leaders merge to form industry powerhouses.

Next week in Boston, while VON is going on, I fully expect to see the attending delegates benefit from the community that VON has helped foster over the years. At any moment there will be: people sharing ideas; people debating points of view; while others will be initiating and fostering new relationships. VON continues to be the place for people to meet their colleagues, friends and build their businesses. In many ways VON is also an ecosystem that breeds other communities, making it possible for new ideas to come to life, and in turn, new opportunities getting turned into realities.

Today’s announcement from AOL about their AIM Phone Line Developer Program is an example of how that ecosystem can work when it’s approached the right way.

Take iotum, a company run by my friends Howard Thaw and Alec Saunders. The two began bringing their idea of a “Relevance Engine” to VON, just about two years ago. Over that time they refined their product, have participated and presented at our conferences and received attention from the blogging community, and others. Along the way they also caught the attention of some of the bigger players in the game.

At Spring 2006 VON, AOL’s Senior VP, Ragui Kamel began talking to some trusted industry insiders about his desire to build an ecosystem around developers who could support AIM PhoneLine, the VoIP softphone based on AOL’s Instant Messenger (AIM), not the recently mothballed TotalTalk. Kamel is one of the speakers at Fall 2006 VON next week, and his vision ties totally into my concept of “Purple minutes”.

Kamel’s idea was to find companies who could be part of an ecosystem which he and his team are building around a set of API’s. It’s those API’s that make it easy for developers to be able to leverage and easily reach the AOL installed user base of AIM Instant Messenger users. One of the functions high on Ragui’s list was an advanced version of Find Me/Follow me that could make AIM Phone Line different. The iotum platform does all that (and more), and since Phone Line is SIP based, the ability to be a plug in was only a few months of work, not years.

For iotum and for MyNuMo, (a company that’s delivering ring back tones to AIM Phone Line), the whole idea of being able to work with a giant like AOL only happens when the ecosystem is in place to support it. AOL’s AIM team is building that by being an integral part of our VON events.

As someone who has watched many of these relationships get formed at VON over the years, it is always rewarding to see the “boy meets girl” and “boy marries girl” Cinderella stories happen.

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by jeff at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Multichannel News: VoIP Will Save Billions

Multichannel News: McSlarrow: Cable VoIP Saves Billions

"Consumers could save more than $60 billion in five years by switching to voice-over-Internet-protocol calling services offered by cable operators, according to an analysis of a recent J.D. Power & Associates survey by cable's top Washington lobbyist.

In a speech Wednesday, National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Kyle McSlarrow said J.D. Power found that cable VoIP customers were paying $11.19 less per month that consumers taking traditional phone service. He added that assuming that 100 million homes signed up for VoIP, the five-year savings would exceed $60 billion."


source: Multichannel News

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Posted by jeff at 06:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 05, 2006

Jon Arnold on Vonage and Telio: The Song Remains the Same

Jon Arnold: Telio and Vonage Revisited – the Song Remains the Same

Congrats to Jon Arnold for finding a way to refer to a Zep Album in the context of a VoIP story.

In the end, Jon remains a fan of Telio: ”I’ll still take the Telio story over any of these, and until we see Q3 numbers I’m not about to change my mind.”

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by jeff at 06:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 04, 2006

The Last Weekend of Summer: Back to School; Back to VON.

Labor Day Weekend in the United States has become known as the traditional “last weekend of summer” even though technically the Summer of 2006 (for the Northern Hemisphere) will last until Autumn Equinox on September 23rd. Growing up on Long Island, the days after Labor Day (the first Monday in September) were traditionally known for being the “back to school” days.

These days I look at September being the commencement of my own kind of season, “Conference Season” which runs annually from September – June which roughly maps to my old K-12 school calendar.

With Fall 2006 VON starting in just a week, I expect it will feel a lot like “back to school” for many of us in the IP Communications industry when we get together in Boston.

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by jeff at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Now Luca is talking Purple

Luca Filigheddu: Purple Minutes?

Nice to see Luca continue the discussion of "Purple Minutes" and "Purple Sessions."

