Alec Saunder made a post in his blog recently entitled 2008: The Year that VoIP died. His blog is very popular in the VoIP/Tech community so the post just had to trigger a lot of responses and a dabate on whether VoIP is or isn't dead. I'm listing below some of the posts that I find interresting.
Jeff Pulver responds with VoIP is NOT Dead!.
Andy Abramson with Putting VoIP In It's Place.
Alec Saunder again with VoIP: "If you hadn’t nailed its feet to the perch, it’d be pushin’ up the daisies!".
Luca Filigheddu and his post VoIP ? What is It ?
Jeff Pulver continues with VoIP Still Isn’t Dead - Part II.
Saunder again and All we’re talking about is arbitrage.
And then Dan York makes his post Define "VoIP" - and then we can debate whether it is dead!.
While I agree with Jeff Pulver, Andy Abramson and Luca Filigheddu, I think Dan York precisely hits the spot and puts the end to the discussion. VoIP is understood differently by different people, depending on the context and part of the industry they are associated with. For myself 'VoIP' without any context is just a technology, a group of concepts, protocols, codecs - it's the pipelines. VoIP is not a service, it'a a technology that allows to create services.
The first and most popular services created with VoIP were the 'cheap Internet telephone calls' - but theses like PSTN are bound to die - and true 2008 might have been the year the 'cheap Internet telephone calls' died. Or rather - making business from 'cheap Internet telephone calls' died. Why ? Because there are thousands of ITSP's, and they push the margins to absolute minimum. Because mobile calls are now cheap and its just much faster and more convenient to call from your mobile than the PC or hassle of buying installing configuring that VoIP gateway.
As for for the VoIP as technology - c'mon ! it's doing better than ever. It is the underlying voice technology, it's mainstream, it's ITU, 3GPP and Open Source.
Showing posts with label voip services. Show all posts
Showing posts with label voip services. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
The Top 25 VoIP Innovations of 2008
A very interesting article on VoIP-NEWS by Robert Poe - The Top 25 VoIP Innovations of 2008.
My comments to some of the innovations:
1. Creating an iNum country code for VoIP
This I do not unerstand. Maybe I'm shortsighted, maybe I don't understand the details - but what is the point in creating a ungeographical country prefix for VoIP ...unless you plan to create a VoIP country maybe :) ?! Ungeographical area prefix within a country for VoIP - makes sense to me. This is much like a mobile prefix. VoIP endpoints and softclients are less stationary than a regular fixed so a different prefix than the regular geographical prefix is understandable. Now, a few years back a VoIP prefix was added to the Polish numbering plan and even up till now it is not fully serviced, I think only one of the three mobile carriers actually route the prefix. OK, I know that this only shows how effective the Polish Regulator is but if we now put this in a bigger perspective confidering the iNum country code I just don't see how all the carriers will now jump at the idea, create new (IP maybe) InterConnects and start routing the new country code.
[...]
3. Extending voice-streaming technology to video
I have good experience with GIPS, we use their audio libraries in our software client at Gadu-Gadu so I'm very happy with GIPS extending to Video.
[...]
5. Voice-to-text transcription for both incoming and outgoing messages
Although I personlly like the idea, I don't think there are any commercially sucessfull voice-to-text services and I know a few that were very unsuccessfull. I think text-to-voice apps will follow the the same downward path. It's just easier to make a www based service :)
6. Free ad-supported international calling
Cool, cool, cool ! I love the idea and think this is where voice calling is going.
[...]
12. VoIP peering for Web-phone companies
There have been quite a few initiatives like this. Let's just go with Enum !
13. Flexible Web-based conferencing for SMBs (small- to medium-sized businesses)
Calliflower puts a fresh breeze over conferencing - excellent service.
[...]
15. IMs containing voice instead of text
Hmm.. It seems a bit complicated. First call a number, say the person from your contact list (probably a few times before it gets it right), record the message. The receipient then has to call the number and enter.... aaaah, just type 'Hi' - seems easier! :)
[...]
22. Turning Web developers into phone-service providers
Ribbit. Very innovative, bringing advanced voice features to developers in simple APIs. I wonder what SIP Servlet, Parlay, etc creators think when they read these ? Damn... now everyone know - it isn't rocket science !
My comments to some of the innovations:
1. Creating an iNum country code for VoIP
This I do not unerstand. Maybe I'm shortsighted, maybe I don't understand the details - but what is the point in creating a ungeographical country prefix for VoIP ...unless you plan to create a VoIP country maybe :) ?! Ungeographical area prefix within a country for VoIP - makes sense to me. This is much like a mobile prefix. VoIP endpoints and softclients are less stationary than a regular fixed so a different prefix than the regular geographical prefix is understandable. Now, a few years back a VoIP prefix was added to the Polish numbering plan and even up till now it is not fully serviced, I think only one of the three mobile carriers actually route the prefix. OK, I know that this only shows how effective the Polish Regulator is but if we now put this in a bigger perspective confidering the iNum country code I just don't see how all the carriers will now jump at the idea, create new (IP maybe) InterConnects and start routing the new country code.
[...]
3. Extending voice-streaming technology to video
I have good experience with GIPS, we use their audio libraries in our software client at Gadu-Gadu so I'm very happy with GIPS extending to Video.
[...]
5. Voice-to-text transcription for both incoming and outgoing messages
Although I personlly like the idea, I don't think there are any commercially sucessfull voice-to-text services and I know a few that were very unsuccessfull. I think text-to-voice apps will follow the the same downward path. It's just easier to make a www based service :)
6. Free ad-supported international calling
Cool, cool, cool ! I love the idea and think this is where voice calling is going.
[...]
12. VoIP peering for Web-phone companies
There have been quite a few initiatives like this. Let's just go with Enum !
13. Flexible Web-based conferencing for SMBs (small- to medium-sized businesses)
Calliflower puts a fresh breeze over conferencing - excellent service.
[...]
15. IMs containing voice instead of text
Hmm.. It seems a bit complicated. First call a number, say the person from your contact list (probably a few times before it gets it right), record the message. The receipient then has to call the number and enter.... aaaah, just type 'Hi' - seems easier! :)
[...]
22. Turning Web developers into phone-service providers
Ribbit. Very innovative, bringing advanced voice features to developers in simple APIs. I wonder what SIP Servlet, Parlay, etc creators think when they read these ? Damn... now everyone know - it isn't rocket science !
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