http://www.telecomweb.com TelecomWeb.com en-us 2008 Fri, 16 May 2008 5:49:54 EDT The User Bill of Rights is something that’s needed by everyone involved in combining data and voice (and with increasing frequency video and presence) on IP networks to deliver the benefits of unified communications, including the end customer who is adopting the infrastructure that gives them new... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/25656.html Wed, 7 Nov 2007 0:00:00 EST Back in the bad old days, there was a phone company un-affectionately dubbed by some as “USWorst,” with customer disservice derided as “Mountain Bull” – but that was before the CEO from a lot of those bad old days was convicted.   That guy may still get off on appeal, or... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/25492.html Tue, 16 Oct 2007 0:00:00 EDT Decision makers in all sizes of companies are considering using professional services between 2008 and 2010 to help them adopt the right Voice over IP (VoIP) and convergence assets. This increased interest in professional services is most likely the result of the speed of change in the voice systems and... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/25390.html Wed, 3 Oct 2007 0:00:00 EDT This is one of the most predictable times of the year here in Washington. Most of the decision-makers are gone, the staffs are trying to catch up on the various piles of work that have accumulated over the past few months while still leaving early and taking Fridays (and sometimes Mondays) off.   And... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/25068.html Thu, 30 Aug 2007 0:00:00 EDT I’m about to risk the life of my computers by plugging their Ethernet ports into the electric power outlets in my house. Let me explain. I’ve been writing about broadband over powerline (BPL) extensively for almost three years now. In general, my coverage has been supportive of the theory behind... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/24724.html Wed, 15 Aug 2007 0:00:00 EDT Somebody is not online. Actually, lots of somebodies are not online. And therein lays the failure so far of PC-based instant messaging (IM) and VoIP to supplant traditional time division multiplex (TDM) plain old telephone service (POTS).   To be more precise, among others, I have Skype, Google Talk and... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/24587.html Thu, 2 Aug 2007 0:00:00 EDT So here’s a challenge: How do you market a “new” product that has been around for more than a hundred years and that almost every household in the United States already has? It’s just as difficult as creating the next must-see TV program or the next big Web site.   The question... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/24444.html Mon, 30 Jul 2007 0:00:00 EDT It didn’t take more than a matter of hours for the flow of offers from various “pure play” VoIP providers to start, following the untimely death of “pure play” VoIP provider SunRocket, as everyone in the business started scrambling for the scraps – i.e., more customers... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/24302.html Wed, 18 Jul 2007 0:00:00 EDT Yes, if I walk out in the driveway (I only live about 35 minutes outside of Washington, D.C.) and hold my phone high in the air, I may be able to get one or two bars, but that’s it. Get close to the house, and it’s gone. Same is true for most of my neighbors. So we don’t give out our... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/24046.html Fri, 29 Jun 2007 0:00:00 EDT A good friend of mine is just about ready to enter the dream retirement after 30 years with a major car manufacturer, building a sizable 401(k) and putting both daughters through college. And he still hasn’t hit 55 (and that’s SO galling). He’s looking forward to making what has been a... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/23653.html Thu, 7 Jun 2007 0:00:00 EDT Gosh, I’m all Joost up – I just watched my first, fully commercial (not beta) IPTV shows delivered over the Internet.   Joost (pronounced “juiced”) is the brainchild of the same techno whizzes that gave us Skype – which I in fact use incessantly to chat with my kids... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/23041.html Wed, 2 May 2007 0:00:00 EDT The hot-diggity-dog buzzword right now is "convergence," particularly of VoIP and conventional wireless telephony. Well, we ain’t really there yet but, for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been having fun testing one of the raft of emerging semi-convergence (or pre-convergence, if you... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/22851.html Thu, 19 Apr 2007 0:00:00 EDT The Federal Corporation Commission took a shocking step when they decided to actually gather information about a topic before they make a rule saying how they are going to regulate it. They approved an inquiry exploring how companies that provide high-speed Internet service manage Web traffic, and whether... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/22457.html Fri, 30 Mar 2007 0:00:00 EDT I have a feeling it may be weeks before the industry discovers whether it has survived the new earlier March 11 date for daylight savings time or whether the Congress and the president have foisted on us a "Daylight Savings Crime."   There’s no end to the commentary on how this one snuck... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/22114.html Thu, 8 Mar 2007 0:00:00 EST The FCC is now catching on to what everyone in this business already knows: the country needs a national broadband plan. To be fair, FCC insiders have been well-aware of this for several years now, though the in-house experts have not received much guidance from their political masters in Congress and the... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/21750.html Thu, 15 Feb 2007 0:00:00 EST My partner sent me a recent article from The New York Times, "Want an iPhone? Beware the iHandcuffs," written by Randall Stross. The essence of the article is that Apple (Computer) Corporation has behaved insensitively and arrogantly in its design of the iPod product line and its iTunes online... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/21721.html Tue, 13 Feb 2007 0:00:00 EST The Internet, it seems, is making it harder these days for folks to get a fair trial – and not simply because of the instant transmission of news.   To explain, I just finished a couple of days of fulfilling my obligation as a U.S. citizen to serve on a jury (no, I’m not going to discuss the... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/21607.html Mon, 5 Feb 2007 0:00:00 EST A reader wrote this morning with a question about the role of communications technology in our global competitiveness: “I have a question for you concerning the future of broadband in the U.S. With Verizon and AT&T rolling out FiOS and u-verse broadband nationwide, do you not think that it's just a... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/21509.html Wed, 31 Jan 2007 0:00:00 EST Well, well … it looks like the FCC, in cahoots with both the nation’s telcos and cablecos, doesn’t want the hoi poloi (that’s us guys, the great unwashed public) to know where broadband really is available.   The Center for Public Integrity (CPI), sounding very frustrated... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/21250.html Mon, 22 Jan 2007 0:00:00 EST As Microsoft warms up the massive merchandising and marketing machine once again to reap billions in profits from yet another try at Windows, there is little discussion of its implications for mobile. In fact, after playing with Vista now for a couple of months and using it to synch smartphones and iPods, I... http://www.telecomweb.com/news/wbf/blogs/20763.html Thu, 14 Dec 2006 0:00:00 EST