Did I mention there is supposed to be some symbolism with those Purple Hawaiian shirts that I sometimes wear at VON.

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
(This blog posting is copyright protected by Jeff Pulver. Portions of this blog posting may be quoted or abstracted if attributed.)

Posted by jeff at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"Bloggers of Our World" at Fall 2006 VON

The Bloggers Panel at VON has become tradition. This time around, on Wednesday afternoon at Fall 2006 VON, our Bloggers panel will include: Andy Abramson, Martin Geddes, Om Malik, Alec Saunders, Brough Turner and Dan York.

I expect this will once again prove to be real interesting gathering of bloggers and one of the best breakout sessions at Fall 2006 VON.

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by jeff at 09:44 AM | Permalink

Aswath: Vonage Going Purple

According to Aswath, it sounds like in the near future Vonage will be offering “Purple Sessions.”

Well, It’s about time!

And Phone Boy – these days it is all about “Purple Sessions” not the circa 2002 “Purple Minutes.”

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by jeff at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 03, 2006

Fixed Mobile Convergence Challenged: Who Says we want to talk with our PDAs?

I’m amazed how often people just assume that the widespread availability of public Wi-Fi hotspots means that therefore Wi-Fi VoIP is a done deal. While there is no doubt in my mind the advent of public Wi-Fi means that in the future consumers will have a choice of whether to pay for data services on their mobile phones or choose to take advantage of Wi-Fi hotspots to use PCs, PDAs and other IP supported devices, who says that people will be using these devices as a replacement /substitute for their mobile phones?

Sure, it is easy to get sucked into the mythology of the hype surrounding Fixed-Mobile Convergence, but there are also times when one has to ask whether or not “the emperor is wearing any clothing.” While Kellogg’s can enter a marketplace and introduce a new breakfast cereal whether or not there is a need for one, Kellogg’s has the ability to pull this off. And while I’m not really trying to make a link between breakfast cereals and Fixed-Mobile convergence, I do have to ask the question of “who are the buyers for the service?” and outside of the early-adaptor geek population, “how will consumers end up with these converged communication devices?” and while I’m at it, “how many people will choose to talk on these devices rather than use them for email, instant messaging and access to the web?”

The world of IP Communications continues to raise more questions than answers. Back in 1997 I remember in engaging in a public conversation with Vint Cerf at a trade show when I asked him: “In the future, will there be more people talking to each other using PCs with headsets or on regular telephones?” Vint’s answer was spoken with authority when he said “I don’t know.” If I knew how to take polls with this blog, my question of the moment would be: “Seven years from now – will there be more people speaking over Mobile networks or on Wi-Fi/Wi-Max networks?”

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by jeff at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Andy Abramson: Where the Girls Aren't

The next VON event is only eight days from now and Andy is once again musing about the "Where the Girls Aren't."

Andy, I just checked our databases and you are correct...there once again will be more men than woman attending both the Fall 2006 VON Conference and Video on the Net. However, you can expect to see a more equal balance of both men and woman on the Fall VON Expo show floor and at the various social events taking place in and around Fall VON.

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by jeff at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

September 02, 2006

Still Waiting for a Usable SIP Client for my Nokia E61.

After seeing Andy's post today regarding the Nokia N80, he reminded me that the Nokia E61 that I ran out and purchased in May on the first day they were available in Stockholm is still in need of a functional SIP Client.

Truth be told, I was and I am still very excited to see a company like Nokia embrace VoIP and bundle a SIP client on their E61 mobile phone. The fact that Nokia is offering a SIP client bundled with their GSM/Wi-Fi phones says a lot about Nokia and their future vision. My disappointment is with the current implementation of their SIP client since at the moment it is challenged when it comes to the navigation of NATs and Firewalls.

Sometime in the near future when Nokia ships a truly functional SIP client on their E61 and other designated phones, Nokia will significantly move the needle forward in the fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) space.

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by jeff at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Still waiting for the World's Incumbent Telephone Companies to launch their “Softline Service”

Back on November 22, 2004 during an inspired moment I posted the following unsolicited advice in this blog. (Maybe 2005 was optimistic, so maybe this will happen by 2008?)

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“Now that Verizon, BellSouth and SBC have all formally announced their VoIP ambitions, look for each of these companies to begin offering their own variation of what I am calling Softline Service in 2005. In effect, Softline Service is an optional new service that will support the use of a softphone with an associated primary residential phone line service. This service would offer a level of mobility to what used to be known as fixed, wireline service.

This in turn means that a consumer would have the ability to receive their incoming residential phone service whenever they were on the road. As long as they could connect to the broadband internet, including inside of Wi-Fi hotspots, their home phone number would be within reach, for both receiving and placing outbound phone calls. This service could support the use of both software based phones and hardware IP phones -- in the end it really shouldn't matter.

As "Voice is an Application", it is inevitable that the legacy phone companies will connect.the.dots and present Softline Service as a broadband parasite.

My suggested Softline Service strategy is something that any telephone company can execute and is available to virtually all incumbent operators operating in countries with decent-to-better broadband penetration. And given the relative limited amount of CAPEX necessary to execute this vision, Softline Service could quickly become an even more profitable ILEC offering than their existing second line telephone business.

Of course, for the right price pulver.com will happily provide essential help in the development, production, and deployment of Softline Services. ;-) ”

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This same advice can also be applied to the mobile operators of the world.

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(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
(This blog posting is copyright protected by Jeff Pulver. Portions of this blog posting may be quoted or abstracted if attributed.)

Posted by jeff at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

September 01, 2006

Andy Abramson: The Future is Purple

After reading Andy’s: Requiem For The Future of VoIP, I agree that the future of VoIP is “Purple.” For the record, while “Purple Minutes” is something that I’ve been taking about since the Spring of 2002, we still have a long way to go before most consumers will get to experience this future.

These days most Voice over Broadband service providers are more focused on using VoIP to deliver “replacement and substitute” of PSTN services rather than innovate on the platform and deliver to consumers services that were never before practical or possible using the older TDM based PSTN. These service providers have chosen to ignore the fact that on the broadband internet “Voice is just an Application.” It turns out many of the Voice over Broadband companies operating in 2006 are in effect playing in the game of arbitrage, except instead of arbitraging long distance termination which was common place in the late 90’s, they are arbitraging local phone service. These are the same companies who are now dealing with the realities of VoIP compliance issues as a result of the FCC mandates from the past year and half.

This said, I have also been a fan of AOL’s Total Talk service and the people who are behind the vision, since the team at AOL understands what it means that “voice is an application” and they have, more than others, taken an active role in leveraging their IP based platform in the creation and delivery of communication services. If what Om is suggesting is true, then it is simply a case of market timing. Timing is everything. And being too early or too late into a market is never a good thing.

When I look to the future of IP Communications, I believe that one day we will start to see service providers who “get it” and who may decide to offer their customers the ability to help define and manage their call flows and set the rules for how to find a customer in the event of a “ring no answer” condition.

One day in the near future I believe it will become commonplace that people who own cell phones who are outside of their service areas will be offered a soft phone by their service provider that in a broadband network will map to their cell phone number such that if their cell phone is being called, they can answer it on their PC, PDA or preferred broadband communication device. The same device when used will allow this consumer to place an outgoing call as if he were on his cell phone. I also believe that consumers who choose to keep a wireline phone in their home will also one day have a soft phone available to them so that when they travel, they can have the ability to answer their home phone remotely on an IP network, and will even be able to initiate a call as if they were in their home, again over a broadband communications device. (I’m not sure Cable Companies will ever offer nomadic voice services.) While I believe this is a future we will experience, I’m not quite sure exactly when this will happen…but it will. Or at least it should.

In the end, after thinking about all of these possible future scenarios, one of the conclusions that I will be sharing in 11 days at Fall 2006 VON is that “in the end, the PSTN is not ever going away and that the future PSTN is IP based. Deal with it!”

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Posted by jeff at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)